Summary
The last two years of crises demonstrate why researchers and designers must anticipate and plan for trauma as it emerges in our work (and our lives). But how do you move your practice and your organization in a trauma-informed direction? This panel will draw upon our experiences researching sensitive topics and working with marginalized communities to discuss implementing trauma-informed practices in research and design engagements. We will explore the different ways we’ve used trauma-informed concepts to work with, and protect the mental and emotional safety of, the communities we serve. Panelists will also discuss self and team care and ways we’ve advocated for trauma-informed approaches in organizations like Code for America and the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Key Insights
-
•
Trauma is stored in the body as sensations, pain, numbness, or dissociation, making it essential to consider physical as well as psychological impacts in research.
-
•
Research language can retraumatize participants; forcing binary gender choices in surveys excludes and harms non-binary and culturally diverse identities.
-
•
Safety and choice are foundational trauma-informed principles that require rethinking question formats and allowing participants to skip sensitive questions.
-
•
Participants are often over-researched, causing psychological harm; researchers must critically assess whether their research is necessary or redundant.
-
•
Participatory research methods empower communities by leveraging insider trust and allowing participants to control how stories are told and shared.
-
•
Consent forms often prioritize organizational legal protection over participant understanding and true consent.
-
•
Trauma affects researchers differently based on identity and positionality; organizations must create supports recognizing intersectional burdens.
-
•
Self-care is not enough; trauma-informed organizations require systemic changes to work environments, power structures, and policies.
-
•
Performative supports like mental health days or therapy stipends without removing bureaucratic barriers fall short of trauma-informed care.
-
•
Effective trauma-informed research integrates pre-, during-, and post-research practices including warm handoffs and clear resource connections.
Notable Quotes
"There are 1.9 billion Google search results for trauma - an exponential increase showing its growing awareness."
"Questions can be weapons; language in research, especially demographic questions, can exclude and retraumatize participants."
"Even offering an 'other' category in gender questions implies the participant deviates from a presumed norm."
"Harm is inevitably caused by research; the question is how do we reduce that harm as much as possible."
"Compensation should be culturally competent and consider all supports participants might need to show up fully."
"True consent means forms and processes designed for human understanding, not just organizational legal protection."
"Over-researching vulnerable populations repeats colonial patterns of extracting trauma without care."
"Research participants doing research in their own communities can create safer, richer research conversations."
"Sharing power and allowing researchers to choose projects creates less traumatic and more equitable workplaces."
"The self-care industry is commodified; true healing requires organizational change, not just personal coping tactics."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"The user experience will allow us to win."
Doug PowellClosing Keynote: Design at Scale
November 8, 2018
"Matching researchers by language and culture makes children more comfortable and improves consent."
Mila Kuznetsova Lucy DentonHow Lessons Learned from Our Youngest Users Can Help Us Evolve our Practices
March 9, 2022
"Backcast from preferred or risky futures to start thinking about what we need to do today to get there or avoid that outcome."
Sarah GallimoreInspire Progress with Artifacts from the Future
November 18, 2022
"We never compromise on the business goals, but how we achieve them can be flexible and pragmatic."
Lada Gorlenko Sharbani Dhar Sébastien Malo Rob Mitzel Ivana Ng Michal Anne RogondinoTheme 1: Discussion
January 8, 2024
"Start tinkering, playing around, and pushing AI’s limits because the industry shift is going to get faster."
Alnie FigueroaThe Future of Design Operations: Transforming Our Craft
September 10, 2025
"Meaningfulness is linked directly to what your organization cares about in terms of goals and priorities."
Landon BarnesAre My Research Findings Actually Meaningful?
March 10, 2022
"When you encounter an obstacle, how do you respond? Maybe it’s an invitation to grow."
Emily EagleCan't Rewind: Radio and Retail
June 3, 2019
"The curse of hyper-focus means you lose peripheral vision and miss the larger context and customer needs."
Malini RaoLessons Learned from a 4-year Product Re-platforming Journey
June 9, 2021
"Design is not just aesthetics; it’s about what the product feels like, sounds like, and how it differentiates in the market."
Asia HoePartnering with Product: A Journey from Junior to Senior Design
November 29, 2023
