Emotional regulation techniques: A practical guide for therapists (and the humans we treat)
Summary
Apply environmental psychology principles by assessing how light, clutter, and layout influence mood, stress, and overall well-being.
Improve the impact of physical space on mental health by increasing natural light, incorporating natural elements, and creating spaces with clear purposes.
Prioritize changes to bedrooms and workspaces by reducing distractions, improving comfort, and supporting rest, focus, and productivity.
Help clients evaluate their environments during periods of transition, trauma, or emotional stagnation to identify opportunities for meaningful change.
Monitor emotional outcomes such as stress levels, sleep quality, focus, and perceived calm to determine which environmental changes are most effective.
There are so many ways therapists can support clients as they move towards mental and emotional wellness. But if you want a real, tangible way to help your clients improve their mental space, a great—and potentially unexpected—place to start? By exploring their physical space.
While many therapeutic approaches work from the inside out, environmental psychology does the opposite—focusing on the external as a way to make meaningful, lasting internal shifts. But what, exactly, is environmental psychology? What is the space impact on mental health, and how does our physical environment shape emotional well-being? And how can you leverage environmental psychology as a way to better support your clients—and help them not only improve their physical spaces, but their mental health in the process?
What is environmental psychology—and how can physical space impact mental health?
Before we get too deep into the impact of environmental psychology (and how to use it in your work with clients), let’s define what this branch of psychology actually is.
“Environmental psychology is the field that examines how the environment affects people and people affect the environment,” says Toby Israel, environmental psychology Ph.D. and author of Some Place Like Home: Using Design Psychology to Create Ideal Places.
Environmental psychology studies the relationship between people and their surroundings, as well as “how our physical surroundings—from light and color to layout and sound—influence mood, behavior, and well-being,” says psychotherapist and licensed clinical social worker Malaysia Harrell.
So, how does our physical space impact our mental health?
As it turns out, pretty profoundly—which helps explain why environmental psychology has become an increasingly important area of research and clinical interest.
From an immediate, present perspective, “the environments we live and work in can either regulate or dysregulate our nervous system,” says Harrell. For example, “cluttered, dark, or overstimulating spaces often trigger stress and anxiety, while open, orderly, and nature-inspired spaces promote calm, creativity, and a sense of control.”
Israel also notes that the physical spaces we inhabit in childhood can have a lasting impact on mental health—an impact that can last well into adulthood.
“For eons we’ve debated whether it’s ‘heredity or environment’ that has the greatest impact upon humans,” says Israel. “Typically we think of ‘the environment’ in this debate as the child’s social/psychological environment, rather than their physical environment.”
“The physical environment, however, is a rarely examined ‘hidden dimension’ full of messages and meanings about our place in the world,” Israel continues.
For example, “Early roots in decaying neighborhoods or homes can send a message that not only is one’s place, but one’s very ‘self’ is unworthy—a feeling that can linger in the psyche through adulthood if left unaddressed,” says Israel.
What environmental changes have the biggest impact on mental health?
Clearly, our physical environment is hugely influential; it can impact our mental health, how we feel about ourselves, and how we engage with the world. Understanding the impact of space on mental health is a core focus of environmental psychology and helps explain why changes to our surroundings can influence mood, behavior, and well-being.
But what if we’re not happy with our mental health? Can changing our physical environment drive the kinds of internal changes that lead to improved mental health?
“In my clinical work, I’ve seen how modifying one’s environment can be as transformative as a therapeutic breakthrough—because it creates alignment between the mind and the space it occupies,” says Harrell.
Obviously, the kinds of changes that will drive the best results will vary from person to person. But generally speaking, the environmental changes that stand to impact mental health the most include:
Adding natural light: One of the simplest changes you can make to your physical environment—and, from a mental health perspective, most beneficial—is simply opening your curtains. Why? “Natural light balances circadian rhythms and boosts serotonin,” says Harrell—which can help you get better sleep and improve your mood.
