The theory behind the couch is that patients who are lying down are more relaxed and thus freer to talk, especially since they cannot see the analyst's reactions. Beyond this, what type of couch will best unlock the subconscious is a very subjective subject.

Some analysts opt for the most neutral, unobtrusive choice. "You wouldn't want a fire-engine-red couch," said David Gandler, an analyst with a Victorian oxblood-red couch who works at the psychiatric outpatient clinic at the St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center in Manhattan. "You don't want anything dramatically distracting for the patient."

Others believe that overt style can have a soothing and positive influence. "I'm turned off by the hard look of many analytic couches," said Sharon Messitte, a psychoanalyst who uses an earthy brown suede sofa. " I wouldn't want to get on them."

There is general agreement on at least one thing: a couch should not look too much like a bed.

"Enough erotic fantasies are going to come up anyhow," said Dr. Wayne Myers, a psychoanalyst and professor of psychiatry at New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center. "You don't want to program the fantasies people have about the couch."

Fledgling psychoanalysts must be analyzed themselves as part of their training, so most have already logged many hours on someone else's couch before they begin shopping for their own. Since a typical analysis, according to the American Psychoanalytic Association, is roughly four times a week for five years, comfort is a key concern. But psychologically speaking, there is much more going on. Or as Dr. Harvey Greenberg, a Manhattan psychiatrist, put it, "This is a Rorschach test for the analyst."