Psychology skills in different contexts II (Psychology)

Team members

María Pía Gutiérrez, Solange Bertrand, Ana del Pilar Martínez and Gabriela Díaz from Universidad del Desarrollo, Concepción, Chile.

Programs/courses

Psychology skills in different contexts II (Psychology)

How have you used Clinical Mind AI in your teaching or research?

We set out on a pioneering challenge at Universidad del Desarrollo: adapting a clinical simulation platform—traditionally designed for medicine—to the complex field of mental health. This pilot was implemented in the course "Skills in Different Contexts II" with 128 third-year Psychology students.

To carry out this innovation with rigor, the support of the Center for Teaching Innovation (CID) was fundamental. Their technical-pedagogical guidance allowed us not only to get to know the platform but also to train ourselves deeply in its effective use. Thanks to this joint preparation, the teaching team was able to design specific cases and contextualized rubrics focused on Psychological First Aid (PFA), ensuring that the technology responded to solid learning objectives.

With this foundation, students faced the fictional clinical case of "Ernesto Riquelme." Through a real-time chat with this virtual patient, they applied emotional containment techniques and ethical decision-making in a safe environment, under a coherent curricular structure that unified criteria across the five sections of the course.

What impact or benefits have you observed for your students or teaching practice?

The results validated AI simulation as a robust pedagogical tool, generating deep impacts on both student training and the teaching team's dynamics.

For the students: We achieved exceptional engagement with a participation rate of over 96%, a success we attribute to the systematic awareness-raising carried out by the faculty regarding the value of this innovation. Reaction surveys confirmed this positive reception: 79.6% valued the tool's utility, and over 80% specifically highlighted that the experience improved their learning and better prepared them for their future professional roles.

A safe environment: A critical factor was the creation of a safe environment. The platform allowed for nearly 56 hours of effective simulation, giving students the unprecedented opportunity to "learn by doing" and make mistakes without real-world consequences, which notably fostered their self-confidence and technical competence before entering actual practice.

Academic performance: Academically, this translated into solid performance, with an average achievement rate of 78.33% (28.2 out of 36 points), demonstrating that AI offers a rigorous and demanding evaluation scenario.

For the teaching staff: The pilot was a catalyst for professional development. Beyond curricular innovation, the project forced us to unify evaluation criteria and case designs, strengthening collaborative work. Furthermore, the experience enhanced our digital competencies in the pedagogical use of emerging technologies, establishing vital capacities for the future. Finally, the platform's automated feedback freed us from mechanical tasks, allowing us to dedicate more time to qualitative reflection and personalized student support.

Anything else you’d like to share about your experience?

This experience demonstrated that Clinical Mind AI is flexible enough to transcend physical health and be successfully applied in psychology, where relational competencies are key. While we faced challenges typical of a first implementation—such as being limited to written chat or minor linguistic details in the Spanish responses—these were managed effectively and did not affect the pedagogical value of the experience. In fact, the written modality allowed for a precise evaluation of core interviewing skills.

We are excited to consolidate our UDD-Stanford alliance and expand this project: we want to increase the case bank with different levels of complexity and bring this technology to other subjects. Finally, we extend an open invitation to other faculty members. We believe that interdisciplinary collaboration is key to enriching AI simulation. We are fully available to share our learnings and materials with those who wish to innovate and explore the potential of these tools in their own classrooms.