OARScoach User Guide

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Open your browser and go here. You'll land directly on the Client Setup screen where you configure your session and enter your access code before starting. If you've lost your code, contact billmatulich@mac.com.

 Client Setup — Section 1

The Client Setup screen has two parts: Client Profile and Training Options.

Preset Scenario Choose a preset client scenario from the dropdown menu. If you'd prefer to build your own, select "Custom (fill in fields below)" and complete the Client Profile fields:

• First Name — give your client a name
• Age — enter the client's age
• Presenting Topic — what the client is coming in about
• Interpersonal Style — how the client communicates (e.g., defensive, uses humor to deflect)
• Change Talk Seeds — reasons the client might want to change
• Sustain Talk Seeds — reasons the client might stay the same

Training Options

• Skill Focus — select the MI skill you want to practice
• Difficulty — Standard, Challenging, or Resistant

Access Code Enter your access code in the field at the bottom of the setup screen.

Starting the session Click “Start Session.” The Practice Session area will activate and you'll be prompted to type your first response to the client. Enter your response in the text field and press “Enter” or click “Send.” The simulated client will then respond.

The session structure Sessions typically run 9 to 12 exchanges. Continue the conversation as you would in a real MI session — reflecting, asking open questions, affirming, summarizing. When the session concludes you'll see a prompt: "Session complete. Would you like feedback on this session, or continue for another round of 10 exchanges? Type feedback for analysis or continue to keep practicing."

 Type "feedback" at the session complete prompt and OARScoach will begin preparing your analysis. Feedback takes a few seconds to prepare — you'll see three bouncing dots while OARScoach is working. The feedback is organized into the following sections:

Micro-skill coding Each of your turns is coded using MITI categories. A quick reference guide explaining each code is included at the end of every feedback report.

Totals and R:Q Ratio OARScoach tallies your total reflections and questions and calculates your Reflection-to-Question ratio. Proficiency targets are noted — for example, an R:Q ratio of 2:1 or better is the proficiency standard. Your percentage of complex reflections and open questions are also calculated.

Spirit Fidelity OARScoach rates your session on the four PACE dimensions — Partnership, Acceptance, Compassion, and Evocation — plus Curiosity. Each dimension is rated and briefly explained.

Skill Focus deep dive This section provides detailed analysis of the specific skill you selected at the start of the session — what you did well, where you missed opportunities, and concrete example phrasings to try in your next session.

Change Talk dynamics OARScoach tracks how change talk and sustain talk moved through the session and evaluates how well your responses supported or missed emerging change talk.

Evaluative summary and micro-goal A summary of your overall performance with one specific, actionable micro-goal to carry into your next practice session.

MITI Quick Reference A complete reference guide to all MITI codes is included at the end of every feedback report for easy reference.

 OARScoach is not just a feedback generator. It's an interactive coach. During and after the feedback phase you can:

Ask OARScoach to justify its coding If you disagree with how a turn was coded, type something like "Can you explain why you coded Turn 4 as SR rather than CR?" OARScoach will walk through its reasoning. This is one of the most valuable and underused features of the tool.

Ask OARScoach to correct a code If you believe a turn was miscoded, say so. Type "I think Turn 6 should be coded CR, not SR — here's why." OARScoach will engage with your reasoning and either defend its original coding or acknowledge the correction.

Responding to clarification prompts OARScoach will sometimes pause and ask what you'd like to do next — for example, whether you want to continue the session, start a new one, or ask questions about the feedback. Read the prompt carefully and respond with your choice.

If feedback is cut off mid-delivery On longer sessions, feedback may occasionally be cut off before it completes. If this happens, type "continue" and OARScoach will resume where it left off.

 At the end of a session, you can export the full transcript and feedback as a PDF. Click the Export button to download. The PDF includes the complete session transcript, all micro-skill coding, your totals and ratios, the full feedback report, and the MITI Quick Reference. The exported PDF is useful for supervision conversations, self-study, or keeping a record of your progress over time.

 Continuing beyond the standard session length At the session complete prompt, type "continue" instead of "feedback" to keep practicing with the same client for another round of 10 exchanges. You can do this multiple times before requesting feedback.

Resuming a session after feedback After receiving feedback, you can choose to resume the session with the same client rather than starting fresh. OARScoach will drop back into character and continue from where the conversation left off.

Narrowing your skill focus Rather than practicing all MI skills at once, select a specific skill from the Skill Focus dropdown before clicking Start Session. OARScoach will tailor its feedback specifically to that skill. You can change your skill focus at the start of each new session, but not during a session.

Building a custom scenario Select "Custom (fill in fields below)" from the scenario menu and complete the Client Profile fields. The more detail you provide:  interpersonal style, change talk seeds, sustain talk seeds, the more realistic and useful the simulation will be.

Changing skill focus between sessions You can select a different skill focus at the start of each new session. There is no need to stick with the same skill across multiple sessions.

 Session limits Individual subscriptions include 200 practice sessions per year. Your session count resets on the anniversary of your subscription date. If you reach your limit before the reset date, you'll see a message letting you know your reset date. Contact billmatulich@mac.com if you need additional sessions.

Lost access code If you can't locate your access code, contact billmatulich@mac.com with the email address you used to subscribe and your code will be resent.