Fort Health Partners with Colleva to Train its Therapists with AI Patient Avatars for Role-Playing Practice and Scalable Client Care

Agentic AI Custom Training Scenarios Result in 83% of Clinicians Feeling More Prepared and 95% Able to Apply What They Have Learned

NEW YORK, March 18, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The high stakes nature of youth mental health therapy requires thorough preparation and applied evidence-based skills. Today, Fort Health, a specialty outpatient pediatric mental health provider, announced that it has partnered with Colleva to train its therapists with AI avatar-led, face-to-face simulations. By providing highly relevant and engaging customized scenarios, Fort Health is able to rapidly upskill its therapists using evidence-based therapeutic protocols, ultimately leading to improved client care and operational efficiency. The initial series of custom training scenarios resulted in 83% of clinicians feeling more prepared and 95% able to apply what they have learned.

A body of research from the National Institute of Medicine shows that current efforts to train clinicians in empirically-based treatments (EBTs) face significant challenges, as they typically provide only didactic training with no examination of applied skills, follow-up support, or implementation feedback. Studies emphasize the importance of role-play skill practice and ongoing expert guidance to ensure clinicians maintain high fidelity to EBT protocols and deliver effective interventions to patients. Compounded by the behavioral health care workforce shortage, these limitations underscore the need for innovative training approaches to address challenges in a cost-effective and scalable manner.

"AI-powered avatar simulations are revolutionizing therapist training by enabling immersive, risk-free practice of critical decision-making and patient interactions," said Natalie Schneider, founding CEO of Fort Health. "Colleva's AI coaching platform empowers us to design tailored, dynamic scenarios that mirror real-world challenges, providing therapists with hands-on experience in applying evidence-based treatment protocols. By leveraging AI patient avatars, we are transforming mental health training—making it more proactive, personalized, and scalable to meet the growing demand for high-quality care."

How it Works

Using Fort Health's agentic AI training platform – which is modeled on the evidence-based treatment protocol, the Unified Protocol for children, adolescents, and caregivers – therapists conduct realistic role plays with custom avatars and receive personalized feedback to identify areas for improvement and highlight strengths. The series of interactive scenarios are a safe space to practice and develop therapeutic techniques. To help therapists build and demonstrate their proficiency, there are three scenarios representative of the patient population that Fort Health treats. Each of the scenario's avatars have six personalities to choose from, allowing for more realistic and varied practice. Each custom simulation uses generative AI to analyze both content and delivery. Personalized feedback is based on specific EBT objectives and CBT competency frameworks. Therapists are also provided instant feedback on soft skill competencies important to successful therapy outcomes. 

"We are harnessing AI not to replace human therapists, but to make them more effective," said Michael Palys, co-founder and president of Colleva. "It's been wonderful working in partnership with the Fort Health team as they share our collective vision of using AI role plays and simulations to enhance human skills in areas like mental health where these skills are so critically important to successful patient outcomes. The ability to offer personalized 1:1 feedback at scale is a game changer. My father's own career in psychiatry has made this particular project very special to me, and it's been wonderful to see the excitement among practitioners."

"As a therapist, I know how challenging it can be to translate the professional training we receive into real life interactions with children and families. I also know how uncomfortable and anxiety provoking it can be for a therapist to participate in role plays or live observations. Having a private, safe space to fumble and trip as you sharpen your skill set is a game changer for most therapists," said Lindsay Henderson, PsyD, founding clinical director, Fort Health. "Utilizing AI simulations as a training platform to increase therapist's ability to deliver EBT at a higher fidelity will be key to solving for our nation's youth mental health needs."

"What a unique training opportunity! It allows me to practice and improve my clinical skills in a way I've never before experienced. I love getting immediate feedback which I can implement in real time," said Licensed Professional Counselor Catherine Murray.

About Fort Health

Founded in 2022, Fort Health is a specialty outpatient pediatric mental health provider. Fort Health transforms how children and adolescents, ages 4-24, receive mental health care by seamlessly partnering with pediatricians to provide evidence-based therapy, psychiatry, and parent coaching – all covered by insurance. Fort Health was built in partnership with the Child Mind Institute, an independent non-profit dedicated to transforming the lives of children and families struggling with mental health, mental illness and learning disorders. The company operates in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Texas and Illinois. Visit Fort Health on our website and on LinkedIn.

About Colleva

Founded in 2023, Colleva is an AI-powered enterprise talent platform that can help professionals enhance both hard and soft skills through personalized, scalable 1:1 feedback. Using AI avatars to provide AI roleplay and simulation-based training, Colleva provides immersive practice environments where professionals master critical interactions with immediate feedback. Colleva offers solutions across talent acquisition, onboarding, learning & development, performance management, and employee insights for organizations within healthcare, financial services, as well as other sectors. Headquartered in Greenwich, Connecticut, Colleva is transforming workforces through innovative AI solutions. Visit Colleva on our website and on LinkedIn.

SOURCE Fort Health