Manuscript received April 16, 2026; accepted June 14, 2026; published July 16, 2026.

Abstract—This systematic review synthesizes empirical evidence published between 2015 and 2025 on the impact of Virtual Patient Simulation (VPS) on communication competencies and learner experience in psychiatric education. Across the included studies, VPS consistently demonstrated a strong positive effect on learner confidence and self-efficacy, particularly in managing challenging psychiatric interactions such as suicide risk assessment, highlighting its value as a psychologically safe training environment. Evidence regarding knowledge acquisition and practical communication skills was generally favorable but more variable, with VPS often performing comparably to traditional teaching methods or standardized patients rather than clearly outperforming them. VPS was especially effective in supporting clinical reasoning and structured interviewing processes, while learner experience findings indicated high levels of satisfaction, perceived educational value, and appreciation for flexibility and repeatable practice. Nevertheless, limitations related to realism, interaction fidelity, and technical constraints—especially in non-immersive or text-based systems—were frequently reported. Overall, the evidence positions VPS as a valuable and effective complement to traditional clinical training within blended psychiatric education curricula, rather than a standalone replacement.
 
Keywords—virtual patient, simulation, communication related competencies, psychiatry

Cite: Zahra H. Shehab, Reem J. Alansari, and Alajab I. Alajab, " A Systematic Review: The Impact of Virtual Patient Simulation on Communication Related Competencies and Learner Experience in Psychiatric Education," International Journal of Learning and Teaching, Vol. 12, No. 3, pp. 208-214, 2026.

Copyright © 2026 by the authors. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited (CC BY 4.0).