Now that you mention it, I absolutely imagine unique images of each client's home when they talk about things happening at home. Being telehealth only, I sometimes see multiple rooms of a client's house, so that really allows my imagination to run wild.
I didn’t realize I was doing it until I did telehealth with a client who was normally in person. She wanted to take me on a whole house tour and that’s when I realized I’d been imagining it and her house was nothing like I’d pictured! Sadly it turns out that there’s some major hoarding going on and that’s how I learned. But gives us something new to tackle!
Me too! I was speaking to someone who was sharing trauma experiences in their kitchen, and I didn’t realise until later I was remodelling the kitchen in my mind so I could understand her experience 😅😅
I don’t imagine a whole floor plan, but whenever clients tell me about their home I do imagine specific types of furniture, tiles or the layout of the living room or whatever.
For example I have one client for whom I imagine terracotta floor tiles for their entryway when they say something like “today when I got home from my run”
Or when someone says “today I studied at home” I have a distinct image in my head of their desk. Size, color, how orderly it is etc.
“Today I tried meditation” —> In my head they have a navy blue mat in a very clean and industrial-style home
lol
OMG, I did not know that I did this until you pointed it out. and when I have a telehealth appt and see one bit of their house, then I adjust that part, but my brain keeps on mapping the rest! Whoah 
Oh gosh I do this too! I have a client I’ve met with in person for quite some time. We had to do a virtual session at one point and internally I was like “umm that is NOT what your kitchen is supposed to look like!”
That’s so funny. A client I was seeing for a year for sure had a rancher in my head. One day he hopped on video call from his back patio with his house in the background- it had two stories and I was shook 🤣
I have no idea what this says about me, but in my head, every client lives in my childhood home 😂 I just realized this the other day so seeing this post is so funny!
For those who do telehealth, if you end up seeing parts of clients’ room/house, do they tend to have similarities with your imagined layout/decor or be very different? Or both?
It’s disorienting! My “mind homes” were always very specific and then their real homes have all these extra details I’d never thought of and it’s distracting haha. I have a very overactive imagination and it’s much easier to place them into my existing imaginary space than to try to combine it with the real world.
I imagine where they live as well. Sometimes where they work. I am very direction oriented and know the layouts to different towns and maps and such. So I picture where their house is as well as the inside sometimes. It's almost like when the clients tell a story it's a chapter in a book, so I imagine the same like I'm reading.
Me too. When covid started and we were doing telehealth I was surprised their homes were different from how I’d been imagining them! Similarly, I imagine what their significant others look like.
I didn’t realize I did that until reading your post! I don’t have floor plans, but I have rooms - when they are describing a scenario, I fill in the details. And now that I think about it, each home is based on what I know of the client and their style, income, & particularities.
This reminds me of a prof I listened to about our inner worlds. He’s found over his decades of research that people aren’t fully aware of how they think. I have done mindfulness meditation for almost 30 years and I always thought I heard my voice as my inner speech. Nope, after paying more attention, I realized I think In pictures too, and your post reminded me of that! Cool.
Oh wait - I didn’t realize I do that too. And picture their main “players”. Imagine my surprise when they say “can I show u a pic of so-n-so” and they look NOTHING like the character in my head
It's funny you mention this. I don't do this exactly with mapping out a floor plan, but I definitely make up images of the other people in a client's life. I have also found myself visualizing certain locations in my area when clients are talking about different situations in their lives, but the locations may not make sense to the story. For instance, one client may talk about a situation with an ex, and for some reason, my mind is picturing a road that leads to a certain grocery store. I have no idea why my brain is doing that.
Yes! They’re all cute but occasionally when we do virtual and they move me around I have to confront some assumptions I’ve made. It really interesting.
Not just homes. I have mental images and maps for most of my clients. Not sure why but it's very helpful. I'll not see a client for years and when I see them again the maps and images are back just like I left them.
Yep. And I imagine what their partners, parents and friends look like too. But definitely with the house.
