Inspired by discussions on the forum...At first glance, these questions may seem strange. Those who have already had some contact with the Gestalt therapy method, who themselves have tried to be in the role of a therapist, who have attended intensive courses, know that what the therapist provides to the client is a certain “place” in his life - both in the form of his attention, his presence , and in the literal sense of the word - in the form of a space where you can be yourself in the presence of another person. The therapy space is a place to meet your inner world and a place to meet another person. Providing a space for therapy is an important part of the therapist’s work. Could a café be such a place? Maybe if the purpose of your meeting with the client is to transfer some information, knowledge to him, if you act as an expert consultant. Then your meeting with a client is something like business communication, within the framework of familiar social roles. This is the “advantage” of the cafe space - your client will not only be in the role of your client, but also in the role of a “visitor” of the cafe, that is, indirectly he “obliges” to behave “decently”, not to go beyond social norms. For a single consultation, a cafe can be a good choice if you are confident that no noisy company will come to this cafe at the next table, and that the waiter will not approach you with questions about your order every ten minutes. A cafe is a suitable solution, if you do not have a goal for the client to meet his real self, without masks and roles, if you do not have a goal to meet his feelings, which can be quite strong, and with the manifestations of these feelings, which may turn out to be “socially unacceptable” - tears, screams, sobs, asthma attacks... if you do not plan to provide the client with the opportunity to experiment with space - for example, sit closer or further to you, do not plan to look for ways to the client’s inner world, in addition to “rational conversation” - for example, offer to walk around around the room or physically depict your state, etc., that is, a cafe is an ideal meeting place if you do not plan to engage in gestalt therapy. Could your home be such a place? Maybe, if you have the opportunity to ensure your full presence during the meeting - that is, do not be distracted by burnt porridge, do not worry about the child in the next room, and also if your close people are sufficiently warned that you are currently working and do not need to be disturbed. Among the “advantages” of home space - it gives a lot of resources to the therapist: there is no need to waste time on the road, there is the opportunity to be in any comfortable clothes, despite the weather outside, there is the opportunity to set up your favorite chair, hang a pleasant picture, brew delicious tea... - how about that says the old proverb, “houses and walls are warm.” Among the “disadvantages” of the space of the house: it often contains a lot of facts that provide additional information to the client about you, your lifestyle, your income level, your habits, and so on - facts , which you may not have planned to tell the client about. And these facts can cause additional “transferential reactions” of the client. As a therapist, you will have to prepare for the fact that your personal life and the characteristics of your lifestyle may become a topic for the client and may influence the development of the relationship with the client. So, the fact that the space of the house is “personally colored”, so to speak, the fact that it contains your things, objects that are dear to you, the fact that it indirectly “tells” about your lifestyle and habits - on the one hand, a resource , on the other hand, the “minus” of this space is that indirectly, by opening the door to your apartment, you open the door to your life. Are you prepared for a client to accidentally knock over your favorite vase in the hallway? Or will it shoo your cat out of the chair? Are you ready to face the client’s question: “Why are you always such a mess?” Are you ready for comments? :)