Mock Sessions

If you have read any of the previous blogs I have posted, you would know I am currently a part of an Online Masters Counseling program. The way classes work is one course will last for a full five weeks with one week off between that one and the next one. This continues this way until the program is completed., even if a course class session lands on a holiday you are still required to make it work.

Anyways this previous course I was enrolled in was called Counseling Skills in which required a weekly recorded practice mock session with a mock client. Requirements for the first four weeks were that sessions should be at least 10-15 minutes long, in where we needed to look and act professional while presenting a new learned different skill set each week and put the skills to use to where they could be clearly seen throughout the video, and the client had to have a backstory of 18 years or older and no family member. Then the fifth and final week the session had to be 30 minutes long and required all taught skills to be reflected and shown, while client came to the end of their set goal, and we properly end the sessions. As I began thinking on who I could ask to be my mock client we were then informed later into the first week of the course that restrictions were modified due to COVID which then meant a family member was allowed to be a mock client due to many were having problems finding someone in person to be a client.

With this new set of rules enforced I had the perfect client, my twin sister.

Now I knew I wanted to use my sister out of convenience and comfortability, but I realized quickly even with the mock client being someone I knew the fact I knew I was being recorded for others to evaluate me was stuck in the back of my mind.

I honestly thought it was going to be extremely strange watching myself on video, but immediately realized it was necessary and a way I could see where I needed to improve myself but also see where skills were used and to the best I could and how they helped. After rewatching the first recorded session I could tell my rigid posture and being too focused on the correct thing to do and say hindered progress and my classmates noticed this as well. When it came to discussion time this help for the next session. Instead of focusing on my peers’ opinions and what I thought my professor wanted to see I immersed myself into the counseling role as my mock client, my sister, talked about her concerning issue and what I could do and say to guide her through her issues to overcome the overall set goal she was striving for.

Once that 30-minute fifth week session I worried over came into play the time went by fast as the conversation and therapeutic process took place.

It was quite fun and a unique experience. It showed me just how glad I am to be on this journey no matter the outcome.

How would you feel if you were doing this? If you were the mock client?