Abstract
Psychotherapists utilise several different seating arrangements in session, including face to face, side by side and the couch. This research investigated seating arrangement’s impact on participants’ ratings and perceptions of therapeutic alliance formation. A mixed‐methods design was used. Study I was a randomised experiment (N = 60 university students) comparing face to face and side by side seating arrangements, two history‐taking tasks (talking or questionnaires) and gender, in an analogue initial therapy session. Therapeutic alliance was assessed using the helping alliance questionnaire‐II. Study II used qualitative interviews to explore the experiences of five clients who had previously attended psychotherapy. Participants in the face to face questionnaires condition had significantly lower alliance ratings than face to face talking (p = .002) or side by side questionnaires (p = .039) conditions, regardless of gender. Those in the face to face talking condition were significantly likelier to attend a second session (p = .046) compared to the other three conditions. Participants identified eye contact, proxemics, power dynamics and development of therapeutic alliance over time as important factors regarding seating arrangement. Sitting face to face was more conducive for developing a good therapeutic alliance when using conversational history‐taking, while sitting side by side was more effective when completing questionnaires. Practitioners should consider the effects of using different seating arrangements and history‐taking approaches prior to working with clients.