Simulation

Since 2014, we have been offering mental health simulation training to individuals and organisations as part of the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust—the UK's leading provider of mental health services.

Our simulation courses are meticulously crafted to achieve a transformative impact. Through simulated clinical encounters with patients portrayed by professionally trained actors, participants can enhance their skills and boost confidence in navigating mental healthcare settings. Following each scenario, our experienced simulation facilitators lead structured debrief sessions. These debriefs provide a platform for participants to reflect on their experiences, delve into the skills practiced, and explore the clinical themes and challenges inherent in real-world clinical settings.

We collaborate with various organisations to deliver training in diverse settings, encompassing both clinical and non-clinical environments. Our training caters to individuals pursuing professional qualifications or seeking to broaden their understanding of mental health as part of their Continuing Professional Development (CPD). Furthermore, organisations can leverage our simulation training to enhance their teams' capabilities and foster heightened awareness surrounding mental health issues.

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Frequently asked questions

What is simulation training?

Simulation training recreates real-life clinical situations to facilitate experiential learning in a safe and non-judgmental learning environment that does not impact on patients.

Why simulation?

Simulation has been shown to be effective in a number of areas, improving clinical skills, teamworking, communication and leadership. It improves participants’ confidence when facing challenging and unfamiliar clinical scenarios. It is also a great way to enhance feedback and reflective practices at work.

What happens on a digital simulation course?

All courses combine a number of simulated clinical scenarios with facilitated group debrief sessions led by experienced faculty. The scenarios involve interacting with simulated patients played by experienced professional actors. Participants are invited to carry out their usual professional role, in a simulated environment trying to replicate their familiar working environment.

How it works

Simulation training is a powerful and immersive way to learn beyond the lecture theatre. It lets you interact with simulated patients played by experienced professional actors, in staged settings that replicate real-life clinical workplaces. You do your job as you would normally do in our carefully designed clinical scenarios. This way, you gain authentic exposure to challenging situations that will develop your skills for face-to-face as well as remote consultations in a safe way. This experiential learning improves participants’ confidence when facing challenging and unfamiliar scenarios. Our simulation courses are also a great way to develop reflective practices at work. After each simulated scenario, participants regroup in a digital debrief room where our trained faculty facilitates constructive feedback and reflections. Our experienced team provides a safe learning environment from the outset: a place without judgement or interruptions, with respectful listening and encouragement. We want you to connect with your fellow participants and enjoy the experience, as well as gaining practical knowledge. With careful stage management and creative use of technology, participants and observers get equally immersed in very engaging scenarios. Maudsley Simulation has developed a broad range of digital courses designed to address core mental health training needs for inter-professional, multidisciplinary groups. We want to nurture a workforce of confident, engaged and experienced healthcare professionals. Simulation training is truly interactive. There is no more effective way to train for the real world. So join us in raising awareness of human factors within healthcare and immerse yourself in mental health training, wherever you are. To find out more, you can watch our simulation and digital simulation​ explainer animations or get in touch with one of our experts today.

What is expected of me during the simulated scenario?

Depending on the scenario, you will meet the simulated patient in a remote video consultation or join them virtually in a particular setting. This will be clearly specified to you in the pre-briefing information before the scenario. To benefit most from the course, just engage in the scenario as you would in real clinical practice; you will not be expected to pretend play a role you are not familiar with. One or two participants usually take part in the simulation, depending on the scenario design.

Scenario from Practicing Psychiatric Competencies Course

During the live scenario, other participants become observers only and disappear from the screen. They all return “on stage” at the end of the scenario to contribute to the debrief. An experienced moderator deals with all aspects of backstage management during a live scenario so you can focus on the action. Remember you are not expected to get everything done within the duration of the scenario. Do what you can at a natural pace. This will serve as a springboard for wider conversations in the debrief.

How can we create a safe environment online?

Being online can be challenging for various reasons. Our experienced faculty and moderators will endeavour to establish a safe learning environment from the outset: no judgements, no interruptions and total respectful listening are constantly promoted. Digital simulation, much like face-to-face simulation, is an opportunity for shared reflections and learning. It is not as an assessment of your performance.

What is expected of me during the debrief?

The debrief sessions are facilitated group conversations where most of the shared learning takes place. Every member of the group will be encouraged to contribute to the debrief and bring their unique clinical perspectives. To support this, the facilitators will guide you through a structured debrief model.

What are the IT requirements for the course?

Given the highly interactive content of this training, it is essential that you join the course with working video and microphone. There will be a chance to test your system during a platform orientation and troubleshoot session at the start of the course.

What happens to the recorded footage?

Live video and audio are an essential part of the learning environment and courses are routinely recorded. However, the footage is not played back during the course of the day so you will not watch yourself on recording. Occasionally we may want to use course footage and participant feedback for other educational, faculty development or research purposes. There will be an opportunity to consent to this on the day.