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square bulletThe Hidden Impact of Space

person working at a desk among plants

From , MSW, LICSW, Research Assistant, Trauma Informed Oregon

When implementing trauma informed care in organizations, we often focus on policies and feedback, but there’s another crucial element that deserves our attention: the physical environment. The physical environment (e.g., parking lot, offices, lobby, bathrooms) can have a profound effect on us physically, emotionally, and spiritually. They have the ability to increase or reduce our stress. The spaces in which we live and receive services can communicate safety and promote supportive relationships, or they can symbolize lack of dignity and agency, encouraging re-traumatization. When implementing TIC at an organizational level, it is important to consider how the physical environment can promote or hinder safety and well-being.

Per the Trauma-informed Design Evaluation Tool for K-12 Schools, Trauma informed design (TiD) is about weaving the science of trauma and the principles of trauma informed care into physical environment design. The goal of TiD is to design environments that foster psychological and physical safety, regulation, and connection. This requires recognizing how our physical environment affects belonging, worth, and safety. Even seemingly neutral elements like furniture placement or the color of our walls can influence stress responses or create subtle barriers to regulation.

Now what first comes to mind may be “how do I TiD my workspace? I’m not an interior designer!” Or, perhaps, more commonly: “I don’t have money to redesign my space!” While Pinterest and HGTV may come to mind when thinking of interior design, TiD does not require an entire rehaul of a space. Instead, it requires careful consideration of the relationship between the physical environment and the people interacting with it. As an example, I’d like to share my journey as a remote worker figuring out my workspace at home.

First Attempt: The Closet Corner

I was in clinical social work when many jobs switched to remote work or shut down during the global pandemic. I found it odd to be at home while caring for clients and my team. I had no computer or desk – just a cell phone issued last-minute by my clinic. That meant I worked with a lot of papers at first, scattered on my bed, my kitchen table, my coffee table, and the floor. I scooped them up before my partner came home, meaning I soon became disorganized.

When I started work at Trauma Informed Oregon, partially remote, I aimed to have a home working space that would work with me and my working style. I turned to Pinterest. Closet offices were all the rage at that time, so my initial setup prioritized space efficiency by tucking my desk into my closet. While this arrangement minimized the desk’s footprint, it created several challenges that were much more notable in stressful times:

  • Attention: The constrained space limited my peripheral awareness. During more stressful days, I found myself leaving my working space.
  • Wayfinding: My closet was long, shallow, and next to my bed. Therefore, the desk blocked the natural flow of movement to my bed and door and papers appeared on the bed too.
  • Connection: While the idea of a desk closet was exciting, facing a blank wall became disheartening, especially with my back turned toward things in my bedroom that humanized the space. A desk closet also meant no plants.
  • Perception: My desk was in the closet, but had no doors. I faced the wall with a window behind me. The sun glare from the window behind me made it difficult to focus on my screen. During video calls, I found myself moving with the sun, positioning my head in front of the glare, so everyone could see better.

Second Iteration: The Bed-Facing Setup

After about six months, I moved my desk to face the wall opposite my bed. This brought new insights:

  • Connection: Behind my bed was a wooden wall adorned with hanging plants, which created a welcoming virtual background that others responded positively to. It made a great conversation starter!
  • Attention: However, along with the wooden wall was my bed (which was often unmade). This led to frequent distractions and stress around what people could and could not see in my virtual background. I was much tidier, but my work-life divide became blurred.
  • Perception: Because of the position change, I had a lot more space for things that supported regulation such as snacks, and a mini exercise stepper. However, though my window was no longer behind me, my ceiling light was, creating the same glare problem.
  • Wayfinding: The desk’s position still interrupted natural movement patterns. I was near the entrance of my exit and my second closet. (Yes, my bedroom has two closets, both strangely small!)

Final Position: The Balanced Corner

After three months, I realized I couldn’t maintain being tidy and moved my desk again. This time, I moved my desk to the right of the end of my bed, though with enough space to move between them. The window and ceiling light also appeared to the left so I could receive light but not in a glaring way. The exit to my bedroom was now across the room. My second closet door was also now closer to me but could be accessed straight from the exit – no need to walk around a desk. This position resulted in:

  • Attention: The angled position eliminates screen glare while maintaining natural light. It did result in too little light on cloudy PNW days, so I put a small desk light next to my laptop. With my unmade bed to my right, it was no longer directly in my line of sight. Out of sight, out of mind!
  • Perception: I hadn’t realized how difficult it was not to have the exit to my bedroom in my line of sight until it was in line of sight. Now in a position where I could easily survey the room while still being able to move, I could quickly respond to things that came up.
  • Connection: My workspace was part of my bedroom but did not overtake my bedroom. This meant I could be in a comfortable space that I felt connected to but when I wasn’t working, my workspace didn’t overwhelm me. I also added decorative vines behind me to create a nature connection during virtual meetings.
  • Wayfinding: The desk’s position now respected natural movement and energy flows of the bedroom along with distinct zones for work and rest. I knew clearly how to contain and organize my work and personal space.

Trauma Informed Design

Our workplaces can be designed to help us focus our minds, shape our mood, and frame how we approach our work. I recommend considering how your workspace, at home or at a building, can be designed to support regulation, belonging, trust, and safety around these areas. Include aspirational (or expensive) solutions while honoring quick, low-cost solutions too. Below are four domains you can consider when TI designing your workspace that I drew from the Trauma-informed Design Evaluation Tool for K-12 Schools, TIO’s own physical walkthrough review, and the Trauma-Informed Design Workbook V. 4.

Perception: In an activated state, sensory input will be intensified, meaning sounds will be louder, smells will be stronger, etc. Strategies to aid in perception can include being mindful of the possible intensity of sensory input and the potential connection to threat.

  • What are your senses picking up in this space (e.g., natural lighting)?
  • Are there areas for rest here?
  • What about that influences safety and belonging?

Attention: Because survival is a priority, attention will be automatically directed toward sensory information with a threatening nature. Strategies to focus attention should include the elimination or reduction of competing distractors and the awareness of potential threatening stimuli.

  • What is distracting or drawing your attention?
  • What about that influences safety and belonging?

Wayfinding: Chronic trauma or stress can impact the memory area responsible for our recollection of facts, details, and episodes which can make navigating a new place difficult. Strategies to support recollection include visuals for navigation like visual spatial cues, labels, symbols, colors, and patterns to provide direction and orientation.

  • What signs, directions, or other visual cues help cue you into this space?
  • What about that influences safety and belonging?

Connection: Positive social interaction, belonging, connection, and relationships can buffer the impacts of stress and trauma. Strategies to support connection can include materials, patterns, and images that maintain a connection to nature and humanize each other within our working environments.

  • Are there animals, plants, running water, or other signs of nature here?
  • What represents the culture of this space?
  • What about that influences safety and belonging?

Designing trauma-informed workspaces, whether at home or in professional settings, can foster safety, connection, and belonging, proving that even small, thoughtful changes in our physical environment can significantly impact our well-being and productivity.