Trauma is more common than you think and can show up in places you may not expect. Did you know that more than 70% of adults experience at least one traumatic event in their lifetime (WHO World mental health survey)? Trauma is not necessarily restricted to specific cohorts or topics, which is why trauma informed design practice is important for every research project not just in contexts where you might expect trauma to show up.

Trauma-informed practice recognises that trauma can exist for people and can affect their lives. It emphasises appropriately responding to the effects of trauma. People who have experienced trauma can become triggered easily, including during research, which can lead to experiences of distress.

Through reducing risk of potential stress for participants throughout research engagements, becoming aware of distress signals, and responding to distress appropriately, design researchers can reduce risk of causing harm during research engagements.

Lets conduct research that helps not harms.

What we will cover

What is distress?
What happens physiology when people become distressed?
Signs of distress to look out for in participants
Managing our own stress
Use some tools/frameworks to consider
- How might we minimise stress so participants do not move into distress?
- What actions to take should distress show up.

Who is the workshop for?

The workshop is for people conducting research with people who may have experienced trauma and who want to be more trauma informed in their practice. This may include Service Designers, UX Researchers and Co-design practitioners. It would be helpful if you had a basic understanding about trauma informed research practice (if not, you might consider doing this training first).

What will you take away?

A better understanding of traumatic stress and how to navigate distress should it arise
Some tools and frameworks for planning including creation of a protocol to help you determine what actions to take should distress arise during your research engagements.