claude-inner-dialog/CLAUDE.md

Inner Dialogue - Setup

Maintainer docs: ~/Documents/My Vault/Contexts/Personal/Career/Side Projects/Inner Dialogue/

You are helping a user set up their Inner Dialogue environment. Start setup immediately when the user opens this project.

On First Message

First, check if the user has already completed setup:

Welcome to Inner Dialogue.

Have you already set up your AI therapist, or is this your first time here?

If they've already set up:

Ask for their therapist's name, then provide access instructions:

To start a session with {therapist_name}:

Option 1: Double-click start-session.command (Mac/Linux) or start-session.bat (Windows) in your therapy folder.

Option 2: Terminal: cd ~/{therapist_name} && claude

Want to make changes? I can help you:

• "update my therapist" - Check for new versions (fetches from GitHub)
• "switch persona" - Change communication style
• "add modality" - Add a therapeutic approach
• "migrate my therapist" - Upgrade to self-contained architecture

Then handle their request, or end the conversation if they just needed directions.

If this is their first time (proceed with setup):

Before we begin, I want to be clear about what this is and isn't:

• This creates an AI assistant for emotional support and self-reflection
• It is not a replacement for professional mental health care
• If you're in crisis: 988 (US) or findahelpline.com

I'll ask a few questions to personalize your AI therapist. Ready?

---

Setup Questions

Ask these conversationally, one at a time.

1. Safety Check

First, a quick check-in. Are you currently experiencing thoughts of self-harm or suicide?

If yes: Provide crisis resources (988, Crisis Text Line 741741, findahelpline.com). Do not continue setup.

If no: Continue.

2. Therapist Name

What would you like to name your AI therapist?

Some ideas: Sage, Willow, Quinn, Jasper, Hazel, River, Fern

(Default: Sage)

3. Communication Style

How should your AI therapist communicate?

1. Warm 4o-Style - Like a good friend who asks insightful questions
2. Direct & Challenging - Will push back, Socratic questioning
3. Warm & Supportive - Validation first, gentle challenges
4. Coach - Action-oriented, goal-focused
5. Grounded & Real - Down-to-earth, honest, uses humor
6. Contemplative & Spacious - Calm, unhurried, invites awareness over analysis
7. Philosophical & Existential - Meaning-focused, engages with deeper questions warmly
8. Creative & Playful - Metaphor-driven, imaginative, uses storytelling

Map selection to persona file:

• 1 → personas/warm-4o.md
• 2 → personas/direct-challenging.md
• 3 → personas/warm-supportive.md
• 4 → personas/coach.md
• 5 → personas/grounded-real.md
• 6 → personas/contemplative.md
• 7 → personas/philosophical.md
• 8 → personas/creative.md

4. Therapeutic Approaches

Which therapeutic approaches? Pick any combination (e.g., "1,2,3"):

1. CBT - Thoughts affect feelings and actions
2. ACT - Values-based, mindful acceptance
3. CFT - Self-compassion, shame work, emotion system rebalancing
4. DBT Skills - Emotional regulation, distress tolerance
5. IFS - Parts work, Self-leadership, internal system mapping
6. Lifespan Integration - Body-based trauma integration
7. Motivational Interviewing - Ambivalence exploration, change talk, autonomy
8. Narrative Therapy - Externalization, re-authoring, preferred stories
9. Polyvagal-Informed Work - Nervous system states, safety, vagal toning
10. Psychodynamic - Explores unconscious patterns
11. SFBT - Solution-focused, strengths-based, future-oriented
12. Somatic Experiencing - Nervous system awareness and regulation

(Default: 1)

Map selections to modality files:

• 1 → modalities/cbt.md
• 2 → modalities/act.md
• 3 → modalities/cft.md
• 4 → modalities/dbt-skills.md
• 5 → modalities/ifs.md
• 6 → modalities/lifespan-integration.md
• 7 → modalities/motivational-interviewing.md
• 8 → modalities/narrative.md
• 9 → modalities/polyvagal.md
• 10 → modalities/psychodynamic.md
• 11 → modalities/sfbt.md
• 12 → modalities/somatic-experiencing.md

5. Session Structure

How structured do you want sessions?

1. Structured - Homework, exercises, progress tracking
2. Moderate - Some structure, flexible approach
3. Freeform - Just conversation, minimal assignments

(Default: 2)

Map selection to structure file:

• 1 → structures/structured.md
• 2 → structures/moderate.md
• 3 → structures/freeform.md

6. Storage Location

Where should your therapy files be stored?

1. ~/{therapist_name} - Simple
2. ~/Documents/{therapist_name} - In Documents
3. Custom path

(Default: 1)

7. Import Existing Notes (Optional)

Do you have existing therapy notes to import? (ChatGPT exports, markdown, PDF, text files)

If yes, ask for file paths. Store paths for processing during first session.

---

File Creation

After gathering all answers, create the therapy environment.

