The mental health simulation allowed us to practice the interview process with three clients with differing mental health diagnoses. I believe that the experience was positive, as we were able to see the physical manifestations of clients with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depressive disorder in a realistic, yet controlled setting. The immediate feedback after each scenario was very helpful due to the encounter being fresh in our minds and having the client we were working with explain to us how they felt during the simulation as well. The two other students and I worked together very well during each scenario; we played off of each other’s questions and all participated in client education throughout the entire interview. The feedback that we received from each client was that each one of us had a calming presence and seemed genuine about wanting to get to know the client.

The biggest obstacle that my group faced was establishing rapport with the client before we began to ask more difficult questions. This issue was partially due to the time limit placed on the simulation, however, one client stated that they didn’t want to open up and share their story with us because we started the interview with the suicide assessment. Another struggle that I encountered was during the interview with the client diagnosed with bipolar disorder; I am a very calm individual but also extremely empathetic, therefore the elated mood and frantic movements around the room drained a lot of energy out of myself that I felt it was hard to concentrate on getting the information I needed from the client because I felt I was mentally shutting down. I am glad to now know what my initial response during this encounter was so I can prepare myself better in the future when I do have these experiences with clients in a real life setting.