Is it really good to ask a professionals "advise"?

Ask your clients what they want and give it to them. Get several sets of cushions and let them choose. So what is the harm in that.

More advice: read Marilyn Barrick's Emotions: Transforming Anger, Fear and Pain. Review at http://www.amazon.com/

Your adviser friend likely meant well, and stated the general wisdom taught to interior decorators nowadays. You might try purchasing a couple of cushions with the rose (not orange, omg! ;) color, and do an experiment: for one session with a client, use one set of cushions; then, the next time, the other set. See how the sessions go, alternate the cushions and see if the sessions significantly change as well. Then, you're onto something! If the client comments on the shifting color scheme, kindly ask how they feel, do they prefer one. At the end of your fun experiment, for the cost of two rose cushions, you'll have some interesting results, whether positive for a color, or positive for the cushions' colors not making a difference.

The concern I have always had with the idea of using an interior decorator is that when they get done, who's room will it be? When my friends come in, do they see my living room or the decorator's living room that just happens to be in my house.

It is YOUR office in which you see your clients. You have built a relationship with your clients that includes a set of expectations. If you introduced elements to the office that were completely different from those expectations, then I would say that there are going to be some issues with your clients. If the elements you introduced are like you, like your office has been, if they are elements that continue or expand or enhance the feelings the office has had in the past, then you have introduced the right elements.

As for her comments about depressed people not being able to handle the colors . . . I go back to the set of expectations already established in your relationships with these people. If these colors are part of the decor they are already accustomed to, then they belong on the couch.

I would not spend another minute worrying about honoring her opinion. It doesn't sound like she honored yours and further, she is an interior decorator who had the nerve to lecture you on handling depressed clients. Seriously?!?!

You should read about the Color Theories of Luscher, and others since then. Your professional interior decorator or designer may have spent a great deal of time studying these subjects, so her advice may be in an area of psychology you haven't yet studied. Read up on those a bit, then take a fresh look at your office. Perhaps you might want to buy even more pillows for the sofa, with colors on two sides, so you could actually customize your office for each client.

I have studied the philosophy of color, and can tell you that very bright colors may feel unsettling to some people. Often beiges and browns can help people calm down and feel physically comfortable. Soft greens also make people feel good, feel alive. It's the number one color people want to see out of their bedroom windows.

There are color experts who can help you devise the best theraputic setting for your office. I worked in the mental health field for a while. One of our offices was for very young children. We could not use or wear bright colors while working with them because it would set them off and they would literally be jumping from one table to the next, running full-speed around the room, and jumping on our backs, hitting each other with things, and much more. Believe me, color makes a difference!

You ask if it is a good idea to ask a professionals advice. I find this kind of interesting given that both you and your visitor are professionals with different opinions in a matter which seems to be of a nature relevant to both of of your areas of expertise. As a therapist, you should be aware of hoe different colors can effect peoples moods and as a decorator, she should also be aware of the effects of different colors. From the way you worded your question, it seems to me that you look at the pillows with appreciation while she is looking at them more from a point of view of how they will effect your clients. Perhaps you could find a different use for the pillows you like so much while replacing them with something more beneficial to your clients. I also think you and the decorator could have a very interesting conversation about the dilemma you seem to be facing. I do believe that each of us can, from time to time, take advantage of the opinions of those who seem to have valid opinions. I also believe that there is nothing wrong with asking an opinion while not feeling obligated to act on that opinion.

The effect of the environment (surroundings) on people is a psychological matter, not a philosophical one. Philosophy considers more fundamental matters such as ethics, the nature of knowledge and the meaning of life. Psychology studies such things as human emotion and behavior, and environmental effects upon the psyche. the psychology forum would be a more pertinent place to ask your question. There is much scholarly material written about the importance of an appropriate setting and decor for therapy work. Perhaps you should avail yourself of some of it if you cannot bring yourself to consult a professional FTF. Basically she was probably right, so accept the possibility that your choice weas a bad one. Philosophically, unhappiness often results from our ideas being challenged. Tio find happiness, change your ideas. As the philosopher Bertrand Russel once said " it isn't things that bother us, it is our ideas about them that bother us."

Thanks for the 2 points and an opportunity to clarify the difference between psychology and philosophy. Good luck. It's only a bit of money. If you like the cushions, use them in your house, not your office.

Is it really good to ask a professionals "advise"?

~~~ First, the definition of a 'professional' is one who receives money for his specific labors.

It is not an indication, necessarily, of the 'quality' of his abilities, just that he can get folks to pay him.

Second, I don't know what you mean by "really good", but I'd say that it could be 'wise' to seek the advice of whatever 'experts/scholars' that you might trust, and with their 'opinons' as factors, shake well, and apply 'critical thought' (philosophy) and come to your own (tentative) opinions.

Silly lady who said that!

they are cushions!

your clients have bigger fish to fry. Dont even worry over this. she is a pro and should have thick skin, dont change a thing!

Well in general, professionals know a lot more about their area of expertise than non-professionals. I would turn to them, sure.