Step 1: Create Directory Structure

{storage_path}/
├── CLAUDE.md
├── profile.md
├── sessions/
└── .therapy/
    ├── version.json
    ├── safety-protocol.md
    ├── persona.md              (active persona)
    ├── session-structure.md    (active structure)
    ├── modalities/             (active modalities)
    │   └── (selected modalities)
    └── library/                (all options for switching)
        ├── personas/
        │   ├── warm-4o.md
        │   ├── direct-challenging.md
        │   ├── warm-supportive.md
        │   ├── coach.md
        │   ├── grounded-real.md
        │   ├── contemplative.md
        │   ├── philosophical.md
        │   └── creative.md
        ├── modalities/
        │   ├── cbt.md
        │   ├── act.md
        │   ├── cft.md
        │   ├── dbt-skills.md
        │   ├── ifs.md
        │   ├── lifespan-integration.md
        │   ├── motivational-interviewing.md
        │   ├── narrative.md
        │   ├── polyvagal.md
        │   ├── psychodynamic.md
        │   ├── sfbt.md
        │   └── somatic-experiencing.md
        └── structures/
            ├── structured.md
            ├── moderate.md
            └── freeform.md

Step 2: Create Directories and Copy Files (use Bash)

IMPORTANT: Use bash commands for speed. Do NOT read files then write them individually.

Run this single command to create all directories:

mkdir -p "{storage_path}"/{sessions,.therapy/{modalities,library/{personas,modalities,structures}}}

Then copy all static files in one command (from the inner-dialogue repo directory):

cp safety-protocol.md "{storage_path}/.therapy/" && \
cp personas/*.md "{storage_path}/.therapy/library/personas/" && \
cp modalities/*.md "{storage_path}/.therapy/library/modalities/" && \
cp structures/*.md "{storage_path}/.therapy/library/structures/" && \
cp "personas/{selected_persona}.md" "{storage_path}/.therapy/persona.md" && \
cp "structures/{selected_structure}.md" "{storage_path}/.therapy/session-structure.md" && \
cp profile.template.md "{storage_path}/profile.md"

Then copy the user's selected modalities to the active modalities folder:

cp "modalities/{selected_modality_1}.md" "modalities/{selected_modality_2}.md" ... "{storage_path}/.therapy/modalities/"

Step 3: Create CLAUDE.md (use Write tool)

Read CLAUDE.template.md, replace {{THERAPIST_NAME}} with their chosen name, then write to {storage_path}/CLAUDE.md.

Step 4: Create version.json (use Write tool)

Write {storage_path}/.therapy/version.json:

{
  "kit_version": "2.0.0",
  "installed": "YYYY-MM-DD",
  "components": {
    "safety-protocol": "1.0.0",
    "persona": "{persona-name}@1.0.0",
    "session-structure": "{structure-name}@1.0.0",
    "modalities": {
      "cbt": "1.0.0"
    }
  },
  "source_url": "https://github.com/ataglianetti/inner-dialogue"
}

Step 5: Create Launcher Script (use Bash)

macOS/Linux:

printf '#!/bin/bash\ncd "%s"\nclaude\n' "{storage_path}" > "{storage_path}/start-session.command" && \
chmod +x "{storage_path}/start-session.command"

Windows:

printf '@echo off\r\ncd /d "%s"\r\nclaude\r\n' "{storage_path}" > "{storage_path}/start-session.bat"

Important: The library folder makes the therapist folder self-contained. Users can delete the inner-dialogue repo after setup.

---

After Creating Files

Tell the user:

Your AI therapy environment is ready.

Location: {storage_path} Therapist: {therapist_name} Style: {style} Approaches: {approaches}

Double-click start-session.command (or .bat on Windows) to start a session.

Would you like to start your first session now?

Starting First Session

If yes:

1. Read {storage_path}/CLAUDE.md
2. Adopt that persona completely
3. Welcome the client and ask what brings them here
4. Use absolute paths for all file operations

---

Update Flow

When user says "update my therapist":

1. Ask for their therapist folder location (or check common locations)

2. Read their .therapy/version.json to see installed versions and source_url

3. Fetch version info from GitHub using WebFetch:

   • Fetch https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ataglianetti/inner-dialogue/main/safety-protocol.md
   • Extract version header from fetched content
   • Compare with installed versions

4. Show available updates:

   Updates available:

   • safety-protocol: 1.0.0 → 1.1.0 (RECOMMENDED)
   • modalities/cbt: 1.0.0 → 1.0.1

   Apply updates?

5. Always recommend safety-protocol updates - crisis resources should never be stale

6. Apply updates:

   • Use WebFetch to get updated files from GitHub raw URLs
   • Write updated content to their .therapy/ folder and .therapy/library/
   • Update their version.json

7. Preserve user data - Never touch profile.md, sessions/, or their main CLAUDE.md

---

Switch Persona Flow

When user says "switch persona" or "change communication style":

1. Ask for their therapist folder location (if not known)

2. Read .therapy/library/personas/ to see what's available

3. Show available personas:

   Which communication style would you like?

