Overhead Lighting: Why the hate ?

[PsyDr]

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Anyone have any insight into why most therapists turn off the overhead lights, and replace them with lamps? I’d say it’s a vanity thing, with down lights accentuating wrinkles, but that habit isn’t present in medicine or the law. Something about the culture of therapists? Idk

 

[oliversacks4thewin]

$$$.

It's almost always the answer lol 🤷‍♂️

 

[Fan_of_Meehl]

$$$.

It's almost always the answer lol 🤷‍♂️

Had a mentor who said that the answer to every question in mental health is either $$$ or serotonin.

 

[Harry3990]

for me the answer is reduced eyestrain and preferring the ambience of softer, warmer lighting which usually isn't what is coming from office/clinic/hospital overheads.

 

[Shiori]

For me, it's to soften the sterile, austere look of my office since I work in a hospital. I think I would use natural lighting if I had control of my office.

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

Fluorescent can cast a weird tinge on things, though the white white bulbs can be too bright. I just use the overhead (white LED) in my office bc they work well enough.

 

[singasongofjoy]

1) clients say overhead lights, especially fluorescent lights, feel more intimidating / more "clinical" -- or flat out say they have trouble tolerating florescent lights for long (I work with a lot of neurodivergent folks)
2) sitting under florescent lights all day, especially when you add in the glare from overhead lights on screens, is a recipe for headache. (double negative points if you wear glasses and can't seem to escape having some tiny scratches on them no matter how new they are).

 

[Sanman]

Not likely the answer that is correct. However:

The Color Lab Uncovers the Soothing Effects of Light

Veronica Then wore an electroencephalogram, or EEG, cap and stood in front of a black curtain with a white square placed behind her like a target. Studio lights beamed down from the ceiling as a panel of judges watched. The judges were anonymous, clad in white lab coats and white facemasks.

www.ucdavis.edu

I tend to prefer softer yellow lights for therapy or mindfulness based stress reduction. I also prefer green or blue walls. Earth tones seem to reduce stress per the studies I have read. It has also influenced my home design.

 

[WisNeuro]

Not my default, but I have alternative lighting for when the claimants bitch about the lighting. It's a pretty good PVT/SVT in and of itself.

 

[Fan_of_Meehl]

Not my default, but I have alternative lighting for when the claimants bitch about the lighting. It's a pretty good PVT/SVT in and of itself.

There is absolutely no substitute for years of clinical experience. The things that aren't in the books or journal articles...could fill a book.

"Assessing and Managing Pseudo-PTSD and Pseudo-engagement in Veterans Affairs Mental Health Practice: How to Get Fired Inside of Three Months" by Fan_of_ Meehl.

Someday, man....someday...

 

[Doctor Eliza]

I personally like a lot of light, so I've always used the overhead lights. Occasionally I'll have a client request that I turn them off. But this week I moved into a swanky new office with dimmable lights. Pretty fancy.

 

[The Cinnabon]

Overhead lighting looks lame and fluorescents in particularly are quite ugly. Not really any deeper than that for me. Also not worth a battle if a patient cares one way or another.

 

[PsyDr]

The dimmed lights always seemed very Quagmire-y. Might be a gender difference

 

[medium rare]

Anyone have any insight into why most therapists turn off the overhead lights, and replace them with lamps? I’d say it’s a vanity thing, with down lights accentuating wrinkles, but that habit isn’t present in medicine or the law. Something about the culture of therapists? Idk

Fluorescent lighting is god-awful.

 

[thebalmofhurtminds]

At my current job, people act like overhead lighting is the devil. There are literally fights with facilities because of the constant requests for more lamps. I recognize that I probably don't care more than the average person, but it seems very much ado about nothing to me.

 

[BuckeyeLove]

Backlighting is just so much more pleasant to me. I don't think I've turned on an overhead light in my house or office in 15 years.

 

[cara susanna]

I have terrible eyesight so I definitely need the overhead lights on. But a lot of my colleagues use lamps instead.

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

Not my default, but I have alternative lighting for when the claimants bitch about the lighting. It's a pretty good PVT/SVT in and of itself.

I once had a couple show up in DARK sunglasses, both of them. Those wrap around elongated ones from the 90s. The spouse wore sunglasses so his partner “wouldn’t feel weird”. The spouse failed every single PVT/SVT…shocker, right?

 

[WisNeuro]

I once had a couple show up in DARK sunglasses, both of them. Those wrap around elongated ones from the 90s. The spouse wore sunglasses so his partner “wouldn’t feel weird”. The spouse failed every single PVT/SVT…shocker, right?

Sounds about right. I like the cases where they need sunglasses in my office, but PI reports show them outside in bright sunshine for hours on end with no problem.

 

[R. Matey]

IMHO, It's table setting. Low light facilitates socially intimate exchanges and, for many people, feels more comfortable. Why else do restaurants often have low lighting? You need to see what you're doing in medicine so bright overhead lighting makes sense. Many law offices are in repurposed houses so that's more of a mixed bag.

 

[AcronymAllergy]

Ultimately, at least with the folks I know who've used it and as has been said above, it's to try to facilitate increased comfort in the patient and foster a setting for more easily-established rapport. And at least for folks in VA, it's one of the few ways a clinician can actually exert some control over their office. You may need twelve forms and approval from the medical center director to get an office fridge or a second computer monitor, but a floor lamp can be a bit easier to swing.

Personally, I don't mind overhead lights unless they're the super bright, super white, super sterile version of fluorescent. And even then, those can sometimes be great for testing. I actually also appreciate in many instances that it makes the setting seem more medical/clinical than cozy.

But if they flicker, it just sucks all around.

 

[EnPsychlopedia]

I don't even turn on overhead lights in my home, if I can avoid it. I just feel like they set a more activating mood than I tend to prefer. I subsist on soft-warm lamps and natural light coming through windows. Overhead lights (especially if they are cool) just don't do it for me.

 

[smalltownpsych]

For my testing case this morning, the overhead lights will be on. I think that’s pretty much a standardized administration. For therapy I just use the softer lights to create a calmer environment. Definitely not dark or dim though and I get lots of natural sunlight with windows on two sides of my office so that’s nice.

 

[ThatPsyGuy]

Cause they probably don't want to feel like this mid session:

Super intense lighting can suck. Softer lighting can create a softer atmosphere.

but that habit isn’t present in medicine or the law

Have you read a book/watched a sitcom recently where the main character is anxious or something?

You see a lot of people reference the "overbearing florescent bulbs beaming down mercilessly among them" when a character enters a medical establishment. Or even in TV shows, you hear the buzzing of florescent lights as an ominous tone.

The habit of replacing overhead lighting isn't present in medicine or the law because they are among the impetus of the "ominous florescent lighting" trope (behind the office cubicle, of course).

 

[PsyDr]

Cause they probably don't want to feel like this mid session:

Super intense lighting can suck. Softer lighting can create a softer atmosphere.

Have you read a book/watched a sitcom recently where the main character is anxious or something?

You see a lot of people reference the "overbearing florescent bulbs beaming down mercilessly among them" when a character enters a medical establishment. Or even in TV shows, you hear the buzzing of florescent lights as an ominous tone.

The habit of replacing overhead lighting isn't present in medicine or the law because they are among the impetus of the "ominous florescent lighting" trope (behind the office cubicle, of course).

Decent take, but I think it may be more nuanced, maybe along gender lines. Moving outside the accepted aspects of professional settings = some variability in response. I suspect there is some interaction between the variables of gender match, age discrepancy, etc. And I wonder if the "low light" thing leads some patients to misinterpret the situation.

*FYI: I don't super care about this topic. It's just been slow, on here, recently