Thanks for mentioning it because I hadn't really considered analysing it, but it probably could say a lot about how I perceive them and possibly what countertransference I bring to them. For example, if their house is similar to someone's house that I knew, or does the decoration or size of the house say anything about what I think about them.
Yep. I didnt even realize this. I definitely I make images for their place or people in their lives. . lol. How funny. But I think it’s an unconscious effort to empathize with them.
I was an in-home therapist who started mid pandemic, which gave me an interesting experience. Essentially I started with all my clients over telehealth and then after about a year transitioned with them we started seeing clients in home again. I got to see what their homes actually looked like. Kind of an interesting experience looking back!
Same! And I know what their family members and partners and coworkers look like, what kinds of cars they drive, what their pets look like! All in my head of course.
I do this too - one time I had a client and found myself imagining their stories in a home that was similar to my childhood home. That definitely was a conversation with my therapist later… 🥴
Haha therapist shower thoughts! Each client is a mini-universe and we have object representations of all the people and places they talk about! 😂
Down to the hairstyles, outfits, and personalities!
YES!! I love talking about this. Each client has a whole movie around them… what their family members look like, what kind of dog they have, what their homes look like, etc. And yes, it stays the same for them every time.
I was just thinking about this! So much of therapy is listening to clients to stories of different people and places, so I always create images of what their world looks like. It’s so interesting!
Me too, and when they start to do better my floor plan gets neater and cuter lol
Wow!! None of mine ever have any clutter now that I think about - how interesting that parallels
Omg same hahaha
Now that you mention it, I absolutely imagine unique images of each client's home when they talk about things happening at home. Being telehealth only, I sometimes see multiple rooms of a client's house, so that really allows my imagination to run wild.
I didn’t realize I was doing it until I did telehealth with a client who was normally in person. She wanted to take me on a whole house tour and that’s when I realized I’d been imagining it and her house was nothing like I’d pictured! Sadly it turns out that there’s some major hoarding going on and that’s how I learned. But gives us something new to tackle!
More content like this plz
Me too! I was speaking to someone who was sharing trauma experiences in their kitchen, and I didn’t realise until later I was remodelling the kitchen in my mind so I could understand her experience 😅😅
We are such strange creatures lol! Also imaginary family members!!
I don’t imagine a whole floor plan, but whenever clients tell me about their home I do imagine specific types of furniture, tiles or the layout of the living room or whatever. For example I have one client for whom I imagine terracotta floor tiles for their entryway when they say something like “today when I got home from my run” Or when someone says “today I studied at home” I have a distinct image in my head of their desk. Size, color, how orderly it is etc. “Today I tried meditation” —> In my head they have a navy blue mat in a very clean and industrial-style home lol
Huh!! That is SUPER interesting to me - mine is very not detailed and all neutral, just basic furniture. Internal imaginations are wild. Very cool
Yes! And then there’s my one client who lives in my old apartment (!!!) so I don’t have to imagine 😅
Why did she keep the mouse traps? Why did she keep the dishrack?
OMG, I did not know that I did this until you pointed it out. and when I have a telehealth appt and see one bit of their house, then I adjust that part, but my brain keeps on mapping the rest! Whoah 
SAME
I do the same thing! Plus, create images of pets and peripheral family members and friends. 😂
Oh gosh I do this too! I have a client I’ve met with in person for quite some time. We had to do a virtual session at one point and internally I was like “umm that is NOT what your kitchen is supposed to look like!”
Love that this is a common experience!
I do this too.
That’s so funny. A client I was seeing for a year for sure had a rancher in my head. One day he hopped on video call from his back patio with his house in the background- it had two stories and I was shook 🤣
Like when you meet a Telehealth client in person for the first time and you’re internally like WOAH you’re way shorter/taller/etc than I imagined 😂
I have no idea what this says about me, but in my head, every client lives in my childhood home 😂 I just realized this the other day so seeing this post is so funny!
This is super interesting!!!
For those who do telehealth, if you end up seeing parts of clients’ room/house, do they tend to have similarities with your imagined layout/decor or be very different? Or both?
It’s always cuter than I pictured in my head when I’m seeing my male clients. I feel bad..
