On World Mental Health Day, the conversation at 91Ƭ isn’t just about awareness — it’s about action. In the occupational therapy program, that action looks a little different: students are learning to build empathy and confidence through conversations with AI-generated clients.
In OCCT 853: Mental Health Promotion and Recovery: Theory and Practice, students “meet” virtual clients who live with PTSD, anxiety, depression and schizophrenia. The simulations, designed by Patricia Laverdure, O.T.D., chair of the School of Rehabilitation Sciences and program director for the Doctor of Occupational Therapy in Macon & Joan Brock Virginia Health Sciences Ellmer College of Health Sciences at 91Ƭ, give students a safe, realistic space to practice evaluation and treatment planning.
“The goal was to help students apply recovery-oriented and occupation-based principles in an interactive way that feels authentic to real clinical encounters,” Dr. Laverdure said.
Using the Convai platform, students conduct occupational therapy evaluations, ask questions, and create treatment plans all while learning how to navigate sensitive, emotionally charged conversations.
“They talk about how ‘meeting’ these virtual clients helped them better understand the human side of mental health conditions and feel more confident engaging in difficult conversations,” Dr. Laverdure said. “Many say it changed how they think about therapeutic use of self, and in it I see the potential for technology to deepen empathy and clinical reasoning.”
“Occupational therapists play a vital role in mental health by helping individuals rebuild meaningful routines, develop coping strategies and engage in the activities that give life purpose,” she explained. “Mental health is central to all areas of practice in occupational therapy; we do not see it as just a specialty but a part of our holistic, client-centered approach that can make a profound difference in recovery and well-being.”
By pairing AI technology with recovery-focused education, the occupational therapy program is redefining how future clinicians learn to listen and how technology can serve humanity rather than distance it.
Dr. Laverdure said the innovation reflects 91Ƭ’s Forward-Focused: Innovation for Impact initiative, which calls for creative teaching strategies that prepare graduates for an evolving healthcare landscape. “It demonstrates how the O.T.D. program integrates creativity, empathy and innovation to advance both education and the profession’s role in mental health care,” she said.
As students train for their future roles in rehabilitation and recovery, they’re carrying forward the message behind World Mental Health Day — that understanding and compassion belong at the center of every kind of care.