Large Language Model-Powered Conversational Agent Delivering Problem-Solving Therapy (PST) for Family Caregivers: Enhancing Empathy and Therapeutic Alliance Using In-Context Learning

Fuente: arXiv
Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Wang, Liying, D., Ph., Carrington, Daffodil, S., M., Filienko, Daniil, Jazmi, Caroline El, Xie, Serena Jinchen, De Cock, Martine, Iribarren, Sarah, Yuwen, Weichao, D, Ph.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
Subjects:
Online Access:
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1866916792645976064
author Wang, Liying
D., Ph.
Carrington, Daffodil
S., M.
Filienko, Daniil
S., M.
Jazmi, Caroline El
S., M.
Xie, Serena Jinchen
S., M.
De Cock, Martine
D., Ph.
Iribarren, Sarah
D., Ph.
Yuwen, Weichao
D, Ph.
author_facet Wang, Liying
D., Ph.
Carrington, Daffodil
S., M.
Filienko, Daniil
S., M.
Jazmi, Caroline El
S., M.
Xie, Serena Jinchen
S., M.
De Cock, Martine
D., Ph.
Iribarren, Sarah
D., Ph.
Yuwen, Weichao
D, Ph.
contents Family caregivers often face substantial mental health challenges due to their multifaceted roles and limited resources. This study explored the potential of a large language model (LLM)-powered conversational agent to deliver evidence-based mental health support for caregivers, specifically Problem-Solving Therapy (PST) integrated with Motivational Interviewing (MI) and Behavioral Chain Analysis (BCA). A within-subject experiment was conducted with 28 caregivers interacting with four LLM configurations to evaluate empathy and therapeutic alliance. The best-performing models incorporated Few-Shot and Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) prompting techniques, alongside clinician-curated examples. The models showed improved contextual understanding and personalized support, as reflected by qualitative responses and quantitative ratings on perceived empathy and therapeutic alliances. Participants valued the model's ability to validate emotions, explore unexpressed feelings, and provide actionable strategies. However, balancing thorough assessment with efficient advice delivery remains a challenge. This work highlights the potential of LLMs in delivering empathetic and tailored support for family caregivers.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2506_11376
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Large Language Model-Powered Conversational Agent Delivering Problem-Solving Therapy (PST) for Family Caregivers: Enhancing Empathy and Therapeutic Alliance Using In-Context Learning
Wang, Liying
D., Ph.
Carrington, Daffodil
S., M.
Filienko, Daniil
S., M.
Jazmi, Caroline El
S., M.
Xie, Serena Jinchen
S., M.
De Cock, Martine
D., Ph.
Iribarren, Sarah
D., Ph.
Yuwen, Weichao
D, Ph.
Artificial Intelligence
Computation and Language
Human-Computer Interaction
Family caregivers often face substantial mental health challenges due to their multifaceted roles and limited resources. This study explored the potential of a large language model (LLM)-powered conversational agent to deliver evidence-based mental health support for caregivers, specifically Problem-Solving Therapy (PST) integrated with Motivational Interviewing (MI) and Behavioral Chain Analysis (BCA). A within-subject experiment was conducted with 28 caregivers interacting with four LLM configurations to evaluate empathy and therapeutic alliance. The best-performing models incorporated Few-Shot and Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) prompting techniques, alongside clinician-curated examples. The models showed improved contextual understanding and personalized support, as reflected by qualitative responses and quantitative ratings on perceived empathy and therapeutic alliances. Participants valued the model's ability to validate emotions, explore unexpressed feelings, and provide actionable strategies. However, balancing thorough assessment with efficient advice delivery remains a challenge. This work highlights the potential of LLMs in delivering empathetic and tailored support for family caregivers.
title Large Language Model-Powered Conversational Agent Delivering Problem-Solving Therapy (PST) for Family Caregivers: Enhancing Empathy and Therapeutic Alliance Using In-Context Learning
topic Artificial Intelligence
Computation and Language
Human-Computer Interaction
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2506.11376