Designing Holidays—and Environments —that Heal, Not Harm

As the holiday season winds down, many of us breathe a sigh of relief. The decorations are packed away, the music fades, and the whirlwind of expenses and obligations comes to an end. Yet, for many, the aftermath brings its own stress—credit card bills, fatigue, and even emotional strain. The truth is, the holiday experience can carry its own form of trauma.

Trauma is far more common than we often acknowledge. Research suggests that over 70% of Americans have experienced at least one traumatic event in their lifetime. The American Psychological Association defines trauma as “any disturbing experience that results in significant fear, helplessness, dissociation, confusion, or other disruptive feelings intense enough to have a long-lasting negative effect on a person’s attitudes, behavior, and other aspects of functioning.”

This raises an intriguing question: What if we could design environments—whether for holidays, workplaces, or communities—that reduce trauma and even promote healing?

Despite its prevalence, trauma often goes untreated. Few who experience it receive the help they need. This gap inspired Janet Roche and Christine Cowart to take action. After meeting as volunteers at Vermont Adaptive Ski and Sports, they recognized the need for trauma-informed training for those working with vulnerable populations. In 2019, they co-founded the Trauma-Informed Design Society (TIDS) with a mission:

“To create physical spaces that promote safety, well-being, and healing—spaces that respect identity, worth, and dignity, and foster empowerment.”

On the latest episode of Experience by Design, we explore their framework for designing environments that minimize harm and support recovery. Janet and Christine share real-world applications—from correctional facilities to schools—and highlight Oregon’s recent mandate for trauma-informed behavioral health units, which has driven demand for their credentialing programs and continuing education courses.

Today, TIDS offers a suite of resources, including:

• Trauma-Informed Design Credentialing Courses
• Partnerships with the American Society of Interior Designers
• An evaluation tool for K-12 schools

Their next course begins January 31st. Learn more at https://www.tidsociety.com.

Janet Roche: linkedin.com/in/janetrochedesigns

Christine Cowart: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christine-cowart-trauma-informed-consultant/

Happy New Year’s everyone!

New Year is the time of year when we build unrealistic expectations about what the huge celebration we should be part of, and what big changes we are going to make in the form of our resolutions. It is a lot to live up to, and can create a lot of pressure. All of which is why I don’t like New Year’s.

To be honest, I feel like our run of holidays go steadily downhill starting with Labor Day and ending with New Year’s Day in terms of the pressure that they create. We can get fixated on the types of experiences we should be having, and measuring what happens to often unrealistic expectations. The good news is that the only way to go is up! However your holidays went, I hope things are looking up for you.

Experiencing a lot of pressure, going down, and going back up are all great themes for this week’s guest on Experience by Design. I first learned of Henry Rausch when I found his book “Submerged: Life on a Fast Attack Submarine in the Last Days of the Cold War.” For long-time listeners, you will be familiar with my fascination with US naval history as well as the working environments of submarines. His book is a great first-person account of being deployed on a submarine, including the “ups and downs” associated with submarine life. “Submerged” is currently the #1 Best Seller on Amazon in the Biographies of the Military Navy, as well as a winner of other book awards, including First Place in Published Nonfiction at WriterCon 2025.

Hank’s second book is “How to Hotwire an Airplane: A Novel of Regret and Redemption,” and weaves together his father’s experience being a medic in the Vietnam War along with his own experiences being a pilot. The book places this in the context of US border policy its impact on those who cross the border seeking a better life.

Taken together, Hank’s work explores personal transformation under stressful and sometimes dire circumstances.

We discuss his experiences in the US Navy, and what he learned about leadership as a naval officer. He describes the months submerged while on patrol, along with the good times of being back in port. He talks about his subsequent work as an IT consultant working in satellite operation centers, and how lessons from his submarine tours informed his management style in civilian life.