Introducing natural elements: Incorporating natural elements into your physical space can also have serious mental health-boosting benefits. “Plants, water features, or natural textures connect us to grounding energy,” says Harrell. For example, research has found that adding plants to an indoor space can help reduce stress and promote relaxation.
Creating intentional spaces: Another change that can deliver serious mental health benefits is creating intentional spaces within your physical environment—and then only using those spaces for their designated purpose.“Designating specific spaces for rest, reflection, or work helps restore boundaries that digital life often blurs,” says Harrell.
Decluttering: A cluttered space can feel overwhelming, both visually and psychologically, and taking time to organize and declutter can improve both your environment and your mental well-being. “Decluttering reduces cognitive overload and provides psychological relief,” says Harrell.
Increasing safety: It can be hard to feel mentally well if you don’t feel safe—physically or emotionally—in your physical space. As such, changing your environment to foster a deeper sense of safety (for example, investing in a security system for your home or asking a toxic roommate to move out) can be hugely impactful on mental health. “As with Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, there’s a hierarchy of place needs that must be addressed to support a person’s mental health and well-being—[including the need to feel safe],” says Israel.
What rooms and spaces impact mental health the most?
In addition to what changes you make to your environment, where you make those changes can also determine the overall impact on your mental health. Understanding how physical spaces affect mental health can help you identify which areas of your home or workplace may have the greatest influence on your well-being.
Environmental psychology suggests that certain spaces—particularly bedrooms and workspaces—can have an outsized influence on mood, stress levels, and daily functioning.
“The bedroom and workspace are the two most psychologically charged environments,” says Harrell.
And so, if you want to get the most psychological benefit for your effort, these two spaces are a great place to start.
So, what changes can you make to these rooms that will deliver a boost to your mental health?
“The bedroom is where we restore,” says Harrell. “If it’s filled with chaos or screens, rest becomes elusive.”
So, if you wanted to change your bedroom to support your mental health, you’d want to change the space to be more restful and restorative—like removing electronics or swapping loud colors and patterns for softer, more relaxing alternatives.
“The workspace is where many people tie their worth to productivity,” Harrell continues.
So, if you want to make your workspace a more mental health-supportive space, you’d want to make environmental changes that allow you to be more productive—and to feel better as you pursue that productivity.
For example, “reconfiguring it with soothing tones and supportive ergonomics can reduce burnout and foster balance,” says Harrell.
In addition, creating a more authentic, private space within your physical environment—whatever room or space that may be—can also be hugely impactful.
“Often I found that people crave private space,” says Israel. “Everyone needs a place where they can just ‘be’ themselves. “Depending upon the particular circumstances, this private space can be a bedroom, an office, a garden…[or even] a he or she-shed!”
Best practices for environmental psychology
Now that you understand what environmental psychology is—and how your physical environment can impact your mental health—let’s jump into how you can use environmental psychology in therapy to better support your clients.
Let’s take a look at some best practices on how to advise clients and work with them on changing their environments—and changing their mental state in the process:
Know when to recommend changes
As a therapist, you may be wondering when to recommend changes to a client’s physical environment as a way to improve mental health. And while there are a variety of situations where environmental changes could be supportive to a client’s mental health, there are certain situations where environmental psychology principles could be particularly helpful and impactful.
For example, certain scenarios where environmental changes can deliver a significant improvement to a client’s mental health include;
When clients are in major transition
“Issues around environmental change can be particularly acute for clients going through what I call ‘The Big ‘Ds’—divorce, the death of a loved one, disaster ([for example], a home destroyed by fire)—and other big life transitions that have caused uprooting,” says Israel.
During these times of transition, a client’s environment is going through significant change—often in ways that feel out of their control or against what they actually want and prefer. But they can also be an opportunity for the client to reshape their environment in a way that truly supports their mental health moving forward.
