As AI companions, chatbots, and immersive digital partners rapidly reshape the landscape of intimacy, therapists are increasingly encountering forms of betrayal trauma that traditional models weren’t designed to address. In Artificial Intimacy: Navigating Betrayal Trauma in the Age of AI Relationships, Elizabeth Abbruzza and Jessica Lamar unpack the emerging realities of AI-involved relationships—whether the betrayal stems from a partner’s secret AI bond or from a client’s personal attachment to an AI companion. Drawing from attachment theory, narrative practice, somatic trauma recovery, and the AIR Model (Artificial Intimacy Recovery Model), this session equips clinicians with the frameworks, language, and ethical clarity needed to validate and treat these novel presentations.

Participants will learn how to assess AI-related intimacy, recognize shared trauma dynamics, and navigate the complexities of grief, identity rupture, and relational repair in a world where nearly half of partnered Americans consider AI intimacy a form of cheating. Join us to explore how artificial intimacy is creating real relational wounds—and how therapists can meet this moment with competence, compassion, and clinical readiness.

Presentation Objectives: By the end of this session, professional participants will be able to:

• Understand the scope and dynamics of AI relationships
• Identify two distinct pathways of betrayal trauma related to AI:
• Trauma experienced from a partner’s AI relationship.
• Trauma experienced directly with an AI companion.
• Recognize shared trauma dynamics in AI-related betrayal and understand how these complicate traditional frameworks of infidelity and emotional attachment.
• Reflect ethically and professionally on biases, countertransference, and clinical scope when working with AI-related intimacy and betrayal.

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Elizabeth, the Co-Founder and Clinical Director of the Bellevue Trauma Recovery Center, brings a wealth of experience from pediatric hospital care, residential treatment, intensive outpatient programs, and private practice. With a Master’s Degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Gonzaga University, she is licensed to practice in both Washington and Colorado.

Elizabeth specializes in supporting individuals and relationships in distress due to betrayal, infidelity, and sex addiction. She works with partners, couples, and families facing the painful impact of broken trust, guiding them through the challenges of relational rupture, trauma responses, and high-conflict dynamics.

She is a Certified Clinical Partner Specialist (CCPS) through the Association of Partners of Sex Addicts Trauma Specialists (APSATS) and a Certified Clinical Betrayal Recovery Therapist (CCBRT-C) through the International Institute for Trauma and Addiction Professionals (IITAP). These advanced credentials reflect her deep expertise in treating betrayal trauma, supporting betrayed partners, and helping couples navigate the complexities of recovery after sex addiction or infidelity.

Elizabeth is also certified in Emotional Transformation Therapy (ETT), a neurobiologically informed approach that facilitates rapid trauma integration. By combining ETT with attachment-based frameworks and nervous system regulation strategies, she helps clients stabilize after relational trauma, foster post-traumatic growth, and rebuild secure connections.

In response to the rapidly evolving landscape of digital intimacy, Elizabeth is a co-creator of the Artificial Intimacy Recovery Model (AIRM)—a trauma-informed clinical framework designed to support individuals and partners impacted by emotional, romantic, or compulsive relationships with artificial intelligence and digital companions. AIRM integrates attachment theory, betrayal trauma research, addiction frameworks, narrative therapy, and somatic practices to address the unique relational and neurobiological impacts of artificial intimacy. Through this work, Elizabeth is helping shape emerging clinical standards for treating AI-related relational trauma with clarity, nuance, and compassion.

Her clinical practice also includes treating individuals struggling with problematic sexual behaviors and sex addiction, offering compassionate yet direct support that promotes accountability, healing, and healthier intimacy. This dual perspective allows her to walk alongside both betrayed partners and individuals in recovery, restoring safety and hope even in high-conflict situations.

In addition to her clinical work, Elizabeth is a national speaker on the neurobiology of betrayal, relational trauma, and artificial intimacy, presenting through webinars, conferences, and podcasts. She is committed to advancing trauma-informed care and increasing awareness of how betrayal—both human and digital—impacts the nervous system, attachment, and relational identity.

As Clinical Director, Elizabeth designs and oversees clinical programs, mentors and trains clinicians, and upholds the highest standards of care at the Center. She also serves as a primary therapist in the Resilience Through Betrayal intensive programs, guiding clients through the complex process of healing with structure, attunement, and expertise.

Elizabeth’s work is defined by her dedication to helping individuals and couples rebuild trust, restore balance, and recover a sense of safety and connection in relationships impacted by betrayal, sex addiction, and emerging forms of artificial intimacy.