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Federal experts urge behavioral-health providers to screen for technology-facilitated abuse
Summary
Panelists at a federal webinar led by Katherine Chon (OTIP, HHS) warned that technology-facilitated abuse (TFA) is widespread, can mirror other forms of interpersonal violence, and recommended that behavioral-health providers integrate screening, safety planning and trauma-informed care into routine practice.
Katherine Chon, director of the Office on Trafficking in Persons at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, opened a webinar warning that technology-facilitated abuse is a growing public-health problem that intersects with trafficking, intimate-partner violence and child abuse.
"Technology-facilitated abuse is a serious and growing public health concern that intersects with many other forms of violence," Chon said, citing recent estimates that about 70% of young adults report some form of TFA and that roughly 7.5 million people experience cyberstalking each year.
Dr. Morgan PettyJohn, an assistant professor who researches digital harms, defined TFA as a set of tactics—nonconsensual account access, covert location tracking, image-based sexual abuse, deepfakes and scams—used across relationships and the lifespan to surveil, coerce or exploit survivors. "All forms of TFA can compromise an individual's privacy and cause emotional, physical, or social harm," PettyJohn said.
Panelists said TFA often reproduces familiar patterns of power and control. "TFA uses the same forms of power and control found in the Duluth Power and Control Wheel," Adam Dodge, a digital-safety advocate and attorney, said, adding that AI tools can both enable new harms and offer investigative leads in some cases.
Jacob Berger, a lived-experience consultant, described the long-term harm of anonymity for survivors who do not know their abusers. Berger recounted being catfished as a teen and said, "It is the reality of never knowing the identity of your abuser...that creates a unique set of challenges and long-term loneliness." He argued that clinical care must recognize those emotional and relational consequences.
Kate Keisel, who oversees Project Lighthouse (funded by the Office for Victims of Crime), emphasized clinical signs providers should watch for: difficulty concentrating, rumination, intrusive thoughts, dissociation, hypervigilance, somatic complaints and elevated suicidal ideation. "These trauma responses can be misdiagnosed if providers don't recognize the scope of TFA," Keisel said.
The panel advised that screening for TFA begin during intake and be revisited at transition points such as new relationships or moves. Keisel recommended using informed-consent conversations to explain why technology questions are asked and to preserve client autonomy about disclosure.
Panelists repeatedly urged that baseline trauma-informed skills transfer to TFA work: mirror client language, use open-ended questions and prioritize safety and trust-building before any deep trauma processing. When technical issues exceed clinical expertise, providers were advised to connect clients to digital-safety resources or specialists rather than avoiding the subject.
The webinar closed with Chon calling for coordinated prevention, stronger clinical responses and expanded resources so survivors can access safer, person-centered care. "We must keep sharpening our awareness, strengthening our responses and expanding prevention efforts in addition to clinical services," she said.
