Online Training Platforms

Below are a list of services that might be considered for counsellor training. Their listing does not imply ACPA endorsement. They are listed so educators know what products are in the current marketplace. 

Lyssn.io is a specialized healthcare technology platform that leverages scientifically validated artificial intelligence to improve the quality of behavioral health, crisis care, and human services. Founded by clinical researchers and data scientists, the platform uses natural language processing to analyse therapy sessions and crisis calls, providing automated transcriptions, detailed fidelity metrics for evidence-based practices like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Motivational Interviewing (MI), and personalized feedback for staff training. By transforming complex conversational data into actionable insights, Lyssn helps organisations scale their quality assurance efforts, reduce clinician burnout through automated documentation, and ensure that practitioners are delivering high-standard, empathetic care to their communities.

SimCare AI (formerly Soma Lab) is an immersive healthcare training platform that utilises lifelike AI-simulated patients to help students and clinicians practise clinical and counselling skills. The platform features over 500 diverse, counsellor-designed virtual clients that allow users to engage in realistic, bi-directional voice conversations across various scenarios, including mental health crises, chronic disease management, and family therapy. By integrating observational AI, SimCare provides immediate, data-driven feedback on critical competencies such as empathy, tone, diagnostic accuracy, and non-verbal cues, enabling learners to build clinical intuition in a safe, scalable environment. Ultimately, SimCare aims to accelerate clinical readiness and reduce the training burden on institutions by replacing costly, inconsistent role-playing with standardised, 24/7 accessible simulations that can compress years of patient-progression patterns into manageable training sessions. 

Virti uses a mix of interactive video and AI virtual humans to create realistic role-play scenarios. It’s particularly strong if you want to practise non-verbal cues and situational awareness. Their AI characters engage in dynamic voice conversations and respond naturally to your questions. It also provides a robust data analytics dashboard to track how your empathy and decision-making speed improve over multiple sessions.

MedVR’s AI-Humans platform allows for the creation of unlimited patient cases. Their avatars use real-time emotion recognition and adaptive facial expressions to mimic the stress or relief a real patient might feel based on your communication style. It is highly customisable, allowing trainers to build specific clinical rubrics to assess learners on very niche competencies.

Mursion is slightly different; it often uses a "blended" approach where AI technology is assisted by a live "interactor" (a human actor) who controls multiple avatars. This provides the most realistic, unpredictable emotional responses possible. It is widely used for training therapists and leaders in "soft skills" like de-escalation, delivering bad news, and cultural competency.

Skillsetter is a web-based training platform that utilises the science of deliberate practice to help learners and professionals master critical interpersonal and communication skills. Originally developed for psychotherapy and social work education, the system presents users with a library of over 600 diverse video scenarios featuring actors portraying various client or workplace interactions. Learners record their own verbal and non-verbal responses via webcam, allowing them to practise and refine their techniques in a safe, asynchronous environment before submitting their best work for instructor or peer feedback. By providing a structured framework for repetitive practice, guided self-evaluation, and data-driven assessment, Skillsetter helps organisations in healthcare, education, and corporate sectors bridge the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical, real-world application.

Alliance Genie is a "clinical intelligence" tool that analyses your actual therapy sessions (without storing audio or video) to identify communication patterns. It focuses on the therapeutic alliance, offering feedback on attunement cues and alliance strengths. It’s designed to act as a "digital supervisor" that helps early-career therapists see how their theory translates into the room with real clients.

Sentio is a leader in the Deliberate Practice movement for psychotherapists. They offer a library of free and paid training videos and exercises specifically designed to help therapists rehearse difficult clinical moments—such as responding to a hostile client or managing a breakdown in the alliance. Their methodology focuses on "muscle memory" for therapists through repetitive, high-intensity rehearsal.

Mpathic uses AI to evaluate the "human" side of high-stakes conversations. While used in broader medical and corporate settings, its application for therapists involves identifying micro-behaviours that build or break trust. It provides real-time feedback loops and "observing agents" that help clinicians refine their empathy, tone, and active listening skills.