{"id":133,"date":"2026-01-12T07:22:17","date_gmt":"2026-01-12T07:22:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wordpress.cs.vt.edu\/rylai\/?page_id=133"},"modified":"2026-01-12T07:22:17","modified_gmt":"2026-01-12T07:22:17","slug":"deep-sage","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/wordpress.cs.vt.edu\/rylai\/deep-sage\/","title":{"rendered":"Deep SAGE"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A Strategic Questioning Framework for AI Counseling using Large Language Models and Deep Reinforcement Learning.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The growing demand for mental health services highlighted the need for AI-powered chatbots. However, existing counselor chatbots face significant shortcomings, including reliance on predetermined scripts, client-led conversation models, and a lack of implementation details for advanced features, restricting their ability to handle complex emotional contexts, guide scientifically validated counseling processes, and scale effectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We propose Deep SAGE, a Strategic AI Guidance Engine (SAGE). Deep SAGE integrates essential counselor characteristics with a scientifically validated counseling process, specifically cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). Leveraging advanced natural language processing (NLP), large language models (LLMs), and deep reinforcement learning (DRL), fostering deeper self-disclosure and openness through strategic questioning and context-aware responses. Our work bridges the gap between theoretical counseling frameworks and practical, scalable implementations, offering a cost-effective and accessible mental health resource.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Publications<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In Preparation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Authors: Qi Zhang, Heajun An, Minqian Liu, Xinyi Zhang, Sang Won Lee, Lifu Hwang, Pamela Wisniewski and Jin-Hee Cho<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Presentations<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

ACM CAPWIC 2025 \u2013 Student Research Short Talk<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Presented “Deep SAGE: A Strategic Questioning Framework for AI Counseling using Large Language Models and Deep Reinforcement Learning” at ACM CAPWIC 2025, March 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Slides<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Strategic Questioning Framework for AI Counseling using Large Language Models and Deep Reinforcement Learning. The growing demand for mental health services highlighted the need for AI-powered chatbots. However, existing counselor chatbots face significant shortcomings, including reliance on predetermined scripts, client-led conversation models, and a lack of implementation details for advanced features, restricting their ability […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":501,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-133","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.cs.vt.edu\/rylai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/133","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.cs.vt.edu\/rylai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.cs.vt.edu\/rylai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.cs.vt.edu\/rylai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/501"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.cs.vt.edu\/rylai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=133"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.cs.vt.edu\/rylai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/133\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":136,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.cs.vt.edu\/rylai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/133\/revisions\/136"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.cs.vt.edu\/rylai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=133"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}