“I Don't Believe Therapy Helps”: Build a Challenging Role-Play with a Custom AI Client

“Someone sent me here, but I don't think anything will change.” A statement like this may tempt a therapist to defend psychotherapy, persuade the client or move straight into techniques. For a trainee, it is an opportunity to practise making room for ambivalence without applying pressure.

Why scepticism is hard to hear

When someone questions the usefulness of the encounter, a therapist may experience it as personal rejection. The urge is to say, “You'll see, this will help.” But that response promises an outcome no one can guarantee.

An alternative learning example might be: “It sounds as though coming here wasn't entirely your choice, and you're not expecting much. What would matter to you about how this conversation goes—or doesn't go?”

This is not a magic line. It allows a conversation about choice, expectations and something that matters to the person.

Three aspects of the skill

Acknowledge doubt without automatically labeling it “resistance.” Stay open to the possibility that the person's scepticism has good reasons. Collaborate on a modest, realistic purpose for the conversation if the client wishes to continue.

Motivational Interviewing offers relevant tools, including reflective responses and open questions, but it is not the only valid way to work with a sceptical person.

Design the practice scenario in TheraMentor

TheraMentor allows you to create a custom AI persona, including details such as age, reason for attending and behaviour during the session. Use this to create a fictional, non-identifiable scenario, not a copy of a real client's history.

A possible training brief is: “An adult who agreed to attend after encouragement from family. They are sceptical, answer briefly and become irritated when the therapist tries to convince them.” Do not enter identifiers, rare identifying events or copied case notes.

1. Set one objective: “I will not defend therapy; I will explore what the doubt means.”
2. Begin a short role-play and pay attention to your reaction to sceptical replies.
3. If stuck, open the three response suggestions (“Ιδέα διατύπωσης”) and look for the option that assumes least.
4. After the simulation, write down one sentence that invited collaboration and one that sounded like persuasion.
5. Repeat with a different fictional profile so you do not merely memorize one persona's pattern.

Can AI measure real trust?

Not in a way equivalent to an actual therapeutic relationship. A virtual client produces responses based on system design and a model, not a personal experience of trust. Use its reactions as prompts for self-observation, not proof that you have established a clinical alliance.

Practise what you find difficult

If you tend to avoid sceptical clients in role-play, that is a specific training target worth exploring. In TheraMentor, create a challenging persona without entering real client data, and practise remaining present without trying to persuade.

Create a fictional practice persona.