aiqbench analysis
This paper introduces BiGraph-Diffuse, a novel diffusion-based language model designed to overcome the sequential limitations of autoregressive systems in mental health counseling. By integrating bidirectional context with graph-structured retrieval, the system effectively manages progressive disclosure and preserves clinical inferential pathways without incurring additional token costs during indexing. The approach represents a significant methodological advance for applying advanced generative AI models to sensitive, high-stakes therapeutic dialogue scenarios.
BiGraph-Diffuse: A Bidirectional Diffusion Language Model with Graph-Structured Retrieval For Mental Health Counseling
arXiv:2609.29519v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: Mental health disorders affect hundreds of millions of people around the world, yet access to professional counseling remains severely limited. AI-powered dialogue systems offer a scalable alternative, but existing models face two fundamental challenges. First, they lack the bidirectional understanding needed to capture the layered nature of emotional expression, particularly in cases of progressive disclosure, where clients often present symptoms at the surface-level while concealing deeper trauma. Autoregressive (AR) models process information sequentially and cannot revise early interpretations when new evidence emerges later in the conversation. Second, they fail to effectively incorporate the relational knowledge that underlies clinical reasoning. In this paper, we propose \textbf{BiGraph-Diffuse}, the first large-scale diffusion language model tailored for the counseling domain. We further introduce \textbf{BiGraph-RAG}, a relation-free graph-structured retrieval strategy that relies only on lightweight entity extraction and semantic linking. This design preserves inferential pathways from observable symptoms to potential underlying causes, while incurring zero LLM token cost during indexing. Importantly, these two modules are not merely combined but mutually reinforcing. The diffusion model provides a holistic bidirectional context, enabling the system to defer premature judgments during progressive disclosure. Meanwhile, graph-based retrieval captures the structured interconnections of clinical knowledge. Extensive experiments demonstrate the effectiveness of BiGraph-Diffuse, and we further provide a solid theoretical analysis to support its design.
Abstract:Mental health disorders affect hundreds of millions of people around the world, yet access to professional counseling remains severely limited. AI-powered dialogue systems offer a scalable alternative, but existing models face two fundamental challenges. First, they lack the bidirectional understanding needed to capture the layered nature of emotional expression, particularly in cases of progressive disclosure, where clients often present symptoms at the surface-level while concealing deeper trauma. Autoregressive (AR) models process information sequentially and cannot revise early interpretations when new evidence emerges later in the conversation. Second, they fail to effectively incorporate the relational knowledge that underlies clinical reasoning. In this paper, we propose \textbf{BiGraph-Diffuse}, the first large-scale diffusion language model tailored for the counseling domain. We further introduce \textbf{BiGraph-RAG}, a relation-free graph-structured retrieval strategy that relies only on lightweight entity extraction and semantic linking. This design preserves inferential pathways from observable symptoms to potential underlying causes, while incurring zero LLM token cost during indexing. Importantly, these two modules are not merely combined but mutually reinforcing. The diffusion model provides a holistic bidirectional context, enabling the system to defer premature judgments during progressive disclosure. Meanwhile, graph-based retrieval captures the structured interconnections of clinical knowledge. Extensive experiments demonstrate the effectiveness of BiGraph-Diffuse, and we further provide a solid theoretical analysis to support its design.
Artificial Intelligence (cs.AI)
arXiv:2609.29519 [cs.AI]
(or arXiv:2609.29519v1 [cs.AI] for this version)
https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2609.29519 Focus to learn more arXiv-issued DOI via DataCite (pending registration)
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