Trauma-informed Design Framework
Trauma-informed Design: A Framework for Designers, Architects, and Other Practitioners
ISBN: 979-8-218-52512-5
In a world where 90 percent of adults have experienced at least one traumatic event, how can we create spaces that promote healing rather than harm? This groundbreaking manual introduces Trauma-informed Design (TiD), a revolutionary approach that transforms how we conceive, create, and inhabit our built environment.
Drawing from the established principles of trauma-informed care, this comprehensive framework guides practitioners through the essential elements of designing spaces that foster safety, resilience, and healing. Four leading experts in the field combine their unique perspectives to present a holistic approach that encompasses not just physical spaces, but the entire design process.
This essential resource:
- Introduces the three spheres of application: policy, process, and the built environment;
- Outlines 11 crucial domains for implementing trauma-informed care in design;
- Provides practical strategies for anticipating and mitigating environmental stressors;
- Demonstrates how to create spaces that support healing and promote safety; and
- Offers guidance for practitioners to advocate for meaningful organizational change.
Whether you're an architect, designer, healthcare professional, or organization leader, this framework provides the tools you need to create environments that truly serve and support their occupants. By understanding and addressing the impact of trauma through thoughtful design, we can transform our built environment into a powerful agent of healing.
About the Authors
Christine Ann Awad Cowart, MA, is a co-founder and Chief Operations Officer of the Trauma-informed Design Society. A dually-certified trauma professional and policy specialist, she brings extensive experience in criminal legal systems, family services policy, and trauma-informed care to the field of design.
Janet E. Roche, MDS, CAPS, is a co-founder and CEO of the Trauma-informed Design Society. A Master of Design for Human Health from the Boston Architectural College (BAC), she brings expertise in health and wellness design as both a faculty member and CEO of Janet Roche Designs.
Adrienne Erdman, MDS, LSSGB, serves as the Society's Vice President of Research and Development. With over 10 years of experience in human factors engineering and consulting, she specializes in evidence-based and human-centered design research.
J. Davis Harte, PhD, is a co-founder and Vice President of Education and Senior Researcher of the Society. As Director of the Design for Human Health Master of Design Studies program at BAC and a WELL Accredited Professional, she brings crucial expertise in health-conscious design.
Praise for Trauma-informed Design!
Working with the Trauma-informed Design Society for many years now, has been a great privilege and honor. This book is the culmination of so much of their wonderful work and answers many of the questions around what this means when it gets into practice and what we need to do to design effectively. This book is groundbreaking and a major advancement for the field of trauma informed design.
Erin Peavey
Vice President and Health and Well-being Design Leader
HKS
Trauma-informed Design: A Framework for Designers, Architects, and Other Practitioners provided the ideal balance of academic background and practical instruction for architects to incorporate TiD principles throughout the spectrum of their work. Trauma-informed Design provides guidance for supporting clients with specific TiD requirements, as well as fundamentals for inclusion in all design projects.
Graham Vickers
Senior Principle, Principal in Charge of Marketing, Director of Justice Practice
SMRT Architecture
As a social worker, school counselor, and educator, I highly recommend this book as an invaluable resource that demonstrates how personal trauma responses are connected to and affected by the environments in which we live and work. It clearly and seamlessly explains the importance and benefit of using trauma-informed design in our schools, especially as we see growing numbers of students affected by all levels of trauma. In many cases, the physical environment in which our children learn is the last consideration of our education system. This book explains how the converse is true and cites research showing why the design of the environment should be the first consideration. Using SAMHSA’s key principles, you will learn how to effect positive change through using choice, comfort, movement, and play, as well as other principles, in school and classroom environments. This book should be required reading for every professional working in education.
Nancy Barber
MS Ed, LICSW
Finally! An innovative effort to address the critical importance of environment on supporting calming and healing potential within the population using the space. TiD provides ground breaking guidance for practitioners to create environments which integrate and leverage structural design processes with healing and resiliency concepts.
Kim Bushey
Director of Correctional Risk Intervention Services
This book will be a useful, foundational, and important tool for all disciplines who are part of a project from the earliest stages of concept to move in and beyond.
Mary Jo Cooper
Vice President of Developmental Services
Bay Cove Human Services
Refund Policy
Customers can request a refund within seven days of purchase, provided the shrinkwrap on the book has not been opened. The Trauma-informed Design Society will not issue a refund if the shrinkwrap has been opened or the book has been read, in part or in full.
Reviews
Having this information available after nearly two decades of intuitively supporting my clients with empathy will elevate our conversation to a whole new level of constructive practice and support. EVERY designer should be approaching their clients with this level of awareness and insight. The framework, currently focuses on public spaces but I’m confident the insight for residential application will follow.
As an intern architect recently introduced to the principles of trauma-informed design, I find the content both digestible and fulfilling to read.
A wonderfully practical and evidence based framework for practitioners of all types to make physical spaces kinder and more sensitive to nervous systems under pressure. This is a fantastic tool for designers and service providers to address the impact of their built environments, with or without professional architectural services or significant financial investment.