For counseling, social work, and addiction-counseling students and early-career practitioners
Practice MI with fictional clients who push back.
Short text conversations with fictional clients in IOP, outpatient, and community health settings, with feedback on your reflections and questions.
5 minutes. Text-based. No account or card. For adults in the US.
Text-only practice with fictional clients, for adult learners: graduate students and early-career practitioners. Feedback is AI-generated and can be wrong.
Your instructor only sees what you choose to share.
A little practice. A useful next step.
Roll with it
- Marcus, client:
Before you start with the speech: I drink. I know I drink. I’ve never missed a shift.
- You, counselor:
You’ve heard the speech before, and from where you sit, the drinking hasn’t cost you your work.
Example conversation and feedback · Fictional client
How it works
A workshop slide on OARS isn’t the same as “I don’t have a problem.”
The fictional clients are written to respond to how you talk with them. A reflection that lands opens them up a little. A lecture, a warning, or a third question in a row makes them dig in, the way someone who isn’t ready yet might.
Every client is fictional. It’s practice for you, not a tool for working with real clients.
- 01
Choose a moment.
One fictional client, one skill to practice. Pick a situation you want to feel more comfortable with.
- 02
Say it your way.
Type what you would say. Take your time, ask for a hint, or rewind and try another response.
- 03
Find your next step.
See what worked and what you could try differently. Give it another go while it’s fresh.
The conversations
Start with a moment you know.
Mandated clients
“The judge said so.”
Marcus is in a court-ordered IOP and doesn’t think he has a problem. Find the person behind the mandate.
Sustain talk
Roll with it.
Marcus pushes back before you’ve said a word. Reflect his sustain talk without arguing.
Ambivalence
Both sides.
Reflect Marcus’s ambivalence in one double-sided reflection, without pushing for change.
Gambling
“The bills are paid.”
Dev’s sports betting is taking over his evenings. Reflect both sides without telling him he has a problem.
Values
Fourteen months.
Bree is in recovery. Evoke what matters to her, in her own words.
Documentation
“Don’t put that in your notes.”
Marcus asks you to leave something out of the record. Be honest about what you can and can’t promise.
The feedback
Know what to try next.
A reflection that landed. A question that changed the subject. A chance to stay with a feeling a little longer. After each conversation, the AI coach walks through specific moments with you.
Keep what worked. Try a different line, then try the moment again.
Feedback is AI-generated and can be wrong. Each note points to your words, so you can judge it yourself.
About the feedbackAnother way to respond
- Dev, client:
To be clear, the bills are paid. I’m not one of those people who can’t stop.
- You, counselor:
You should look at how much you’ve actually lost this year.
Example feedback after practice
What's inside
The whole library, not just the demo.
89 scenarios with 25 fictional clients across 8 tracks — each scenario with beginner, intermediate, and advanced versions. Practice microskills (reflections, open questions, summarizing) and MI/OARS moves, then bring a transcript to your site or faculty supervisor.
Foundations
13 scenariosFoundations microskills, one at a time: attending, reflections, open questions, summarizing, and holding the frame of a session.
e.g. “Just be there” · “Paraphrase every turn”
Insight
4 scenariosInsight: meaning, gentle challenge, immediacy, and interpretation once the story is on the table.
e.g. “What it means” · “Name the discrepancy”
Hard moments
18 scenariosHard moments: tears, silence, demands for advice, and personal questions.
e.g. “Sit with it” · “Just tell me what to do”
Rupture & repair
7 scenariosRupture and repair: notice the strain, own your part, and invite the client back in.
e.g. “That makes sense” · “He went quiet”
Culture & identity
10 scenariosCulture and identity: broaching race, religion, gender, disability, and class when they matter, and following the client's lead.
e.g. “A real nurse” · “It's never been the problem”
Modalities
17 scenariosModalities: MI and OARS, CBT, solution-focused work, DBT skills, and trauma grounding.
e.g. “Both sides” · “Roll with it”
Couples & families
9 scenariosCouples and families, plus telehealth: more than one person in the room, or a screen between you.
e.g. “Slow it down” · “You're taking her side”
Risk & ethics
11 scenariosRisk and ethics: asking about suicide risk, safety planning, mandated reporting, duty to warn, and boundaries.
