Story perspectives

AI Deepfakes Aid Trauma Survivors, Raise Privacy Concerns

12/19/2025

Summary

Story summary

A therapy uses AI-generated deepfakes of abusers to help trauma survivors confront the past.
Marina vd Roest described feeling scared yet relieved during sessions after years of ineffective PTSD therapy.
Experts, including Marieke Bak from Amsterdam UMC, emphasize controlled environments to reduce re-traumatization.
Privacy concerns arise about using perpetrators’ images without consent, while results show reduced PTSD symptoms and increased self-forgiveness; a Dutch study will publish findings next year.

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Story summary

A therapy uses AI-generated deepfakes of abusers to help trauma survivors confront the past.
Marina vd Roest described feeling scared yet relieved during sessions after years of ineffective PTSD therapy.
Experts, including Marieke Bak from Amsterdam UMC, emphasize controlled environments to reduce re-traumatization.
Privacy concerns arise about using perpetrators’ images without consent, while results show reduced PTSD symptoms and increased self-forgiveness; a Dutch study will publish findings next year.