https://annekathrinkleine.netlify.app/categories/psychotherapy-training/ Recent content in psychotherapy training on Anne-Kathrin Kleine Hugo -- gohugo.io en Wed, 15 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://annekathrinkleine.netlify.app/blog/2026-07-ai-virtual-patients-psychotherapy-training/ Wed, 15 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://annekathrinkleine.netlify.app/blog/2026-07-ai-virtual-patients-psychotherapy-training/ <p>Preparing psychotherapy trainees for the complexity of real clinical encounters is a persistent challenge. <strong>AI-enabled virtual patients</strong> – simulated patients with whom trainees can conduct conversations and receive automated feedback – promise hands-on practice without risks for real patients. In this preregistered study led by Julia Cecil, we tested whether such simulations improve training outcomes.</p> <h4 id="what-we-did">What we did <a href="#what-we-did"></a> </h4> <p><strong>87 psychology students and psychotherapy trainees</strong> from Germany and the UK were randomly assigned to either four online sessions with virtual patients (with automated feedback) or four sessions with pre-recorded role-play videos. Each session focused on one disorder – depression, panic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, or adjustment disorder. Before and after the training, we measured perceived psychotherapeutic competence, clinical self-efficacy, knowledge, and insecurity.</p> <h4 id="what-we-found">What we found <a href="#what-we-found"></a> </h4> <ul> <li>Virtual patient training <strong>improved perceived competence and self-efficacy</strong> and <strong>reduced insecurity</strong> – but these effects <strong>did not exceed</strong> those of the video training.</li> <li>Neither training increased knowledge about mental disorders.</li> <li>More clinical experience was associated with higher competence and lower insecurity, but did not change how much participants gained from the training.</li> <li>Insecurity decreased earlier with the video training than with the virtual patients.</li> </ul> <figure class="ak-figure"> <img src="fig3_outcomes.png" alt="Line charts of competence, self-efficacy, knowledge, and insecurity before and after virtual patient and video training"> <figcaption>Mean (a) competence, (b) self-efficacy, (c) knowledge, and (d) insecurity before and after the training. Figure 3 from Cecil et al. (2026), <em>BMC Medical Education</em>, licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY 4.0</a>.</figcaption> </figure> <h4 id="what-this-means">What this means <a href="#what-this-means"></a> </h4> <p>AI-enabled virtual patients are a scalable and engaging <strong>complement</strong> to psychotherapy training, not (yet) a superior alternative. Good pre-briefings and more authentic virtual patients could increase their benefits.</p> <h4 id="read-the-paper">Read the paper <a href="#read-the-paper"></a> </h4> <p>Cecil, J., Kokje, E., <strong>Kleine, A.-K.</strong>, Schaffernak, I., Vogel, L., Angerer, S., Lermer, E., &amp; Gaube, S. (2026). The effect of AI-enabled virtual patient simulation on training outcomes and insecurities in psychotherapy education. <em>BMC Medical Education, 26</em>, 1156. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-026-09917-x" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-026-09917-x</a></p>