Healing Spaces for Therapy: The Influence of Room Design on Psychotherapeutic Processes

This research discovered how the therapy room contributes to therapy from the client and therapist's perspective. Clients currently in therapy and counsellors or psychologists working in private practice were interviewed. It was found that a well-designed and functional therapy room supports the therapy relationship and client feelings of safety, trust, increased willingness to talk, and an improvement in therapists' ability to implement their work, reducing stress and increasing well-being. A best-practice therapy room design checklist for therapy settings was developed from this research.