Start free
Try the demo (Roll with it with Marcus) with no account. Then a free account adds three more scenarios with full feedback, no card:
- Name the feeling — with Priya
- Both sides — with Marcus
- Sit with it — with Denise
Every client is fictional. SeatTime is optional practice outside your program. The AI coach can be wrong — its notes point to your words so you can judge for yourself.
An honest note
How the scenarios are built.
- Built around common counseling microskills — attending, reflections of feeling, content, and meaning, open questions, summarizing, MI/OARS, and broaching.
- Every client is a fictional composite — not a real person or a real case. Please never enter real client information.
- The feedback is AI-generated — it points to specific moments so you can judge it yourself, and it can be wrong. Read about its limits.
- Optional practice, nothing more — outside your program, between classes. It doesn’t count toward any program, placement, or licensing requirement. Bring questions to your faculty or site supervisor.
- Your words stay yours — conversations are saved to give feedback and track progress. We don't use them to train our own models; our AI providers process your text to generate replies. Privacy Policy has the details, and you can download your data anytime.
- Monthly is $15, cancel anytime — with a 14-day money-back window on your first payment. Email us within 14 days and it’s done.
Pricing
Start free. Keep going for $15/month.
Text-based practice, available to adults in the United States. Try one free practice with no account, create a free account for three scenarios, or subscribe for every available scenario.
Free
$0
Three scenarios to practice as often as you like, with full feedback. Create an account. No card needed.
Create free accountMonthly
$15/mo
Every available scenario · Text practice up to a daily fair-use limit · Feedback after every conversation. Access starts when you subscribe and renews monthly until you cancel. Cancel any time in account settings; access continues through your paid period. Terms
14-day money-back guarantee
Try your first paid month. If it’s not for you, email us within 14 days of your first payment for a full refund. No questions asked.
Once per person. A full refund ends paid access and stops renewal. Refund details
Practice is subject to daily usage and shared service capacity limits. Responses and feedback may pause when a limit is reached. There are no per-use charges.
For programs — group access for schools and programs. Coordinators see group usage counts only.
Try a free practice first — five minutes, no account or card.
A few questions
Before you give it a go.
What is SeatTime?
Text-only practice with fictional clients, for adult learners. You type what you would say; the AI writes the fictional client’s replies and your feedback afterward. Feedback is AI-generated and can be wrong. It’s optional practice outside your program, and it isn’t a place to discuss real clients.
Does it count toward my program or license?
No. It’s optional practice outside your program and doesn’t count toward any program, placement, or licensing requirement.
Who is it for?
Adult learners: counseling, social work, and addiction-counseling students, interns placed at outpatient or IOP programs, and early-career practitioners.
Is it voice?
Not today. Practice is text only: you type what you would say, with time to think and try another response.
What if the AI feedback gets it wrong?
Sometimes it will. Each note points to your words, so you can judge it for yourself and talk it over with your instructor or site supervisor. You can flag feedback that feels off.
Do I need an account or a card?
Neither for your first practice. A free account gives you three scenarios with full feedback. You only need a card if you choose the monthly plan.
Will my instructor see my practice?
Only if you share it. SeatTime doesn’t send your conversations or feedback to your program. You can export a conversation as a PDF to bring to supervision.
How is my practice data used?
We save your conversations to provide feedback and track your progress. We don’t use them to train our own models. AI providers process your text to generate responses; our privacy policy explains the details. Please use fictional scenarios only.
Try a conversation. See what you learn.
Five minutes, just for practice. No account or card.
Already know you want more? See pricing