“Since, as one environmental psychology colleague has pointed out, ‘the house is a mirror of self,’ such transitions can be ideal times to help the client look at their life-journey past to present and identify what they want for their place-self in the future,” says Israel.
When clients feel stagnant or “stuck”
Environmental changes can also have a major impact on mental health “when clients feel ‘stuck,’ anxious, or emotionally stagnant,” says Harrell.
Why? When clients feel internally stuck and stagnant, it can often be difficult to see a way out. But “shifting their surroundings gives them a tangible starting point for internal change,” says Israel—and by making changes to their external environment, they can often shift their internal experience and find a way forward.
When clients are navigating trauma
Environmental changes can also be extremely supportive for clients navigating trauma. “For trauma survivors, creating predictability in their environment can reestablish a sense of safety that’s foundational to healing,” says Harrell.
How to assess the environment
Before you can determine how your client can change their environment to support better mental health, you need to understand how to assess their environment—and how that environment is impacting them mentally and emotionally.
“Interviewing the client is a crucial step in determining any impact the environment may be having on them as well as a way to determine if their space isn’t meeting their needs,” says Israel.
While there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to assessing a client’s environment, Harrell recommends asking detailed questions about their space and its influence on their mental health. For example, you might ask your client:
How do you feel when you walk into your space: energized, anxious, or depleted?
Where do you feel most grounded in your home?
Which spaces reflect your current emotional state?
What part of your environment makes you feel the most at peace—and why?
What part of your environment makes you feel the most stressed, anxious, and/or overwhelmed—and why?
Assessing your client’s current environment and the impact it’s having on their mental state will give you a clear idea of what’s working, what’s not working, and what changes they can make to their physical space to support improved mental health.
Let the client determine what changes are best for them
As a therapist, you can, of course, make specific, evidence-based suggestions on how clients can change their physical environment to support better mental health—for example, by bringing more natural light into their space or decluttering their office. But change is often most impactful when it comes from the client, not the therapist—so when leveraging environmental psychology, it’s also important to let the client come to their own understanding and solutions.
“As with the therapeutic process itself, the best way to help a client achieve an environment that supports their mental health is to engage them in a conversation whereby they, themselves, can achieve an ‘a-ha!’ insight that motivates them to make positive changes to their space,” says Israel.
How to measure impact
As your client changes their environment, it’s important to assess and measure the impact those changes are having on their mental health.
So, how do you track the impact? “I assess progress through emotional markers, reduced stress levels, improved sleep, enhanced focus, and self-reported calm,” says Harrell. “Clients often describe their environment as feeling ‘lighter,’ which directly corresponds with their mental and emotional release.”
By assessing the impact environmental changes are having on a client’s mental health, you can help the client understand what changes are having the biggest impact—as well as help them switch gears if the changes they’re making aren’t having the emotional or mental impact they were hoping for.
Leverage environmental psychology to better support your clients
As a therapist, environmental psychology is a helpful tool to have in your therapeutic toolbox. And now that you understand how your physical environment impacts mental health—and how changing your physical space can actually change your mental state—all that’s left to do is to start exploring this modality to better support your clients.
“Environmental design psychology offers a whole new area of practice that, like art therapy, can be used as a creative tool to deeply explore a client’s personal experience with the aim of achieving well-being,” says Israel.
Sources
Blume C., Garbazza C., & Spitschan, M. (2019). Effects of light on human circadian rhythms, sleep and mood. Somnologie (Berl).
Dzhambov, A.M., Lercher, P., Browning, M.H.E.M., Stoyanov, D., Petrova, N, et al. (2020). Does greenery experienced indoors and outdoors provide an escape and support mental health during the COVID-19 quarantine? Environ Res.
Harrell, M. (2026). Personal interview.
Israel, T. (2026). Personal interview.
McLeod, S. (2026). Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. SimplyPsychology.
ScienceDirect. (n.d.). Environmental psychology - an overview.
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