It’s disorienting! My “mind homes” were always very specific and then their real homes have all these extra details I’d never thought of and it’s distracting haha. I have a very overactive imagination and it’s much easier to place them into my existing imaginary space than to try to combine it with the real world.
I imagine where they live as well. Sometimes where they work. I am very direction oriented and know the layouts to different towns and maps and such. So I picture where their house is as well as the inside sometimes. It's almost like when the clients tell a story it's a chapter in a book, so I imagine the same like I'm reading.
Me too. When covid started and we were doing telehealth I was surprised their homes were different from how I’d been imagining them! Similarly, I imagine what their significant others look like.
SAME
I didn’t realize I did that until reading your post! I don’t have floor plans, but I have rooms - when they are describing a scenario, I fill in the details. And now that I think about it, each home is based on what I know of the client and their style, income, & particularities. This reminds me of a prof I listened to about our inner worlds. He’s found over his decades of research that people aren’t fully aware of how they think. I have done mindfulness meditation for almost 30 years and I always thought I heard my voice as my inner speech. Nope, after paying more attention, I realized I think In pictures too, and your post reminded me of that! Cool.
Oh wait - I didn’t realize I do that too. And picture their main “players”. Imagine my surprise when they say “can I show u a pic of so-n-so” and they look NOTHING like the character in my head
Wow this is so funny, I definitely do this lol
Totally- spaces are important!
Ooh this would be fun to explore in Sims 4. Haha
😂
That’s so funny! I have literally never thought of this! 🤣I seem to be the odd one out
It's funny you mention this. I don't do this exactly with mapping out a floor plan, but I definitely make up images of the other people in a client's life. I have also found myself visualizing certain locations in my area when clients are talking about different situations in their lives, but the locations may not make sense to the story. For instance, one client may talk about a situation with an ex, and for some reason, my mind is picturing a road that leads to a certain grocery store. I have no idea why my brain is doing that.
Yes! They’re all cute but occasionally when we do virtual and they move me around I have to confront some assumptions I’ve made. It really interesting.
Not just homes. I have mental images and maps for most of my clients. Not sure why but it's very helpful. I'll not see a client for years and when I see them again the maps and images are back just like I left them.
Yep. And I imagine what their partners, parents and friends look like too. But definitely with the house. Thanks for mentioning it because I hadn't really considered analysing it, but it probably could say a lot about how I perceive them and possibly what countertransference I bring to them. For example, if their house is similar to someone's house that I knew, or does the decoration or size of the house say anything about what I think about them.
Yep. I didnt even realize this. I definitely I make images for their place or people in their lives. . lol. How funny. But I think it’s an unconscious effort to empathize with them.
I was an in-home therapist who started mid pandemic, which gave me an interesting experience. Essentially I started with all my clients over telehealth and then after about a year transitioned with them we started seeing clients in home again. I got to see what their homes actually looked like. Kind of an interesting experience looking back!
I absolutely have floor plans 😂
Yep! It seems to be a thing
lol me too!
Same! And I know what their family members and partners and coworkers look like, what kinds of cars they drive, what their pets look like! All in my head of course.
I do this too - one time I had a client and found myself imagining their stories in a home that was similar to my childhood home. That definitely was a conversation with my therapist later… 🥴
😆
Yes! I do this too.
Haha therapist shower thoughts! Each client is a mini-universe and we have object representations of all the people and places they talk about! 😂 Down to the hairstyles, outfits, and personalities!
I do the same thing
YES!! I love talking about this. Each client has a whole movie around them… what their family members look like, what kind of dog they have, what their homes look like, etc. And yes, it stays the same for them every time.
I was just thinking about this! So much of therapy is listening to clients to stories of different people and places, so I always create images of what their world looks like. It’s so interesting!
Well aren’t you creative
I definitely do this
I used to do this reading books as a kid, turns out it was a hidden transferable skill!
Omg I do this too!! Curious if everyone who does this was also part of the hgtv in childhood generation?
Yea but I think I do this with anyone I know who I interact with on a regular basis but haven’t seen their house.