‘Indwelling’: The role of the built environment in the counselling relationship and process.

MSc in Counselling Research Study by Joyce Nicoll.

This research study featured Charis counselling, a purpose-built counselling centre designed to implicitly convey core values of acceptance, worth, hope, peace and belonging.

Various counselling models, and perhaps supremely person-centred theory, suggest that ‘conditions’ for growth in a relationship is when the client experiences the ‘core conditions’ of congruence, acceptance and empathic understanding.

The aims of the study were to explore whether and how the implicit presence of the core values can be relationally experienced by the client (and the counsellor) when ‘concretised’ in the built environment.

Key findings from the analysis paper entitled ‘Building shapes to stimulate connection, choice and change’ can be viewed on request from Charis.