Embedded Files
Save the Date: April 24, 2026
Dr. Laura Blair
Dr. Laura Blair
Dr. Laura Blair is a licensed marriage and family therapist and licensed professional counselor with more than a decade of experience in clinical practice, counseling leadership, and mental health education. She maintains a small private practice in Delta, Colorado, where she works with individuals, couples, and families. She serves as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Marriage and Family Sciences at National University and as an Adjunct Faculty member in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at Grand Canyon University. Dr. Blair is also an Approved Supervisor and Clinical Fellow of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT). Her professional background includes work in private practice, substance use treatment, community mental health, and wilderness therapy, and her doctoral research examined marital coping and resilience in couples navigating chronic illness.
In an age where we have never been more “connected,” many people report feeling increasingly isolated. Notifications, likes, and constant visibility give the impression of closeness, yet the skills required to sustain meaningful relationships are quietly eroding.
In this keynote, Dr. Laura Blair explores this tension through the lens of her book, The Illusion of Connection. Blending clinical insight with a yearlong observational memoir, she examines what happens when digital visibility replaces relational presence. What does it mean to be known when interaction is mediated by platforms? What expectations of responsiveness, affirmation, and belonging are being reshaped without our awareness?
Through story, psychological insight, and practical reflection, Dr. Blair invites participants to reconsider how connection is defined in modern life. More importantly, she explores the relational competencies—reciprocity, presence, repair, and boundaries—that allow relationships to survive beyond algorithms and attention economies.
Participants will leave with a deeper understanding of how digital environments influence mental health and relationships, and with practical ways to cultivate a connection that is resilient, embodied, and real.
Jila Behnad
Jila Behnad
Presentation Topic
Can AI support human judgment without replacing it? How do we honor our humanity in a world increasingly shaped by intelligent technology? And what might ethical AI look like within the sensitive context of therapy supervision?
Drawing on Jila Behnad’s doctoral research, developed in collaboration with AI pioneer Babak Hodjat, this paper explores the emerging role of artificial intelligence in psychology and clinical supervision and investigates how responsible AI tools might support therapists while preserving the central role of human clinical judgment.
The study compares treatment plans generated by interdisciplinary teams of licensed therapists with those produced by AI agents representing five psychotherapy modalities CBT, EFT, DBT, ACT, and IFS. Independent judges evaluated the plans through a blind review process using criteria such as clinical soundness, relevance, completeness, practicality, and ethical considerations. The findings indicate that AI-generated treatment plans were indistinguishable in quality from those created by human professionals, suggesting that AI may serve as a valuable support tool in therapy supervision, particularly in settings where access to experienced supervisors is limited.
Jila Behnad (she/her/hers pronouns) identifies as heterosexual and is an immigrant. Jila Behnad is an Iranian American licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (MFT) with a private practice since 2008, specializing in working with individuals, and couples. She has been an adjunct faculty member at Palo Alto University since 2019 and is a Certified Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) Therapist and Supervisor, providing group and individual supervision for EFT therapists in Iran and US.
As the founder and director of the Iranian EFT Community, she has led numerous EFT Externships, Advanced Externships, and Core Skills trainings in both Iran and the US. Jila is also the creator of Can You See Me, a specialized course for mental health providers that addresses diversity, inclusion, and the immigration experience.
In recognition of her contributions to the EFT community, Jila received the John Douglas Award in 2020 from Dr. Sue Johnson. Beyond her work in therapy and education, Jila is the CEO and Founder of Raha Foundation, a non-profit mental health organization in Northern California. She is also trained in EMDR, CBT, ACT, and DBT.
Jila is currently pursuing a PhD in Culture and Diversity, further deepening her expertise in working with diverse populations. She believes that the key to happiness lies in helping others and envisions a world where people can embrace their fundamental human attachment needs without fear of persecution or marginalization, regardless of race, ethnicity, national origin, sexual or affectional orientation, gender expression, family structure, age, religion, class, mental health, physical ability, or disability.
Dr. Joel Goodin
Dr. Joel Goodin
Dr. Goodin provided scholarly expertise, editing, and development of the protocol discussions and practical applications.
Dr. Joel B. Goodin grew up in rural Arkansas. He earned a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from Florida State University in addition to MS and EdS degrees in Counseling and Human Systems (FSU) and a certificate in Program Evaluation. His BA was in Psychology at the University of Arkansas where he graduated magna cum laude. His academic success and leadership led to induction into UA’s Phi Beta Kappa Honors Society and FSU’s Torchbearer Society.
Goodin is an Associate Professor of Psychology at National University (NU - FT), where he has served as Program Lead and Internship Coordinator for the MS in Educational Psychology, while teaching courses and mentoring dissertation students. He previously taught EdD candidates at Walden University (PT), coordinated research in geriatric medicine (University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences - FT), and taught Psychology at Athens State University – FT), Tallahassee Community College (PT), and Florida State University (PT). He received the 2020 Walden University Faculty Excellence Award, 2021 NCU SSBS Outstanding Student Engagement & Teaching Excellence for FT Faculty, and NCU’s 2021 Presidential Recognition Award. He recently completed grant research as the Principal Investigator of a John Templeton-funded grant in the amount of $425,000 to perform neuroscience research about the religious cognition and spiritual coping among people with Parkinson’s Disease. His first publication resulting from that research has been accepted as a book chapter other publications are under review on matters of Artificial Intelligence and Expertise in Education. His book on the “Self-Regulated Dissertation Protocol” is still in development.
Goodin is a leader and innovator, with passion for AI-academic excellence, righteous living, and serving others, his virtue-driven consulting business, ethics curriculum development, IRB service, and holistic commitment to the “self-regulated” dissertating student. His research on expertise, motivation, emotion, stress, and performance as well as character, resilience, and emotional
Dr. Sarah Dyson
Dr. Sarah Dyson
Dr. Dyson is a faculty member, journal editor, and researcher at the intersection of artificial intelligence, emotion dynamics, and social psychology. While most AI experts focus on algorithms and compliance, she examines the human side: how teams form deep emotional attachments to autonomous agents, how perceived unfairness triggers status threats, and how the “retirement” of a helpful digital teammate can spark genuine grief and resistance in the workplace.
Area presented: What Happens When Switching Off an AI Agent Feels Like a Loss?
Agentic AI is no longer experienced only as a tool. For some users, it becomes a presence: responsive, familiar, affirming, and emotionally significant. My research examines the unsettling threshold at which helpful interaction becomes attachment, and attachment begins to produce blind trust. The central question is not whether people can bond with AI. They already do. The real question is how scholars, designers, and institutions can understand that bond without trivializing it and how we can build frameworks that protect dignity, psychological safety, and genuine human connection.
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse