Trauma-informed Design: An Overlooked Aspect of Inclusive Design
summary
About half of people have experienced trauma and it changes attention, memory and stress responses so designs must avoid re‑triggering rather than just being “inconsiderate.” Evidence cited: 40–60% of users experience trauma, PTSD develops in ~10–20%, and complex PTSD is likely higher. Concrete fixes shown: Exit/quick-escape button, content warnings, opt-outs for memory reminders, deletable pregnancy records, avoid personal security questions; research practices include consent, follow‑up, payment, choice, and having a trauma‑aware team member.
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chapters (21)
- 0:00Trauma-informed design intro
- 1:05Speaker background
- 4:17Defining trauma misuse
- 5:23Types of trauma
- 6:32Simple trauma impact
- 8:24Complex trauma effects
- 10:21PTSD and C-PTSD stats
- 13:42PTSD development reasons
- 16:58Childhood trauma impact
- 21:04Trauma brain changes
- 23:17Trauma symptoms over time
- 25:26Trauma therapy options
- 27:35Trauma in UX design
- 28:43Triggering UX examples
- 31:35Personal trauma-unaware UX
- 35:09Trauma-aware UX best practices
- 38:11Trauma-informed research
- 41:23Trauma-informed design principles
- 43:12Q&A: Algorithms & content warnings
- 47:11Q&A: Web accessibility updates
- 49:24Closing remarks
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