How Do I Review a Recording of My Own Practice Session?

To review a recording of your own practice, pick a short segment, listen to it three times with a different question each time, then write one thing you'd keep and one you'd try differently. Choose a single question to bring to your supervisor. Use recordings of peer role-play, never a real client without the approvals your program and site require.

This is a self-review routine for rehearsal. It does not rate you, it is not supervision, and it does not replace the forms or processes your program uses. Recording rules, storage and consent are set by your program and site. If you are not sure whether something may be recorded or kept, ask before you start.

Choose a segment

Pick two to five minutes, not the whole session. Choose one:

• A moment you felt pleased with and can't quite say why.
• A moment where the conversation changed direction.
• A moment you wanted to say something else.

A short segment can be replayed enough to notice things a single pass won't. Some public program materials ask students to reflect on their own sessions and prepare questions before supervision, and some programs use recorded segments in supervision. This routine rehearses that habit on practice recordings; it is not a program's required process.

Three listens, three questions

Counselors differ on how to organize this, and some programs have their own forms. This is a rehearsal frame, not a rubric, and it contains no scores.

A short fictional rep

Setup: A student recorded a six-minute practice conversation with a classmate who played an adult talking about a strained friendship. They chose minute three.

Classmate (in character): "I don't even know why I'm telling you this."

Student: "It sounds like it's been on your mind. Can you say more about the friendship?"

Notes from the three listens:

• First: Felt tense. Voice sounded fast.
• Second: Their line slowed on "telling you this." Pace dropped at 3:12.
• Third: My reply came right after, with no pause. Kept: naming that it's been on their mind. Would redo: wait a few seconds before asking.

Question for supervision: "How do you decide how long to wait after someone slows down like that?"

The notes record what happened and one choice, not a conclusion about skill.

Two harder branches

You only notice mistakes. Add one required line: "One thing I'd keep." If you can't find one, ask your practice partner what they noticed.

The recording is hard to hear. Use a transcript your partner types from memory or notes you write right after. Rehearse the same three questions on the notes.

Common mistakes

• Listening to the whole thing once. Short segments, several passes.
• Judging yourself in every sentence. Keep the first listen free of fixing.
• Skipping the other person's words. Their change in pace or tone is part of the conversation.
• Treating one example as a pattern. One minute is one minute.
• Storing or sharing recordings casually. Follow your program's rules for where they live and who sees them.

Printable worksheet

Redo prompt: Re-record the same moment with a peer and change only the pause after their line. Compare how the conversation differs.

Practicing this

Role-play practice explains how to set up a practice conversation with a peer. Handling silence is useful for the pause the example above rehearses.

Try a free SeatTime conversation with a fictional AI client, then write your own three-listen notes about it. Feedback is AI-generated and can be wrong, and the demo may use a different situation.

Sources and further reading

• East Carolina University: Clinical supervision guide and forms, one program's page listing a form on which the student reflects on each counseling session (the page does not say the session is recorded). Program-specific; this guide does not copy its form or its rating scale. Checked October 24, 2026.
• BYU School of Social Work: Supervision preparation checklist, a program checklist that includes self-review before supervision. Program-specific; used only for the idea of preparing a self-review. Checked October 24, 2026.

Sources are context, not endorsement. All conversations in this guide are original fiction.

Frequently asked questions