When it comes to setting up an office space for counseling in schools, less is more. Having a fully packed, furniture-dense, and wall-filled office can be a source of overwhelm for students.
You want your office to look as relaxing as possible.
Here are some tips on setting up a minimalist school counselor’s office focusing on only must-haves.
It can be really tempting to go for a dark-themed office if that is something you prefer as a person, but you must recognize that your office should be more focused on helping your the students than suiting your preference.
Finding a balance between both is the ideal.
Dark rooms have been found to make depression worse but light-themed offices are more stimulating and give a cheerful feel that can be encouraging to your client.
This is especially important because you’ll be receiving people who are going through situations already. You don’t want to add to it.
To have a light-themed school counselor’s office, you must allow for natural light to flood in and use transparent curtains around the windows.
The room must also be painted with light colors— specifically white and grey.
2. Place only necessary furniture in the room
Furniture can take up a whole lot of space and make the office choked up if they aren’t monitored. To avoid this, and since we are focusing on minimalist office space, only bring in the must-have furniture.
This includes the counselor’s desk and chair, a little shelf to keep important documents, and a couch for clients during counseling sessions.
Really, these are all the only must-haves.
Here are my best recommendations.
Must-Have Furniture for School Counselor’s Office Recommendations
What first caught my attention about this chair was the so many positive reviews it has (over 20k), and it wasn’t any disappointing. It is not the fanciest chair out there but it is comfortable, durable, and super easy to put together.
Thankfully it not only gives you a minimalist office, but it is also minimal in cost. lol.
This is also another budget piece of furniture. The couch is optimized for comfort and will make your clients feel relaxed. You know the more relaxed they feel in your presence the easier your job.
It can contain two people which is the most you will have in most cases. (Typically school counselors have more individual counseling sessions).
You can certainly make do without this one if you brutally want to avoid things you can do without. This is because you can simply bring your chair from your desk while you talk to clients.
But if you, like me, want to avoid the stress of moving your chair from one place to another, you should consider getting this. It can also help in rare cases where you have three people to talk to. They can all just stay on the couches while you use your chair.
3. Keep a clean wall
Yes, it is good to have some items on your wall, but always remember that less is more. At most, not more than three items should be hung on your wall.
You can have one or two frames with some form of art or encouraging inscriptions for your clients. Some counselors also like to use their walls to display expertise by hanging some certifications.
Whichever combination you’re having, target having only a maximum of three items on your wall. Else, students can even get carried away reading them.
4. Avoid a desk between you and the clients
This is not just a strategy for having a minimalist counselor’s office; it is a general rule of thumb for counseling.
You want to reduce the tension talking to you brings on your clients as much as possible so you should be seated couch to couch away from your desk area.
This will mean that your desk should be situated at one end of the room while the remaining space should be for counseling sessions. Yes, it will (and should) be that free. You can have a rug in front of the client’s couch for extra comfort.
5. Sensory additions are great— but don’t overwhelm
Having pillows, aesthetic mugs with inscriptions, seat discs, and other items that can stimulate sensory relief is also great since that benefits your client in some way, but don’t forget that once they become too much they become counterproductive.
Just two or three are fine.
6. Ensure enough ventilation and fresh breath
Your office must be well-ventilated. A minimalist office with poor ventilation is a paradox. It is still choking.
Even in offices that contain unnecessary items, when there’s enough ventilation, they still create a sense of relief.
While natural cross-ventilation may not be possible in every office due to the structure of some buildings, ensure the ACs are working.
Conclusion
After setting up a minimalist office space, you can begin to have the feeling that there’s too much room, especially if your office is quite spacious.
Rather than getting more items and furniture to fill up empty spaces, you can space out your desk and the sofas, even more, to cover up and create a balance.
Olusegun Iyejare is a career coach and certified counselor. He helps individuals discover and maximize their potential to live satisfying lives regardless of obvious limitations holding them back.
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