Trauma-informed Design (TiD) Credentialing Program

Trauma-informed Design is a practice, in which the primary goal is achieving a sense of safety for all users of the built environment and all participants of the design process. As with all practices, TiD requires practitioners to understand the concepts and theories relating to it, and to apply them to projects with fidelity.

TiD re-envisions the role of the designer and how the design process is conducted, with a goal of eliminating or minimizing all stressors and potential harms identified throughout 
the process, whether or not they are directly related to design. This means that TiD practitioners actively advocate for change when they identify client policies or practices that do not align with the principles of trauma-informed care or design and work to ensure all participants feel safe and supported throughout the design process. These are fundamental features of TiD; if overlooked or not done well, practitioners can cause harm to those involved.

TiD Credentialing provides you the skills to:

 Create spaces that that promote safety, resilience, and healing

 Market your services confidently as you knowledgably converse about trauma, it's impacts, and how the built environment can help

 Protect against unintentional harm in your practice

Participating in the TiD Credentialing program will connect you to others doing this work.

The practice of TiD is hard. Practitioners enter this line of work because they want to make a positive difference in the lives of others.  The work can be very rewarding, but it opens practitioners up to the stories of people who have experienced all sorts of hurt, violence, and harm.  Over time, it can take a toll.

By participating in the credentialing program, practitioners connect with others in this area of practice.  The program incorporates intentional activities that foster interactions and relationship-building among participants, to help build a community of support for practitioners.

How does the program work?

  • Trauma-informed Design Credentialing Course

    The first step is to take the base-level credentialing course.  This course is an intensive emersion into the TiD Framework and how to apply it to real-world projects.
    Upon successful completion of the course, participants will be awarded the Bronze-level TiD credential.

  • Stay current and gain additional skills

    As TiD is a rapidly growing and evolving practice, it's essential to stay  current.  Credentialed TiD practitioners complete a minimum requirement of continuing education units (CEUs) every two years to ensure they are up-to-date with the latest research and resources and can apply TiD with fidelity.  Courses span a wide variety of topics, to ensure interesting and relevant opportunities for all participants.

  • Achieve higher credentialing levels

    There are four levels of TiD credentials:  bronze, silver, gold, and platinum.  Complete CEUs or successfully present real-world TiD projects to achieve higher credential levels.
I've been waiting for this for a while! I truly loved this course and feel it has helped me to grow tremendously.

— Credentialing Participant

I really enjoy the discussions within our class, hearing other perspectives and some of their experiences with these different tools and resources.  This class is filled with information about TiD, some that makes more sense now that I am learning it more formally, and a lot that is new and very eye-opening to me.

— Credentialing Participant

The most valuable things I have learned are the practical applications of trauma-informed design, how to go through a researched design process, and how bodily trauma responses can be mitigated by the built environment.

— Credentialing Participant

Pages

Policy Pages

Get in touch

Copyright © 2026