A Rhode Island Therapist’s Nature-Oriented Office Is a Welcome Balm Amid the Pandemic

With its lean-to shape and unassuming materials, this rustic cabin helps clients stay grounded.

Nov 18, 2020 - 00:51
A Rhode Island Therapist’s Nature-Oriented Office Is a Welcome Balm Amid the Pandemic

With its lean-to shape and unassuming materials, this rustic cabin helps clients stay grounded.

A slatted screen and stacks of firewood shield the front of Ryan Post’s cabin in Little Compton, Rhode Island, against the north wind and snow in winter. As the cold temperatures wane, so does the firewood, in what designer Jason Wood calls a

Even clients with an aversion to therapy look forward to their sessions with Ryan Post. Rather than usher them into an airless office with unremarkable furniture and fluorescent lights, Ryan meets them in an airy, 470-square-foot cabin set in a field amid towering trees. Two armchairs face a comforting wood-burning stove, and a wide mahogany bench allows for stretching out. Sometimes sessions take place outside, especially these days. 

A slatted screen and stacks of firewood shield the front of Ryan Post’s cabin in Little Compton, Rhode Island, against the north wind and snow in winter. As the cold temperatures wane, so does the firewood, in what designer Jason Wood calls a

A slatted screen and stacks of firewood shield the front of Ryan Post’s cabin in Little Compton, Rhode Island, against the north wind and snow in winter. As the cold temperatures wane, so does the firewood, in what designer Jason Wood calls a "seasonal striptease."

Photo: Nat rea

As a psychotherapist who spent much of his career treating teens in Colorado’s backcountry, Ryan believes deeply in the healing power of nature. When he relocated with his family to the 75-acre property in southeastern Rhode Island where his wife grew up, he saw an opportunity to forge a practice that merges 60-minute sessions with experiences that take advantage of the outdoors. 

French doors open above a mahogany bench onto the deck (below), which is oriented with the equinox path.

French doors open above a mahogany bench onto the deck (below), which is oriented with the equinox path. "I read that in Japan, builders spend seasons on the land observing where the sun rises and sets throughout the year," says Ryan. "I asked Jason to consider that in siting the cabin."

Photo: Nat rea

Ryan asked Jason Wood, principal and founder of design/build firm From [in] Form, to create a cabin about two hundred yards from the family’s home to serve as a rustic therapy office. Taking cues from Ryan’s nature-oriented approach, Wood designed a structure built of charred Douglas fir and topped with a corrugated Cor-Ten steel roof. The materials will develop a patina, blending further into the landscape. 

Ryan's choice of a white stove by Vermont Castings influenced Wood’s decision to dye the concrete floor blue. The chairs and pillows are from West Elm.

Ryan's choice of a white stove by Vermont Castings influenced Wood’s decision to dye the concrete floor blue. The chairs and pillows are from West Elm.

Photo: Nat rea

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