A counseling or therapy practice asks more of an office than most businesses do. Clients need to feel safe arriving, private while they talk, and unobserved when they leave. You need a room that supports long hours of focused listening, plus somewhere secure for records.
This guide covers what to look for, and how to test for it on a tour.
Sound privacy
This is the most important quality of a therapy office, and the easiest to overlook on a quick visit.
Test it on the tour. Close the door and have a conversation at normal volume while someone stands in the hallway. Then switch places. If you can make out words through the door, clients will worry about the same thing.
Look at the door. A solid door with little gap at the bottom blocks far more sound than a hollow door with a wide gap. Door sweeps and weatherstripping can help if the landlord allows them.
Check shared walls. Ask what’s on the other side of each wall. A storage room or a quiet office is a better neighbor than a busy shared space.
Plan for sound masking. Most practices use a white noise machine outside the door, in the hallway or waiting area. It’s inexpensive and makes a large difference. Ask whether you can place one outside your office.
Arriving and leaving
The entrance. Clients should be able to find the door easily on their first visit, without asking a receptionist from another business where to go.
Waiting. Think through where a client waits if they arrive early or you’re running late. A chair in a quiet hallway can work for a solo practice. If you see clients back to back, consider whether two clients would end up sitting next to each other.
Leaving. After a hard session, a client may not want to walk past other people. An office near the exit, or a building with a quiet hallway, helps.
Parking. Clients should be able to park easily and walk a short distance to the door. Ask where visitors park.
Privacy in a small town
In a small community, a client may not want their car seen outside a counselor’s office on the main street they drive every day. Some clients prefer an office one town over for exactly this reason.
An office in Howard City, near US-131 Exit 118, is within reach of clients from Big Rapids, Cedar Springs, Greenville, Newaygo, Lakeview, and several smaller towns, and for most of them it isn’t their own town. That can make it easier to attend, and easier to keep attending.
Records and security
If your practice is covered by HIPAA, the rules include physical safeguards for protected health information, not just digital ones. In practice, for a small office, that usually means:
- A lockable office door, and a locked cabinet for any paper records
- A screen that visitors can’t see from the doorway or waiting area
- Control over who has keys to your office
Ask the landlord who else has keys to your office (cleaning staff, maintenance) and when they would enter.
Telehealth
If you see some clients by video, the office has to support that too.
- Upload speed matters more than download speed for a clear picture and voice. Run a speed test in the room if internet is already provided.
- Lighting should come from in front of you, not behind. A window behind your chair turns you into a silhouette.
- Background should be simple and private, with no client files or whiteboards in view.
Comfort for long days
You’ll spend many hours in this room. Look for natural light, a way to control the temperature, and enough space for two comfortable chairs at a natural conversational distance, with room for a small table. Many counselors find that a room of around 120 to 150 square feet feels right for individual sessions, with more space needed for couples or families.
Access
Ask about the route from the parking area to your office and to the restroom. If any of your clients use a wheelchair or walker, you’ll want to know about steps, door widths, and restroom access before you commit.
Questions to ask the landlord
- Can I see clients in the evening or on weekends?
- Can I put a white noise machine in the hallway?
- Who else has keys to my office, and when do they enter?
- Where do clients wait and park?
- Can I add a door sweep or other sound treatment?
For the full list, see what to ask before leasing an office, and take our office tour checklist with you.
If you’d like to test a room in Howard City for sound, request a tour and tell us you run a counseling practice. We’ll show you the offices best suited to it.