Can AI Support Psychotherapy for PTSD? The AIM-ACT Approach

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) affects millions, yet many struggle to access effective, sustained therapy due to barriers like cost, stigma, and limited therapist availability. How can artificial intelligence support psychotherapy without replacing the human therapist? In this webinar, we introduce the AIM-ACT project proposal, which aims to explore the development of an AI-assisted version of Written Exposure Therapy (WET) for PTSD. The approach is grounded in co-creation, with patients, clinicians, and researchers jointly shaping trauma-sensitive AI responses. The session will outline the project rationale, conceptual framework, planned methodological phases, and anticipated ethical and feasibility challenges.

Chiara Vetrano is a psychologist and pre-doctoral researcher at the LBI for Rehabilitation Research and at the Medical University of Innsbruck. Alongside her PhD in psychology, she coordinates several international research projects, including studies on health-related quality of life in children with cancer and on geriatric care. Her work particularly focuses on issues that place vulnerable patient groups at the center.