In the mental health domain, Large Language Models (LLMs) offer promising new opportunities, though their inherent complexity and low controllability have raised questions about their suitability in clinical settings. We present MindfulDiary, a mobile journaling app incorporating an LLM to help psychiatric patients document daily experiences through conversation. Designed in collaboration with mental health professionals (MHPs), MindfulDiary takes a state-based approach to safely comply with the experts' guidelines while carrying on free-form conversations. Through a four-week field study involving 28 patients with major depressive disorder and five psychiatrists, we found that MindfulDiary supported patients in consistently enriching their daily records and helped psychiatrists better empathize with their patients through an understanding of their thoughts and daily contexts. Drawing on these findings, we discuss the implications of leveraging LLMs in the mental health domain, bridging the technical feasibility and their integration into clinical settings.

翻译：在精神健康领域，大语言模型（LLMs）展现出令人期待的新机遇，但其固有的复杂性和低可控性引发了对其在临床环境中适用性的质疑。我们提出MindfulDiary——一款集成大语言模型的移动日记应用，旨在通过对话帮助精神科患者记录日常经历。该系统与心理健康专业人员（MHPs）合作设计，采用基于状态的方法，在保持自由对话的同时安全遵循专家指南。通过一项涉及28名重度抑郁症患者和五名精神科医生的四周实地研究，我们发现MindfulDiary支持患者持续丰富其日常记录，并通过理解患者的想法与日常背景，帮助精神科医生更好地共情患者。基于这些发现，我们探讨了在精神健康领域利用大语言模型的启示，弥合了技术可行性与其在临床场景中整合之间的鸿沟。