# Psych=eChat: An Empathic Framework Focused on Emotion Shift Tracking and Safety Risk Analysis in Psychological Counseling

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.12392 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2601.12392/

## Key facts

- No citing papers in the map yet (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 15 of its 33 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 18 Jan 2026.

## Builds on (most cited first, 15 of 15)

- [SWIFT:A Scalable lightWeight Infrastructure for Fine-Tuning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2408.05517/) (2024)
- [SoulChat: Improving LLMs' Empathy, Listening, and Comfort Abilities through Fine-tuning with Multi-turn Empathy Conversations](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2311.00273/) (2023)
- [PsyQA: A Chinese Dataset for Generating Long Counseling Text for Mental Health Support](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2106.01702/) (2021)
- [CPsyCoun: A Report-based Multi-turn Dialogue Reconstruction and Evaluation Framework for Chinese Psychological Counseling](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2405.16433/) (2024)
- [Cactus: Towards Psychological Counseling Conversations using Cognitive Behavioral Theory](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2407.03103/) (2024)
- [Control Globally, Understand Locally: A Global-to-Local Hierarchical Graph Network for Emotional Support Conversation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2204.12749/) (2022)
- [Can Large Language Models be Good Emotional Supporter? Mitigating Preference Bias on Emotional Support Conversation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2402.13211/) (2024)
- [HealMe: Harnessing Cognitive Reframing in Large Language Models for Psychotherapy](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2403.05574/) (2024)
- [ESCoT: Towards Interpretable Emotional Support Dialogue Systems](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2406.10960/) (2024)
- [PsyDT: Using LLMs to Construct the Digital Twin of Psychological Counselor with Personalized Counseling Style for Psychological Counseling](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2412.13660/) (2024)
- [SweetieChat: A Strategy-Enhanced Role-playing Framework for Diverse Scenarios Handling Emotional Support Agent](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2412.08389/) (2024)
- [IntentionESC: An Intention-Centered Framework for Enhancing Emotional Support in Dialogue Systems](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2506.05947/) (2025)
- [Feel the Difference? A Comparative Analysis of Emotional Arcs in Real and LLM-Generated CBT Sessions](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2508.20764/) (2025)
- [PsyGUARD: An Automated System for Suicide Detection and Risk Assessment in Psychological Counseling](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2409.20243/) (2024)
- [CATCH: A Novel Data Synthesis Framework for High Therapy Fidelity and Memory-Driven Planning Chain of Thought in AI Counseling](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2509.25733/) (2025)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Large language models (LLMs) have demonstrated notable advancements in psychological counseling. However, existing models generally do not explicitly model seekers' emotion shifts across counseling sessions, a core focus in classical psychological schools. Moreover, how to align counselor models' responses with these emotion shifts while proactively mitigating safety risks remains underexplored. To bridge these gaps, we propose Psych=eChat, which explicitly integrates emotion shift tracking and safety risk analysis for psychological counseling. Specifically, we employ interactive role-playing to synthesize counselor--seeker dialogues, incorporating two modules: Emotion Management Module, to capture seekers' current emotions and emotion shifts; and Risk Control Module, to anticipate seekers' subsequent reactions and identify potential risks. Furthermore, we introduce two modeling paradigms. The Agent Mode structures emotion management, risk control, and counselor responses into a collaborative multi-agent pipeline. The LLM Mode integrates these stages into a unified chain-of-thought for end-to-end inference, balancing efficiency and performance. Extensive experiments, including interactive scoring, dialogue-level evaluation, and human assessment, demonstrate that Psych=eChat outperforms existing methods for emotional insight and safety control.