Research Paper#AI in Mental Health, LLMs, Psychotherapy, Marginalized Clients🔬 ResearchAnalyzed: Jan 3, 2026 20:01
LLM Chatbots as Relational Mediators in Psychotherapy
Published:Dec 27, 2025 04:35
•1 min read
•ArXiv
Analysis
This paper is significant because it moves beyond viewing LLMs in mental health as simple tools or autonomous systems. It highlights their potential to address relational challenges faced by marginalized clients in therapy, such as building trust and navigating power imbalances. The proposed Dynamic Boundary Mediation Framework offers a novel approach to designing AI systems that are more sensitive to the lived experiences of these clients.
Key Takeaways
- •LLMs can mediate relational complexities in psychotherapy, especially for marginalized clients.
- •The paper identifies challenges like building trust, educating therapists, and sustaining self-disclosure.
- •The Dynamic Boundary Mediation Framework proposes Epistemic, Relational, and Contextual mediation.
- •The framework aims to design relationally accountable AI systems.
- •The research is based on interviews with therapists and marginalized clients in China.
Reference
“The paper proposes the Dynamic Boundary Mediation Framework, which reconceptualizes LLM-enhanced systems as adaptive boundary objects that shift mediating roles across therapeutic stages.”