Welcome to my home office! I want to share some information about home offices in general and my home office in particular.
While it may seem strange in this day and age for a psychotherapist to have a home office, actually home offices were the norm when psychotherapy first began. Freud started his private practice in his own home in 1886. Jung also had his practice in his home as did many early psychotherapists.
Kalamazoo County allows for home offices with up to two clients at a time. So I am in compliance with county laws by having a home office. There are no ethical prohibitions by any professional organization against seeing clients in a home office.
There are advantages and disadvantages to home offices for both clients and therapists just as there are for offices in regular office spaces. For me, the advantages to both me and my clients outweigh the disadvantages. For example, there is more privacy since I have no public waiting room (and you won’t run into other clients coming or going because I don’t schedule clients in close succession). I provide what is a warm, safe and homey space for clients to settle into. I can often schedule same day or next day appointments because I don’t have to drive to an office to see clients urgently needing a session. Some clients aren’t comfortable seeing a therapist in her home, perhaps feeling they are invading a private space. They, of course, need to find a different therapist.
You can park in my driveway and come to the front door. The neighborhood, located close to the Miller Post Office, is safe and the neighbors keep to themselves.
My office is a dedicated therapy room. I keep records safe just as I would in any other office. Since I have no family members, except for my two dogs, privacy is not a concern. You will come through my front door, enter the living room area and then take an immediate turn into the office. There is a bathroom for your use next to the therapy office.
When you visit you may be greeted by any of my two dogs, Gia and Maisy, both doxies. If you are allergic to or fear dogs I probably am not the therapist for you! Occasionally the dogs may bark but this hasn’t been an issue for my clients to date. Please feel free to ask any questions or discuss any concerns with me that you may have about therapy in a home office setting.
A final note: I can offer HIPAA compliant therapy through video conferencing in inclement weather, when you are traveling or even on a regular basis. You do need to have a tablet, laptop or desktop computer with a camera and speakers to avail yourself of distance counseling. A smartphone just doesn’t provide a large enough image for effective therapy.
