Do you want to redecorate your t’s office?

[KwanYingirl]

As requested, I’ve posted this question. As for me, my t is in a suite with 3 male therapists. The bathroom is spotless, but they need a cleansing!! It bugs me that the couch I sit on is smelly. He’s got a lot of toys and a little zen garden I know where everything is in his office. I notice when a pile of folders disappears,

I just got a fleece throw to put on the couch. I think he should get a leather couch. They don’t absorb smells. These guys need a renovation. There’s no artwork. The staircase smells funny. I don’t think anything has ever been cleaned, like the rugs and windows. I notice this stuff. It bugs me. Piles of magazines so old it’s crazy.

Good therapist though.

 

[UnicornSightings]

Haha yeah, kind of. But he did it himself and likes it so it’s cool. At least he has a window. Last t didn’t have one.

 

[Stephernovas]

Did anyone think of mentioning it to their therapist? I mean, client feedback is always accepted.

I accidentally came across my therapists Facebook one day and told her about it (because I really don't care, as long as there are no boundary crossing we don't see it as a concern - but I know she may have some clients that would msg her), and a few months later, she chose to removed it/change her settings.

Sometimes people don't realize things until it's brought to their attention. Then they can make a decision regarding how they feel and what they want to do about it.

 

[Sweetleaf]

Kinda funny you bring that up, my therapist's waiting room has a leather couch. I don't want to redecorate any part of the place though, it's really calming as is and has good lighting, seems clean. I have a female therapist who shares a waiting room with 2 other female therapists.

I don't really look at the magazines or take in my surroundings much though, when I'm sitting on the couch waiting to be called in. I'm usually sitting there feeling nervous because of how sessions often make me feel. Delving into things and focusing on specific events can trigger a lot of responses in me, like sweaty palms, shakes, etc. on top of emotional stuff. Usually when I'm sitting in the waiting room, I'm experiencing the sweaty palms and some of the other feelings, so I'm pretty distracted with how I'm feeling when I'm in the waiting room.

 

[Tornadic Thoughts]

I've been actively trying to get mine to make the space as scent-free as possible for the last few months. Their choices of hygiene/cleaning/laundry products hit me as soon as I walk in, but the bathroom is the space that literally suffocates me and makes me ill.

There's no circulation in there, so they drown the space in artificial fragrances to try to make it smell "clean", UGH! Luckily, I've since been shown an alternate restroom to use, but it still doesn't help with navigating the personal fragrances they choose to marinate in prior to coming to work.

I've taken a copy of "Multiple Chemical Sensitivity: A Survivor's Guide" book to her to copy some chapters out of dedicated to therapists in hopes of it making more scents to them, pun intended. I often share links with her that I've found helpful, too. I've encouraged them all to seek more info on how severely all those things are actively affecting their endocrine system and such, but it seems to fall on deaf ears. The lady I work with is very mindful of not wearing scents on days I'm scheduled, and for that I'm incredibly grateful, but the rest of the team, as well as other clients, remain quite fragrant.

As far as the decor, it's a multi-use space that is pretty wide open and ever-changing based on the activity/meeting/class of the day. The corner specifically used for discussion stays mostly the same and is comfortable enough. Lots of pillows, but yeah, now that I think about it, something with much less absorption potential would be really nice, as scents tend to linger for a long damn time.

 

[Eagle3]

I absolutely love my awesome T's office. I'm hoping his recent health issues don't mean he loses the office he was in, because the in-house dojo was a great touch! Honestly, the guy has a great sense of Feng Shui, so the energy is really good there. However, my new T's office is very cluttered and old, with ratty furniture and a suede couch I almost don't want to sit on (too many butts, you can tell:dpressed:). Can't wait to go back to my awesome T, hoping I can be first in line when he opens his doors again. That office is so homey, a true safe space. And my good T knows that I Facebook-stalk him, he doesn't care. We've even used the messenger function once for something completely non-therapy related, but that's because he knows I maintain correct boundaries and don't try to message him at all.

I've been in lots of T's offices, and yes, decor really does play a huge role in my comfort there. Several T's I've mentioned about needing some updating, and usually they agree but pull the finances card. I get it, but Jeez....I won't see anyone whose office reminds me of an inner-city charity office. I just can't....

 

[Friday]

I’ve never met my therapist at his office.

We meet in a disused storage room on a college campus.

 

[Deleted member 37474]

The waiting room at mine is better in the morning (too crowded in the afternoon and sometimes very random loudness from a kid and the giant LEGO table.)
My T always makes sure that the white noise machines are turned on. I didn’t even notice that they were there until she turned one on one day and I realized I always choose to sit near it.

Sometimes the bathroom is having problems and they make us go to the empty office building across the sidewalk. That building is terrifying and one time a construction worker came though a door out of nowhere and I jumped and he appologized.

My T’s office has an oriental rug that I have grown to love. She has very well chosen items in her office that can be used for grounding purposes. She has an uncomfortable wicker couch and two comfortable “safe” chairs that match. I sort of tuck myself into the chair over by the wall. She chose warm tones including red. It is cheery but not necessarily calming like my first T’s office. Hers was cold tones of soft light blue.

I have grown to love the current office because it seems to reflect my T’s personality.

 

[Gs172003]

My therapist has an office by herself and it's just one room. I have no real idea what it looks like other than it has a couch a chair and a lamp. I know there is a small of something when I come up the stairs. But I don't know off the top of my head what they actually look like. Weird.

 

[Emotional girl]

To me as a person who lives in the UK and has her therapy on the NHS I find this thread really interesting and different from my experience .
I see my psychologist in a hospital which was built quite recently and is quite modern ,the actual therapy room we go in quite big and in the middle there are two comfortable seats where me and my T sit opposite each other and in between us is this tiny little table.The room also has another table in in it where he sometimes sits if he wants to check something on his computer,it has a white board where sometimes he writes down concepts and it has some coat pegs.It also has these big windows where if I am finding things difficult I tend to look out of them.
I don't have any couches,lamps or rugs and I don't think I would have any say if I wanted to change anything about my room apart from maybe the seating arrangement.
I have to say it is a lot nicer to where I used to go to see a different T as that was in a very old hospital which had no windows in the room ,the room itself was very small and it had this great big heavy door and that was about it.

 

[KwanYingirl]

@Tornadic Thoughts OMG we’re kindred spirits. I am so sorry that you have MCS too. I think I’m going to have to change my therapy time. Whoever is in there before me leaves awful smells on the couch. Awful like body secretions. The other comfy chair in his room is not positioned in a way that I can have a conversation with him. So I’ll try the blanket idea. Hate that I have to wash a blanket every week just to spend 45 minutes talking about stupid shit. I walk in the door and the smell just stops me in my tracks.

 

[EveHarrington]

I want to give her a window!