diff --git a/system/Test/CIUnitTestCase.php b/system/Test/CIUnitTestCase.php
index b403b7b64cff..d90b2e08327e 100644
--- a/system/Test/CIUnitTestCase.php
+++ b/system/Test/CIUnitTestCase.php
@@ -40,6 +40,10 @@
 namespace CodeIgniter\Test;
 
 use CodeIgniter\Events\Events;
+use CodeIgniter\Session\Handlers\ArrayHandler;
+use CodeIgniter\Test\Mock\MockEmail;
+use CodeIgniter\Test\Mock\MockSession;
+use Config\Services;
 use PHPUnit\Framework\TestCase;
 
 /**
@@ -55,6 +59,37 @@ class CIUnitTestCase extends TestCase
 	 */
 	protected $app;
 
+	/**
+	 * Methods to run during setUp.
+	 *
+	 * @var array of methods
+	 */
+	protected $setUpMethods = [
+		'mockEmail',
+		'mockSession',
+	];
+
+	/**
+	 * Methods to run during tearDown.
+	 *
+	 * @var array of methods
+	 */
+	protected $tearDownMethods = [];
+
+	//--------------------------------------------------------------------
+	// Staging
+	//--------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+	/**
+	 * Load the helpers.
+	 */
+	public static function setUpBeforeClass(): void
+	{
+		parent::setUpBeforeClass();
+
+		helper(['url', 'test']);
+	}
+
 	protected function setUp(): void
 	{
 		parent::setUp();
@@ -64,9 +99,51 @@ protected function setUp(): void
 			$this->app = $this->createApplication();
 		}
 
-		helper('url');
+		foreach ($this->setUpMethods as $method)
+		{
+			$this->$method();
+		}
+	}
+
+	protected function tearDown(): void
+	{
+		parent::tearDown();
+
+		foreach ($this->tearDownMethods as $method)
+		{
+			$this->$method();
+		}
 	}
 
+	//--------------------------------------------------------------------
+	// Mocking
+	//--------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+	/**
+	 * Injects the mock session driver into Services
+	 */
+	protected function mockSession()
+	{
+		$_SESSION = [];
+
+		$config  = config('App');
+		$session = new MockSession(new ArrayHandler($config, '0.0.0.0'), $config);
+
+		Services::injectMock('session', $session);
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Injects the mock email driver so no emails really send
+	 */
+	protected function mockEmail()
+	{
+		Services::injectMock('email', new MockEmail(config('Email')));
+	}
+
+	//--------------------------------------------------------------------
+	// Assertions
+	//--------------------------------------------------------------------
+
 	/**
 	 * Custom function to hook into CodeIgniter's Logging mechanism
 	 * to check if certain messages were logged during code execution.
@@ -236,6 +313,10 @@ public function assertCloseEnoughString($expected, $actual, string $message = ''
 		}
 	}
 
+	//--------------------------------------------------------------------
+	// Utility
+	//--------------------------------------------------------------------
+
 	/**
 	 * Loads up an instance of CodeIgniter
 	 * and gets the environment setup.
@@ -247,16 +328,14 @@ protected function createApplication()
 		return require realpath(__DIR__ . '/../') . '/bootstrap.php';
 	}
 
-	//--------------------------------------------------------------------
 	/**
 	 * Return first matching emitted header.
 	 *
-	 * @param string $header Identifier of the header of interest
-	 * @param bool $ignoreCase
+	 * @param string  $header     Identifier of the header of interest
+	 * @param boolean $ignoreCase
 	 *
 	 * @return string|null The value of the header found, null if not found
 	 */
-		//
 	protected function getHeaderEmitted(string $header, bool $ignoreCase = false): ?string
 	{
 		$found = false;
@@ -279,5 +358,4 @@ protected function getHeaderEmitted(string $header, bool $ignoreCase = false): ?
 
 		return null;
 	}
-
 }
diff --git a/user_guide_src/source/testing/overview.rst b/user_guide_src/source/testing/overview.rst
index 96646d62e194..d7b1ba0767ba 100644
--- a/user_guide_src/source/testing/overview.rst
+++ b/user_guide_src/source/testing/overview.rst
@@ -101,6 +101,51 @@ have the correct namespace relative to ``App``.
 
 When testing database results, you must use the `CIDatabaseTestClass <database.html>`_ class.
 
+Staging
+-------
+
+Most tests require some preparation in order to run correctly. PHPUnit's ``TestCase`` provides four methods
+to help with staging and clean up::
+
+	public static function setUpBeforeClass(): void
+	public static function tearDownAfterClass(): void
+	public function setUp(): void
+	public function tearDown(): void
+
+The static methods run before and after the entire test case, whereas the local methods run
+between each test. If you implement any of these special functions make sure you run their
+parent as well so extended test cases do not interfere with staging::
+
+	public function setUp(): void
+	{
+		parent::setUp();
+		helper('text');
+	}
+
+In addition to these methods, ``CIUnitTestCase`` also comes with a convenience property for
+parameter-free methods you want run during set up and tear down::
+
+	protected $setUpMethods = [
+		'mockEmail',
+		'mockSession',
+	];
+	
+	protected $tearDownMethods = [];
+
+You can see by default these handle the mocking of intrusive services, but your class may override
+that or provide their own::
+
+	class OneOfMyModelsTest extends CIUnitTestCase
+	{
+		protected $tearDownMethods = [
+			'purgeRows',
+		];
+		
+		protected function purgeRows()
+		{
+			$this->model->purgeDeleted()
+		}
+
 Additional Assertions
 ---------------------
 
@@ -262,7 +307,7 @@ class exactly. The second parameter is the instance to replace it with.
 
 Removes all mocked classes from the Services class, bringing it back to its original state.
 
-
+.. note:: The ``Email`` and ``Session`` services are mocked by default to prevent intrusive testing behavior. To prevent these from mocking remove their method callback from the class property: ``$setUpMethods = ['mockEmail', 'mockSession'];``
 
 Stream Filters
 ==============