Finally we talk about the lessons that learning to fly has on life. As Hank describes, when you are teaching someone to fly, you have to let them fail up to the point that they might die. He emphasizes the need to enforce high standards, and how performance and recognition will predict how much satisfaction is felt in their work.

He also teases the new book that he is working on, so we get a sneak preview of that as well.

Henry Rausch: https://henryrausch.com/

“Submerged: Life on a Fast Attack Submarine in the Last Days of the Cold War”: https://www.amazon.com/Submerged-Life-Fast-Attack-Submarine-ebook/dp/B0DN8CFV3S

“How to Hotwire an Airplane: A Novel of Regret and Redemption”: https://www.amazon.com/How-Hotwire-Airplane-Henry-Rausch-ebook/dp/B0DHV4VVHX

Happy holidays once again! This is being aired the day after Christmas, or on Boxing Day for those who are in places that do a thing called Boxing Day. I guess it has something to do with giving boxes, or having boxes, or maybe relatives boxing one another after spending time together over the holidays. Whatever it is, hope you have a happy one.

The actual origins, according to Wikipedia, seems to be around the mid 1700s when “traditionally on this day tradespeople, employees, etc., would receive presents or gratuities (a ‘Christmas box’) from their customers or employers.” So maybe one of the earlier manifestations of customer and employee experience.

One of the things that I love about doing experience design is how relatively small things can make someone feel like a superhero. Little acts of experience design can make a big difference in people’s days and even their lives. And isn’t that what it is all about, including the holidays? Whatever you believe or don’t believe regarding the holidays, being mindful of extending small acts of kindness or doing something that is relatively simple to make a huge impact.

Which is a perfect thing to keep in mind for our show today. My guest on Experience by Design is Erika Sinner. Erika brings a lot of compassion and empathy to the world. In fact, she prefers the title of Chief Empathy Officer. Her book Pets are Family emphasizes the importance of pet bereavement policies in organizations. This is just one part of her efforts to bring more empathy to the workplace. She also is the CEO and Founder of Directorie, “a(n) agency that connects seasoned commercial, marketing, and market access experts” with organizations that are under-resourced and overworked.

If that wasn’t enough, she now is the Chief Empathy Officer of Tiny Super Heroes, which makes children who are facing unique medical challenges to feel like the superheroes that they are. As their website states, “We’re setting out to transform hospital culture - one hospital at a time - because every child’s clinical journey should be filled with strength, hope, and a little more fun.”

As part of Tiny Super Heroes, children get their own superhero capes and get badges to mark the medical treatments they receive as well as other accomplishments. It is all at no cost, and made possible through the donations of individuals and organizations, and aims to reach all 226 children's hospitals in the country.

We talk about Erika’s personal journey and struggles that led her to her work as a founder Directorie and now CEO of Tiny Super Heroes. We also talk about the importance of play in the workplace as a way of creating a sense of safety and trust. Talking about culture as a leader isn’t enough; leaders need to take the necessary steps to create a place where employees don’t dread Sunday nights because they have to go to work on Monday. She discusses the importance of company culture and employee commitment in attracting top talent, especially for Gen Z and Gen Alpha who prioritize making a difference.

Erika discusses the positive impact of the Tiny Super Heroes program on children with medical conditions, highlighting how it helps reduce anxiety and improve clinical outcomes by transforming medical experiences into fun missions. The program has online support groups for parents, which currently have around 60,000 members. Healthcare providers also benefit from the program by creating a more positive and playful environment in hospitals. In this way, it is really an experience design that impacts the healthcare ecosystem.

So on this Boxing Day, you can listen to this episode and head over to the Tiny Super Heroes website to give a gift that can make all the difference.

Erika Sinner: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erikasinner/

Erika Sinner Website: https://www.erikasinner.org/

“Pets are Family” Book: https://www.erikasinner.org/for-bookstore

Directorie: https://www.directorie.com/

Tiny Super Heroes: https://tinysuperheroes.com/