For counseling, social work and MFT trainees
How Should I Prepare for My First Practicum Supervision Meeting?
Bring questions about roles, communication and feedback to your first supervision meeting. Use a suggested agenda before you have a case to present.
Text-only practice with fictional clients, for adult learners (graduate students and early-career practitioners). Feedback is AI-generated and can be wrong.
For your first practicum supervision meeting, bring your program handbook, any supervision agreement you have been given, your schedule and a short question list. Ask how to request help, what to prepare each week and how feedback will work. Use this suggested agenda to start the conversation, even if you have not met clients yet.
This page concerns setting up the working relationship. It is not a case-presentation template or instructions for managing a real client. Adapt the questions with your assigned supervisor and program.
Start with the agreement
The NASW/ASWB supervision standards, Standard 2 recommend agreement on goals, responsibilities, time frames and how communication problems will be addressed. These are professional supervision guidelines, not your university's syllabus.
For CACREP entry-level counseling programs, 2024 Section 4.G–H requires a fieldwork handbook and written supervision agreements addressing roles and emergency procedures. Ask where your program keeps those documents. For MSW or MFT placement, ask for your own program's equivalent materials rather than importing a counseling program's rules.
A suggested first-meeting agenda
| Topic | Question to bring | Note to leave with |
|---|---|---|
| Responsibilities | Which decisions should I bring to you before acting? | Agreed scope and where to find it |
| Between meetings | How do I reach the designated person for an urgent concern? | Approved contact and backup process |
| Preparation | What should I bring next time, and through which system? | Format, deadline and approved location |
| Feedback | How will you give feedback, and how can I ask for clarification? | Agreed next step when something is unclear |
| Coordination | Which questions go to you, my course instructor or the placement office? | Contact by role |
| Schedule | What should I do if a meeting or placement day changes? | Rescheduling and notification process |
Use this as a personal question sheet, not a replacement supervision contract. Leave answers blank until you have discussed them. Keep real-client information out of this general planning sheet and any rehearsal tool.
Rehearse asking one concrete question
Try this fictional trainee opening with a classmate:
"I have read the handbook, but I am unsure who to contact between meetings. Could we walk through the approved process and who covers if you are unavailable?"
Then rehearse a follow-up when the answer is unclear:
"Could I repeat the steps back to check I understood? I would like to write down the approved contact route."
For an MFT placement, add a question about preparing material involving more than one participant. For an MSW placement, ask how the field instructor and any workplace manager divide their responsibilities. These are prompts to clarify your setting, not assumptions about how it operates.
Leave with a short action list
Before finishing, ask to confirm the next meeting, what to bring and any unresolved question. Write each action beside the person responsible and the agreed date. If you did not settle an issue, label it "still to confirm" rather than treating a guess as permission.
For optional client-conversation rehearsal afterward, see how to practice with fictional role-plays. SeatTime offers text reps with fictional AI clients. It is not supervision, and its practice does not count toward practicum, field or licensure hours. Keep your actual supervision with the people your program has assigned.
Frequently asked questions
What if I have not met any clients yet?
Use the meeting to ask about responsibilities, the contact process, approved records and the next meeting. Bring one learning question; you do not need to invent a case.
Should I bring a recording to the first meeting?
Ask first. Confirm what your supervisor wants and the approved consent, storage and sharing process before preparing any real-client material. Do not put recordings or client details into SeatTime.
What can I say if I am nervous?
Try: I would like to understand what you expect me to bring each week and how to ask for help between meetings. This is a suggested opening, not a required script.
Can SeatTime provide my practicum supervision?
No. SeatTime is optional text rehearsal with fictional clients and AI-generated feedback that can be wrong. It does not provide supervision or count toward practicum, field or licensure hours.
Try a five-minute practice conversation
SeatTime is a text-only practice simulator: you type to a fictional AI client, then read AI-generated feedback on what you did. No account or card needed for the free exercise.
Start the free practice exerciseThe demo is a fictional client conversation, not a supervision meeting.
Text-only practice with fictional clients, for adult learners (graduate students and early-career practitioners). Feedback is AI-generated and can be wrong. It's optional practice outside your program and doesn't count toward any program, placement, or licensing requirement. Use fictional details only. Your supervisor's guidance comes first.
Choosing practice for a course or cohort? See program pricing and group access for counseling, MSW and MFT trainees.