The International
is pleased to announce that we will
be offering TWO courses on
Trauma-informed Design
during the Spring 2025 semester through
Offered through the Design for Human Health Masters Program, and open to both, BAC and continuing-education students, these classes in Trauma-informed Design (TiD) Theory and Applied Practice, will provide students with an understanding of the TiD approach and why it's imperative for health-oriented design. Students will gain skills in effectively communicating TiD concepts through visual, verbal, and written mediums, backed by scientific evidence and case studies. This theory-to-practice format will challenge students to apply TiD principles across diverse design projects, justifying their choices along the way.
Here's what previous students have said:
Read on below to learn more about each of these
8-week, 1.5-credit, asynchronous, elective courses!
DHH3023: Trauma-informed Design Theory
In this course on TiD theory, students will learn about the TiD approach, trauma, and why it matters in design. Students will practice communicating through spoken and written means about TiD. Students will be expected to include evidence (peer-reviewed scientific evidence, precedence from contemporary sources, and other sources of sound evidence).  This course will investigate if and how TiD design imperatives can be inserted into any design project, at any scale, and what benefits may ensue.
Participating students will:
Become aware of the TiD framework and how TiD is applying the principles of trauma-informed care through design. This will include seeing TiD as design for health with an equity lens, and explore how to anticipate potential triggers and implement design features and elements that mitigate stress through case-study precedents;
Be introduced to the wide range of applications for trauma-informed design;
Learn about adverse childhood experiences, adverse community experiences, and the full scope of trauma, including historical, structural, and collective trauma, and how experiencing inequities can have the same negative impact on their long-term health outcomes as other traumas;
Be able to identify the biological responses that can occur in the human body because of trauma and toxic stress levels, and the wider possible health impacts of trauma on individuals, communities, and beyond; and
Become familiar with the framework for trauma-informed care, based in the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA’s) six key principles of a trauma-informed approach.
DHH3024: Trauma-informed Design Applied Practice
In this practical course, students will learn to apply TiD theory to a design project of their own. Students will practice communicating through visualizations, and spoken, and written means about trauma-informed design. Students will be expected to include evidence (peer-reviewed scientific evidence, precedence from contemporary sources, and other sources of sound evidence). This theory-into-practice applied approach will provide students with hands-on practice working with the TiD framework. Justification of choices will be expected throughout the course. Â Prior to taking this course, students must first complete DHH3023, Trauma-informed Design Theory.
Participating students will:
Develop experience applying the TiD approach to a theoretical design project. This will include seeing TiD as design for health with an equity lens
Explore how to anticipate potential triggers and implement design features and elements that mitigate stress through their design;
Be able to identify elements of the TiD framework and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA’s) six key principles of a trauma-informed approach in schematic designs and the built environment;
Be able to justify their design choices by explaining how they align with the TiD framework; and
Be able to discuss the concepts of trauma, how it can impact a person, and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA’s) framework for trauma-informed care.
Jam-packed with information and resources,
including the TiD Society's new
you'll want to reserve your spot in these courses today!
Both courses are open to BAC students, BAC alumni,
and industry professionals seeking a continuing education opportunity.
Continuing-education students must successfully complete
DHH3023, Trauma-Informed Design Theory
before registering for
DHH3024: Trauma-Informed Design Applied Practice.
Choose the appropriate link below to register today!
THE INSTRUCTORS
The course will be taught by two of the International TiD Society's leadership team:
Janet E. Roche, MDS CAPS, a leader in designing for health and wellness, is the Chief Executive Officer and a co-founder of the TiD Society. She received her Masters in Design for Human Health within the Masters of Design Studies program at the Boston Architectural College (BAC). Immediately following graduation she has been an adjunct BAC instructor teaching: Environmental Health, Human Conditions + Design, and Biophilia. She mentors BAC students in a various work-study programs to examine, among other things, health determinants with in the built environment.
Janet is also currently the Chair for the Alumni Council for the BAC. With a background with a B.S. in Social Work from Boston University, her Certificate of Business and Management from Harvard University Extension School, and nearly two decades of owning her own production company, she is now engaging her love of design, helping others, and business by owning her own company Janet Roche Designs, LLC. Her company believes that they can find real design solutions to the human condition.
In 2019, Janet launched her own podcast, Inclusive Designers, where she is a host, co-producer, and writer. As she is a longtime advocate for dignity in design, IDP is a collaborative forum for designers to share creative ideas for different human conditions for inclusivity, equality, and diversity.
Christine Cowart, MA, a dually certified trauma professional, is the Chief Operations Officer and a co-founder of the TiD Society. She has built a career in the human services field, focusing on criminal legal systems and family services policy. This career includes working as a legislative analyst in two states, analyzing programs for the New York State Division of Parole, and serving as a contract and grant specialist for the Vermont Department for Children and Families, where she doubled as the co-chair for the Family Services Division’s racial equity workgroup.
She is currently employed as the policy director for the Vermont Department of Corrections, where she is helping to implement a Department-wide trauma-informed approach and serves on the Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Workgroup.
In her spare time, Christine volunteers in a variety of capacities in her community. A first-generation American, she is married, and an adoptive mother of two children with traumatic backgrounds. Her personal and professional experiences , led her to develop an in-depth understanding of trauma, its possible effects, and what can be done to change the story. Committed to researching and addressing this phenomenon as a specialty, and driven to share this information with the general public, Christine founded Cowart Trauma Informed Partnership, and dedicates much of her time helping individuals and organizations implement trauma-informed practices.
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