Stress and trauma: designing content that helps Rachel Edwards Senior Content Designer Topics covered include (in order): hospital appointments, Scotland’s Redress Scheme (for survivors of abuse in care), funeral planning, FGM. ✘ Won’t talk about: details of individual’s experiences. ✔ Will talk about: examples from my work, some of the issues that came up. Can I ask you a question? (or 2…) Stress usually happens because of an external cause, we can usually say what is causing the stress, when that thing goes away so does the stress. Anxiety internal reaction to stress, can continue after the stressful situation has passed, may include anxiety about the stress or anxiety itself. Trauma can result from very stressful, frightening or distressing events, can happen to anyone, at any age, can have long-term effects. You don’t have to decide which one someone is experiencing. The principles apply equally to people in any of these 3 categories. You never know what the person coming across your content is going through. No matter who we are, stress hormones can make it harder to: read, understand information, make decisions, consider and reflect on information. “When we are stressed or highly anxious the hormones that the body produces, particularly cortisol, divert essential resources from the brain to the large muscles in the body in preparation for fight and flight. …humans can also trigger this stress reaction by simply thinking about or remembering the stressful situation.” British Dyslexia Association 32% of adults struggled to make basic decisions, such as what to wear or what to eat. American Psychological Association Scottish Government trauma-informed practice toolkit user behaviours considered as potential responses to trauma, organisation works to prioritise building “trusting, mutual relationships above all else.” The 4 Rs A program, organisation, or system that is trauma-informed: realises the impact of trauma and understands potential paths for recovery, recognises the signs and symptoms of trauma, responds by integrating knowledge about trauma into practices, resists re-traumatisation. American Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Re-traumatisation reaction to a new event that feel as intense as the original event, can include feeling like the trauma is happening right now, can have intense, unpleasant physical sensations. Scotland’s Redress Scheme People who have been in care are “more likely than the general population to: be unemployed, have mental health problems, spend time in prison or psychiatric institutions, or experience homelessness at some point in their lives.” “What is the relationship between being in care and the educational outcomes of children?” - Rees Centre for Research in Fostering and Education, 2015 Trauma informed principles safety, trust, choice, empowerment, collaboration, cultural, historical and gender issues. Safety Avoid causing further harm (re-traumatising). “Exit this page fast with the Design System’s new component” Search: “gov.uk blogs” “exit this page” Do you want help with this section? This could include help with questions about providing documents. If you want help before sending in the form, you can: read page 13 of the “Help to apply” guidance contact a case worker The next section is for applicants with a terminal illness. If you do not have a terminal illness, go to Section 5. Trust Don’t be: inaccurate, hard to find, unclear, not in your user’s voice, unnecessary. If you ask for information, first ask yourself why. Can you: do without the information? say why you need it? remove any questions? get the information another way? Choice If possible and practical, give people meaningful choice. This is not a meaningful choice: If you are not comfortable with a male examiner, you can request a female. Please keep in mind this may delay your appointment. (or) This may not always be possible. Empowerment Clear, accessible content can support someone to: act independently, make their own decisions, learn something new. Collaboration When you’re creating content for people who have experienced trauma, collaboration is even more important. When I was (age) , in (date) , in (place) , _______________________________ _______________ happened to me. You need to provide a statement about your abuse. It is up to you how much information you want to include. As a minimum you need to provide information about: where you were living when the abuse happened, when the abuse happened, what happened You do not have to write a lot, unless you want to. Cultural, historical and gender issues Consider things like: values, language, belief, customs. In some cases your name or date of birth may have changed or be unclear. Please give the name and date of birth you regularly use for official documents. Please provide your details Q1 I First name Q2 I Last name Q3 I Date of birth Day Month Year don’t assume, test wherever you can, everyone experiences trauma differently, use content to empower. search: Accessibility posters - designing for anxiety search: “trauma informed content design” + “Content Design London” Connect rachel.edwards@contentdesign.london LinkedIn: Rachel-Edwards-Scotland Questions?