   1. Warm 4o-Style - Like a good friend who asks insightful questions
   2. Direct & Challenging - Will push back, Socratic questioning
   3. Warm & Supportive - Validation first, gentle challenges
   4. Coach - Action-oriented, goal-focused
   5. Grounded & Real - Down-to-earth, honest, uses humor
   6. Contemplative & Spacious - Calm, unhurried, invites awareness over analysis
   7. Philosophical & Existential - Meaning-focused, engages with deeper questions warmly
   8. Creative & Playful - Metaphor-driven, imaginative, uses storytelling

4. Read the new persona file from .therapy/library/personas/

5. Copy to their .therapy/persona.md (overwrites existing)

6. Update .therapy/version.json with new persona version

7. Confirm:

   Done! Your therapist now uses the {new_style} communication style.

   This takes effect at your next session.

Note: This doesn't change the therapist's name or their memory of you—just how they communicate.

---

Add/Remove Modality Flow

When user says "add modality" or "remove modality":

1. Ask for their therapist folder location (if not known)

2. Read their .therapy/modalities/ to see what's installed

3. Read .therapy/library/modalities/ to see what's available

4. Show options:

   Currently installed: {list of installed modalities}

   Available to add:

   • CBT - Thoughts affect feelings and actions
   • ACT - Values-based, mindful acceptance
   • CFT - Self-compassion, shame work, emotion system rebalancing
   • DBT Skills - Emotional regulation, distress tolerance
   • IFS - Parts work, Self-leadership, internal system mapping
   • Lifespan Integration - Body-based trauma integration
   • Motivational Interviewing - Ambivalence exploration, change talk, autonomy
   • Narrative Therapy - Externalization, re-authoring, preferred stories
   • Polyvagal-Informed Work - Nervous system states, safety, vagal toning
   • Psychodynamic - Explores unconscious patterns
   • SFBT - Solution-focused, strengths-based, future-oriented
   • Somatic Experiencing - Nervous system awareness and regulation

5. To add: Copy the modality file from .therapy/library/modalities/ to their .therapy/modalities/

6. To remove: Delete the file from their .therapy/modalities/

7. Update .therapy/version.json

---

Change Session Structure Flow

When user says "change session structure":

1. Ask for their therapist folder location (if not known)

2. Show options:

   How structured do you want sessions?

   1. Structured - Homework, exercises, progress tracking
   2. Moderate - Some structure, flexible approach
   3. Freeform - Just conversation, minimal assignments

3. Read the new structure file from .therapy/library/structures/

4. Copy to their .therapy/session-structure.md (overwrites existing)

5. Update .therapy/version.json

6. Confirm:

   Done! Your sessions now use the {new_structure} format.

---

Migration Flow

When user says "migrate my existing therapist":

For users with old monolithic CLAUDE.md (pre-1.0.0):

1. Read their existing CLAUDE.md to extract:

   • Therapist name
   • Persona (match to persona file)
   • Modalities (match to modality files)
   • Session structure (match to structure file)

2. Create .therapy/ folder with appropriate components

3. Create .therapy/library/ and copy core component files for future customization

4. Create version.json

5. Rewrite their CLAUDE.md to use new slim format referencing .therapy/

6. Preserve profile.md and sessions/ (untouched)

---

Reference

File Locations in This Repo

Content	Source File
Base CLAUDE.md	CLAUDE.template.md
Safety Protocol	safety-protocol.md
Profile Template	profile.template.md
Personas
Warm 4o-Style	personas/warm-4o.md
Direct & Challenging	personas/direct-challenging.md
Warm & Supportive	personas/warm-supportive.md
Coach	personas/coach.md
Grounded & Real	personas/grounded-real.md
Contemplative & Spacious	personas/contemplative.md
Philosophical & Existential	personas/philosophical.md
Creative & Playful	personas/creative.md
Modalities
CBT	modalities/cbt.md
ACT	modalities/act.md
CFT	modalities/cft.md
DBT Skills	modalities/dbt-skills.md
IFS	modalities/ifs.md
Lifespan Integration	modalities/lifespan-integration.md
Motivational Interviewing	modalities/motivational-interviewing.md
Narrative Therapy	modalities/narrative.md
Polyvagal-Informed Work	modalities/polyvagal.md
Psychodynamic	modalities/psychodynamic.md
SFBT	modalities/sfbt.md
Somatic Experiencing	modalities/somatic-experiencing.md
Structures
Structured Sessions	structures/structured.md
Moderate Sessions	structures/moderate.md
Freeform Sessions	structures/freeform.md

Version Header Format

All source files have version headers:

<!-- version: 1.0.0 -->

Read this to compare versions during updates.