You’re virtually a psychologist: enhancing professional psychology education through virtual client simulations

Objective: Virtual clients offer a promising tool for psychology education and training, enabling students to practice and refine their skills in realistic, diverse, and controlled environments. This study investigated the experiences of post-graduate psychology students engaging with virtual clients and assessed their perceptions of learning and usability when engaging the simulations. Method: Fifteen post-graduate psychology students interacted with one of two virtual client scenarios. One scenario involved providing feedback to a client about psychological test results, while the other focused on conducting a job analysis for a client organisation. After the interaction, students completed the Learning Object Evaluation Scale for Students (LOES-S), and the System Usability Scale (SUS). Results: The results indicated a strong perceived educational value of virtual clients, with most participants reporting enhanced learning experiences. Furthermore, participants found the simulations to be well-organised and easy to use, highlighting their potential to complement traditional training methods, particularly in applied domains such as Organisational Psychology. Conclusion: These findings support the integration of virtual clients into psychology curricula, offering valuable insights into their effectiveness in preparing future psychologists for real-world practice.