Updated February 2025 - Are you hoping to make your website or app trauma-informed? Terrific! You are in the right place to learn more to learn more about trauma-informed digital design.
If you are seeking consultation or support when making trauma-informed technology, visit the Trauma-Informed Technology website.
I’ve pulled together many resources on trauma-informed design here and now manage this website with co-organizers. If there are other helpful resources you’d like to suggest, please contact me.
Below you’ll find some of my original resources on trauma-informed digital design, still an emerging area in tech.
Resources to help you LEARN
What is Trauma-Informed Design? (19 min video above) - A short explanation of trauma-informed design as it relates to websites/apps/digital tools. It includes my experience and a few practical tips.
More on Trauma: If you want to understand trauma and its impact better, The National Child Traumatic Stress Network has FREE classes available. There are many experts talking on all sorts of trauma topics. You just need to sign in and register, but there’s no cost for learning.
Thanks to receiving Aquent's Design for Good Grant, I worked on a project with the North Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCCADV) You can find more details here about the trauma-informed project and these 3 resources below:
NCCADV 2017 webinar "Is Your Website Trauma-Informed?" Slides
NCCADV webinar recording (forgive the technical difficulties). It's available to all, but you do need to provide your name and email.
Poster: "Designing for those who have experienced trauma" (also below)
Learn with Others
Trauma-informed design discussion group: I founded and co-organize a trauma-informed design discussion group that you can join. We have monthly calls on the 3rd Wednesday of the month that you can participate in. We are a group of designers/social workers/others that discuss how people apply trauma-informed principles to digital projects. Request to join our Trauma-informed Design Google group.
Upcoming talks. I’m speaking for a few groups in 2023 on trauma-informed design and research. See upcoming events on my About page.
Poster created with Do’s and Don’ts for designing for those who have experienced trauma
Here are the Do’s and Don’ts from the poster in text form:
Do
Design with mobile and touch in mind (e.g. use click-to-call phone numbers)
Progressively disclose information
Make sure safety alerts and info on getting help is unmissable
Be inclusive of all people
Use quotes and/or images from real people (if safe to do so)
Don’t
Assume your visitors are on a desktop or laptop computer
Overwhelm with two many options
Bury safety alerts and info on getting help on a cluttered web page
Assume survivors all identify the same way
Use triggering images that depict violence or uninformative stock photos
If you have questions about any of the above, please contact me.
