Trauma-informed service design & development
Services that genuinely support people experiencing trauma, stress, and systemic barriers need to be designed from the inside out — with trauma-informed principles embedded not just in what they deliver, but in how they are structured, measured, and sustained.
This work draws on 17 years of direct practice in the social sector, partnering with organisations to design and develop services that are grounded in evidence, responsive to the communities they serve, and nourishing of those who work in them.
What it is
Trauma-informed service design is the process of embedding trauma-informed practice into the architecture of a service — from the frameworks that guide practitioners to the tools they use in the room, the way outcomes are measured, and the processes that support change over time.
This work is systems-aware and practice-led. It takes seriously both the research evidence and the grounded knowledge of practitioners and communities, and brings these into productive conversation with policy, governance, and organisational culture.
Service design engagements integrate:
The conceptual: trauma-informed and strengths-based frameworks, theories of change, and the evidence base underpinning the work
The structural: service architecture, client journey mapping, practice guidelines, and delivery tools
The practical: change management, workforce development, train-the-trainer models, and monitoring and evaluation.
Who it’s for
This work is designed for organisations in the process of designing a new service, refreshing an existing one, or embedding trauma-informed practice more deeply across their programs and systems.
This work is well suited to organisations working in:
Mental health and wellbeing services
Housing and homelessness services
Family violence and crisis services
Refugee and migrant services
Youth services and out-of-home care
Women's services
Employment and economic participation services
Community health and primary care
Education - from early childhood through to tertiary
Outcomes
Outcomes are agreed upon with partner organisations through a co-design process, ensuring the work reflects the specific needs, context, and communities of each engagement. The outcomes listed here are examples from previous work.
Depending on the scope and focus of the engagement, organisations develop:
A clear, evidence-informed framework that guides practice across the service
Tools and resources practitioners can use with confidence in complex and nuanced sservice environments
A theory of change that is grounded in the experience of the communities the service exists to support
Monitoring and evaluation approaches that are trauma-informed, ethical, and genuinely useful
Workforce capacity and internal leadership to sustain the work over time
Greater coherence between organisational values, service design, and everyday practice
Examples
Over the past decade, I have designed and developed a range of trauma-informed service components from partner organisations. The deepest and most tangible example is my work with Collective Being. In this instance, I developed a holistic trauma-informed organisational framework that sustained our work for 9 years. It’s success was demonstrated through:
90% participant satisfaction rate
92% staff retention rate
60% return business rate.
Examples in practice
Sustaining Economic Empowerment and Dignity for Women: conceptual framework — practice framework design and development for the Brotherhood of St Laurence's SEED program, 2023
Stepping Stones program logic and practice framework — Brotherhood of St Laurence
PeopleWorx trauma-informed curriculum — design and development for Family Life's employment program
Tutor training design and development — HIPPY Australia's national program
Given the Chance trauma-informed and culturally aware employer curriculum — Brotherhood of St Laurence
Trauma-informed organisational framework — Collective Being