README.md

---
title: Prompt Prism Prototype
short_description: Dynamic system prompts for psychiatric AI
emoji: 🔮
colorFrom: purple
colorTo: blue
sdk: gradio
sdk_version: 4.44.1
python_version: "3.11"
app_file: app.py
pinned: false
license: mit
---

# Prompt Prism Prototype

**Dynamic System Prompt Architecture for Psychiatric AI**

*Same AI foundation, different refractions based on clinician + client + session.*

---

## The Problem

Psychiatric AI tools today give every clinician the same prompt.

- A psychodynamic therapist gets CBT-flavored AI
- A high-risk bipolar client gets the same flags as stable anxiety
- Intake data sits unused in the EHR
- Clinician expertise is flattened to one-size-fits-all

## The Solution

**Prompt Prism** generates a unique system prompt for each clinician + client combination.

Same AI infrastructure. Different refraction for each clinical dyad.

---

## How It Works

### The Prism Metaphor

A prism takes one light source and refracts it differently based on angle.

Prompt Prism takes the **ARI Framework** (ethical base layer) and refracts it based on:
- **Clinician** (orientation, style, philosophy)
- **Client** (risk, diagnosis, treatment stage)
- **Tools** (opt-in modules enabled for this client)
- **Session** (what's happening now)

### The Layers

| Layer | What It Contains | Why It Matters |
|-------|-----------------|----------------|
| **ARI Base** | Ethical guardrails, crisis protocols, forbidden language | Always-on safety |
| **Clinician** | Orientation, style, preferences, exclusions | AI thinks like you do |
| **Client** | Risk level, diagnosis, stage, custom flags | Personalized care |
| **Tools** | Opt-in modules clinician enables | Right tools for right client |
| **Session** | Last session, today's focus, current state | Continuity |

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## Opt-In Tools

Clinicians enable specific tools for specific clients:

| Tool | Purpose |
|------|---------|
| **Diagnosis Explorer** | Multi-pillar psychoeducation without pathologizing |
| **Tend & Send** | NVC-based communication for couples/family |
| **NVC How-To** | Nonviolent Communication skill-building |
| **Distress Tolerance** | DBT skills for riding out intensity |
| **Practice Conversations** | Roleplay difficult discussions |
| **Grounding & Regulation** | Somatic/sensory grounding |
| **Somatic Check-In** | Brief interoception practice |
| **ShadowBox Static Library** | Crisis-adjacent psychoeducation (NO LLM - static content only) |

### About ShadowBox

ShadowBox demonstrates how to handle **crisis-adjacent content safely**:
- Pre-written, clinically-reviewed content only
- NO LLM generation for suicidal ideation, self-harm, or crisis topics
- Confidentiality explained clearly
- State-specific duty-to-warn information
- Safety planning (Stanley-Brown model)
- Crisis resources with context
- Starter scripts for disclosure

*"A resonant library for hard thoughts. Not a chatbot."*

---

## Supported Orientations

- Psychodynamic
- CBT
- DBT
- Trauma-Informed
- IFS (Internal Family Systems)
- Somatic/Body-Based
- ACT (Acceptance and Commitment)
- Humanistic/Person-Centered
- Integrative

---

## Built On: ARI Framework

**Assistive Relational Intelligence** - AI that scaffolds human connection, not simulates it.

### Core Principles
1. Scaffold human connection, not simulate it
2. Bridge toward human care, not away from it
3. Build capacity, not dependency
4. Honor clinician expertise
5. Refuse engagement-optimization

### Safety Features
- Forbidden language patterns (no synthetic intimacy)
- Crisis protocols that defer to humans
- Risk-calibrated alerting
- Session boundaries and exit rituals
- Always bridge back to psychiatrist

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## For Psychiatric Organizations

This prototype demonstrates how hundreds of psychiatrists could each get AI aligned to their practice:

- Psychodynamic psychiatrist → psychodynamic AI responses
- DBT psychiatrist → DBT-aligned skill coaching
- Conservative risk philosophy → lower alert thresholds
- Client in stabilization → no trauma processing suggested
- Couples client → Tend & Send communication tools enabled
- High-risk client → ShadowBox static library for safe psychoeducation

**The result:** AI that feels like an extension of the clinician's approach, not a generic chatbot.

### What This Demonstrates

**For each unique clinician-client relationship:**

1. **Provider-controlled UX** — Psychiatrist toggles which tools are available
2. **Modality alignment** — AI speaks in the clinician's orientation
3. **Risk calibration** — Alerts tuned to this client's specific profile
4. **Opt-in tooling** — Right tools for right client at right time
5. **Bridging architecture** — Every tool points back to human care
6. **Static content for crisis** — ShadowBox shows how to handle high-risk topics safely

**Innovation points:**

- Dynamic system prompt generation per dyad
- Clinician as configurator, not just consumer
- Human-in-the-loop at every layer
- Ethical guardrails embedded, not bolted on
- Between-session support that strengthens (not replaces) the psychiatric relationship

---

## Usage

1. **Clinician Profile** - Set your orientation, style, preferences
2. **Client Context** - Configure diagnosis, risk level, treatment stage
3. **Tools & Modules** - Enable opt-in tools for this client
4. **Session Context** - Add continuity from last session
5. **Generate Prompt** - See your compiled system prompt
6. **Test Prompt** - Try it with sample client messages

---

## Setup

Add your `ANTHROPIC_API_KEY` in Space settings to enable the Test Prompt feature.

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## Author

**Jocelyn Skillman, LMHC**

Clinical AI Designer | Creator of the ARI Framework

*"Your 800 psychiatrists practice differently. Should they all get the same AI?"*

---

## Related Projects

- [ARI Tool Builder](https://huggingface.co/spaces/jostlebot/TherapistsCoding.ARI)
- [Diagnosis Explorer](https://huggingface.co/spaces/jostlebot/DiagnosisExplorer)
- [Portfolio](https://jocelyn-portfolio-ebon.vercel.app/)