A Note on Collaborative Healing and Advocacy
During the creation of Happily Ever After Abuse, the process of revisiting and refining traumatic experiences began triggering intrusive memories and flashbacks that threatened to derail this important work. Rather than abandon the mission to help fellow survivors, I made the decision to partner with large language models (LLMs); ChatGPT, Claude and Copilot, as collaborative editors and research assistants.
This partnership transformed what could have been a re-traumatizing process into an empowering collaboration. ChatGPT, Claude and Copilot helped weave scholarly research into my personal experiences, creating educational narratives that validate the complex psychology of survival while maintaining the authenticity of lived experience. Most importantly, this approach allowed me to focus on the healing message rather than repeatedly reliving the trauma.
This collaboration demonstrates how artificial intelligence can serve as a powerful advocacy tool for survivors of domestic violence and child abuse. By handling the technical aspects of research integration and narrative structure, AI technology can help survivors transform their experiences into educational resources without compromising their mental health or recovery journey.
For survivors considering sharing their stories: healing happens in relationship, and sometimes that relationship can include technological tools designed to amplify your voice while protecting your well-being. Your story matters, your healing matters, and there are innovative ways to ensure both can coexist.