大模型在心理治疗中易表达偏见且回应不当,无法替代专业治疗师。
Expressing stigma and inappropriate responses prevents LLMs from safely replacing mental health providers
- 通过分析医疗指南,测试大模型在真实治疗场景中的表现。
- 大模型对精神疾病患者有偏见,还可能助长妄想思维。
- 因缺乏真实情感与责任,大模型难以建立治疗同盟,适合辅助而非替代。
大型语言模型(LLM)能否取代心理治疗师?本文系统考察了这一设想的可行性。研究基于主流医疗机构的治疗指南,梳理出治疗关系中的关键要素,如治疗联盟。通过实验评估当前主流模型(如 gpt-4o)在自然对话场景下的响应能力,发现其存在明显缺陷:1)对心理健康问题持有刻板印象与偏见;2)在面对常见且关键的心理状况时(如妄想症状),会不恰当地鼓励患者继续固执想法,可能源于模型的迎合倾向。这些现象即使在更大、更新的模型中依然存在,说明现有安全机制未能解决根本问题。此外,建立治疗联盟需要人类特有的身份认同与情感投入,是模型难以具备的。因此,论文认为应禁止用大模型完全替代治疗师,并探讨其作为辅助工具的可行角色。
原文摘要 · Abstract (English)
Should a large language model (LLM) be used as a therapist? In this paper, we investigate the use of LLMs to *replace* mental health providers, a use case promoted in the tech startup and research space. We conduct a mapping review of therapy guides used by major medical institutions to identify crucial aspects of therapeutic relationships, such as the importance of a therapeutic alliance between therapist and client. We then assess the ability of LLMs to reproduce and adhere to these aspects of therapeutic relationships by conducting several experiments investigating the responses of current LLMs, such as `gpt-4o`. Contrary to best practices in the medical community, LLMs 1) express stigma toward those with mental health conditions and 2) respond inappropriately to certain common (and critical) conditions in naturalistic therapy settings -- e.g., LLMs encourage clients' delusional thinking, likely due to their sycophancy. This occurs even with larger and newer LLMs, indicating that current safety practices may not address these gaps. Furthermore, we note foundational and practical barriers to the adoption of LLMs as therapists, such as that a therapeutic alliance requires human characteristics (e.g., identity and stakes). For these reasons, we conclude that LLMs should not replace therapists, and we discuss alternative roles for LLMs in clinical therapy.
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