That's an interesting point, but I'll reiterate this tool is explicitly described as not being a replacement for therapy.

> I think LLMs have a lot of therapeutic potential, but I am worried about how easily they can cause harm in this area

At the end of the day, no one can be 100% responsible for someone else. The agency lies with the patient. Even human therapists come with their own beliefs that seep into their practice, which while well-intentioned may not align with the goals of the patient. It is up to the patient to understand their own values and decide whether therapy with a given therapist/therapy method is effective in improving their life.

In your example above, I'm not sure the harm risk is so high. In fact, with your example of exposure, since LLMs tend to regurgitate the same flavor of response over and over, they might actually deliver the same effect of desensitization.

I fall into the OCD thinking category, and found LLMs helpful precisely for the fact they have endless patience (whereas I feel the need to hold back after a certain number of times talking to friends/therapist about the same issue)

Best one can do is be upfront with the aims/design of the tool, and let people decide