What is trauma-informed technology?

Trauma-informed technology is taking a trauma-informed approach to tech processes and products. It recognizes that trauma and its impacts are common in our world. It also tries to prevent people from having to relive their past trauma.

Trauma-informed tech aims for people to have helpful and healing interactions with technology.

We can be trauma-informed in our design process and research. The things we make can be trauma-informed too, like our websites, apps, and virtual reality. Our services, which may have some or many online parts, can also be trauma-informed.

To become more trauma-informed, we apply trauma-informed principles holistically.There are a few different sets of trauma-informed principles that you can use. We tend to use these interrelated 6 principles:

• Safety (Physical and Emotional)

• Trustworthiness and Transparency

• Peer Support

• Collaboration and Mutuality

• Empowerment, Voice, and Choice

• Cultural, Historical, and Gender Issues (SAMHSA 2014)

Nowadays, technology has become ingrained in our daily life. Using it is unavoidable, especially in the wake of COVID-19. We are even seeing lots of face-to-face interactions replaced by technology. Those interactions ought to be positive, inclusive, and trauma-informed. But this does take extra care and mindfulness.

If we are working with and serving humans, we must assume many of them have experienced trauma. Remember, COVID-19 and its impacts were traumatic events for many. When the tech we're making is not trauma-informed, we add to the problem. For any product or service to be trauma-informed, its websites, apps, and social media must be also. It's part of a holistic package.

Have questions? Contact us to have a chat.

What an AI image generator came up with when we put in trauma-informed design – a pink background with a robot person with technology pieces coming out of their head! Cool but not quite what we are talking about.