Absolutely, it is a requirement in therapy (sarcasm included). While yes, there are couches in the office, they are mainly for your comfort in which you may choose to sit or lie down. The concept for laying on a couch in therapy stems from psychoanalytic practice believing that if the client was not facing the therapist they were more open to free association. Free association is essentially where the client is able to talk about their thoughts and feelings without the need to censor what is said or feel as if the therapist were “judging” them should a facial expression or body language be misread. As far as talking about your feelings, that part is also up to you. Some may think it cliché to talk about emotions in therapy but the fact is, our feelings impact our thoughts and the ways in which we interact with others. While there is evidence to prove that learning to express emotions in a healthy way is beneficial, at Project Ember Counseling we believe in client autonomy and letting you decide what we discuss.