Therapist working out of home

[jaathom]

Is it a bad sign when a therapist works out of his/her home?

This is someone new I`m going to see. They do have a separate waiting and counseling area there.

[Mark]

I don't think it means much, necessarily. Some therapists spend for an office and some work out of their homes. Of those who do work out of their homes, I would look for a private space within the home that is detached from or at least walled off from the rest of the home. You do want to see that there is some separation between work and home happening. I would be suspect of a therapist who did not have a private dedicated area within the home, but I wouldn't think twice about working with a therapist who had a home office which did have such separation. If you think about what therapists do from a business perspective, they are small (micro) businesses. Like any business, they can retain more revenue as salary if they can keep their expenses lower. Alternatively, if they can keep their expenses lower, they can charge less to patients and still make the same salary. One way to do this is to not have to pay the overhead of a professional office, which can be quite expensive in more populated cities.

[confused12]

Hi jaathom,

I am not sure if it is a bad sign or not but understand what Mark has pointed out. I myself would be rather uncomfortable going to someone's private residence especially if there was not a separate office. Therefore it would not be an option for me.

However if there was a separate home/work space I think I would be uncomfortable at first but could work through the fears. I think I would actually need therapy to work through why I have issues with going to a private residence:confused:.

Good luck, I hope things work out with your new therapist.

1confused12

[nightfalls]

Hi jaathom,

I have gone to see a therapist who worked out of there home, It was weird at first and I felt okward going in to this section of the home. However as I continued I didn't feel as weird and this therapist honestly was the best person I've ever talked with if I had the chance I would have kept going long term until all was delt with, but my insurance had run out. Anyway this person I belive really liked what he did for work and that I think made a huge difference to me. So give it a try and mabe it will be great. take care;)

[WinterSky]

Once I had a job interview with a man in his hotel room. Talk about difficult situations! But I did it, and he was nice and respectful. And nothing out of the ordinary happened.

Needless to say I did not get the job.

[Pseudonym]

Now if you enter your therapists home and discover other patients shackled to the walls, or bodies buried in the back yard, than yes, you may have a cause for concern. Otherwise, understand that the therapist must be comfortable as well, and that the home setting is typically more comfortable for both parties. This has no effect on his ability to be a good therapist. Actually if his home is fairly nice, it's a good indication that he is a very good therapist. Just try him out for a while, and if it still unnerves you that the therapist works out of his home. Find a new therapist. It's more important for you to be comfortable than him.

- Anonymous.

[Proverbs31:28]

I don't *think* I would have a problem with it. It is most likely an effort on his/her part to keep overhead costs down and/or balance family and work life better. Either way, those seem like admirable goals so I think I would actually be okay with the situation.

[jaathom]

This turned out well. Her office is sufficiently private, and it is a very comfortable place. I did not discover any patients shackled to the walls, but I have not been in the backyard to check for buried bodies.

I`ll ask her how she feels about buried bodies.

[Rollercoaster]

My current therapist works from a charitable centre and from her home. She gave me the choice of where I would like to see her and I have chosen to see her at her home. She uses her conservatory, which is closed off from the rest of the house and has a separate entrance. I much prefer seeing her there to when I have seen Ts in office type settings.

[confused12]

Great jaathom sounds like your off to a comfortable start. Do keep us posted on how it is working out.

Confused12