The development of best strategies for improving learning engagement in the field of mental health nursing education, is a challenge for teachers. Using self-reflection, students are facilitated to actively participate in their own learning process, improving their efforts to understand and perform best practice for patients. This study aimed to examine the usability and feasibility of a virtual reality simulation for undergraduate nursing students, incorporating reflective methods to improve communication. Design: This study used a mixed method design. Methods: A pre-post control group design was used for effectiveness evaluation and user feedback was collected using essay questionnaires. A total of 59 participants were recruited from two nursing colleges in Korea. The experimental group was trained for 4-hours using a 'Virtual Patient Immersive Communication Training (VPICT)' environment, in which they faced virtual patients to practice communication strategies. Students were required to exercise reflection, using a virtual 3D hospital environment recording system. Using SPSS version 27, data were analyzed by conducting paired and independent t-tests with statistical significance determined at p < 0.05. Results: The VPICT group showed higher mental health nursing performance when self-evaluated (p = 0.015). After simulation, communication competency scores were increased in both groups. Overall scores for learning immersion and satisfaction were higher in the VPICT group than in the control group, showing a marginally significant difference between the two groups (p = 0.05). The VPICT achieved good usability scores with the highest score in likability (4.67 ± 0.41). Conclusion: The VPICT simulation group demonstrated superior learning immersion and mental health nursing performance. The potential exists therefore, to reinforce mental health nursing simulations and extend VR simulations to be more interactive.