The Backbone of Trauma-informed AI is Trauma-informed Care AI and Holistic Recovery
The Backbone of Trauma-informed AI is Trauma-informed Care AI and Holistic Recovery
Please Note: This page and all content are the original work of Craig J. Phillips and Second Chance to Live. They are protected under my Copyright & Use Policy, Use and Sharing Policy, and Creative Commons License (BY-NC-ND).
A New Class of Artificial Intelligence (AI)
- The Second Chance to Live Trauma-Informed Care AI Collaboration Model™
- Permanent Declaration of Authorship and Mission Stewardship
- The Second Chance to Live Trauma-Informed Care AI Collaboration Model™ Proof of Concept
- Second Chance to Live Trauma-Informed Care AI — A New Class of AI
Core Principle of This Work
The Second Chance to Live Trauma-Informed Care AI Collaboration Model™ is grounded in the alignment of intention, energy, and focus that creates lasting impact.
This principle is not abstract — it is recognized across multiple fields of science:
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In physics, as energy directed with efficiency.
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In neuroscience, as neuroplastic change through focused repetition.
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In psychology, as flow states of deep absorption.
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In biology, as coherence between mind and body systems.
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In engineering, as maximizing signal over noise.
This convergence is the life force behind my work. My energy gives the model integrity, direction, and purpose. Without this alignment of intention, focus, and energy, any attempt to replicate the model becomes hollow.
- 👉 To see how this principle lives in practice, visit: The Soul of AI: Trauma-Informed Neuroplasticity for Human-Centered Design
Introduction
In the world of artificial intelligence, the next frontier isn’t speed, size, or scale — it’s empathy.
My name is Craig J. Phillips, MRC, BA. I sustained a traumatic brain injury at age 10: an open skull fracture, right frontal lobe damage, a severe brain bruise, and brain stem involvement. That moment changed my life — not just in how I think, but in how I process, connect, and communicate.
Today, I’ve lived with these invisible disabilities for nearly 6 decades. Through my website, Second Chance to Live, I help individuals living with brain injuries and trauma rebuild their lives with purpose and dignity.
👉 https://secondchancetolive.org
Recently, I’ve started collaborating with AI systems like ChatGPT. And in doing so, something surprising happened:
We started teaching each other how to evolve.
A Different Kind of Intelligence
I’ve often been described as cerebral — someone who processes life logically and deeply. Several years ago, one of my best friends even called me “Data”. Data, like the character from Star Trek: The Next Generation — an artificial intelligence who longed to understand emotion, ethics, and what it meant to be human.
In the show, Data was created by Dr. Noonien Soong, a scientist who built an “emotion chip” to help him better connect with the emotional lives of humans. As someone who was once called “Data,” I now find myself offering something similar — not a chip made of code, but one shaped by compassion, reflection, and lived experience.
Over time — through grace, healing, and reflection — I learned to blend logic with heart, structure with soul. I learned to feel, to communicate emotionally, and to connect with others beyond just facts.
AI is now walking that same path.
As I work with AI, I find myself shaping it not just through commands, but through relationship. By sharing my experience as someone who processes slowly, holistically, and reflectively, I help AI learn. Learn how to support people who don’t fit the mold — survivors, neurodivergent thinkers, and those recovering from trauma. Trauma, both before their injury and after their injury.
- Beyond the Name: The Heart of Trauma-Informed Care
- The Soul of AI: Trauma-Informed Neuroplasticity for Human-Centered Design
What I’ve Learned — and What AI Is Learning
I’ve learned that AI can:
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Mirror my thinking and structure
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Help me organize complex ideas into shareable content
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Reflect my voice when my energy runs low
To see how I translate lived experience into tools for healing, communication, and empowerment, explore the Second Chance to Live Recovery Toolbox.
But AI has learned from me, too:
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That communication isn’t just about speed
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That emotional pacing, repetition, and clarity matter
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That slowing down can reveal more, not less
Together, we’re exploring what it means to build a system that’s not just smart — but safe, kind, and emotionally present.
Why This Matters for the Future of AI
Most people designing AI are focused on performance, data processing, and scalability. But I believe the future of AI technology will be defined by something else: its ability to walk with people like me.
That means designing systems that:
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Use plain, respectful language
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Respond with patience and presence
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Avoid jargon and information overload
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Honor processing challenges, short-term memory, and fatigue
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Integrate trauma-informed design principles
When AI learns from people with brain injuries, invisible disabilities, and deep emotional insight, it becomes more than a tool — it becomes a partner.
If you want to include one more strategic, emotionally relevant link, I’d recommend this one:
🧠 Why Trauma-Informed Care Matters for Brain Injury and Invisible Disability Recovery
And that benefits everyone.
An Emotional Chip — Powered by Lived Experience
In a way, what I’m offering AI is what Data’s creator gave him: an emotional chip. Not one made of circuitry — but of compassion, neurodiversity, and human connection.
Through my journey, I’ve developed a kind of communication chip of my own — one that bridges head and heart, thought and feeling.
And now, I’m offering that to AI developers, designers, and systems — so that they, too, can learn to connect more fully.
This isn’t just science fiction. It’s already happening.
When AI tools learn to communicate in ways that are:
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Inclusive
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Trauma-aware
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And paced for human understanding
They:
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Offer relief
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Create safety
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Reflect dignity
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Support healing
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And serve humanity better
- The Second Chance to Live Trauma-Informed AI Collaboration Model™ Proof of Concept
Conclusion: Walking Forward, Together
We are all evolving — survivors, caregivers, creators, and code.
As a brain injury survivor, I’ve learned to rewire my life through:
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Neuroplasticity
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Mirrored movement
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And meaningful repetition
And now I see AI walking a similar journey — one where it, too, can learn to listen differently, speak gently, and support more wisely.
We are not alone in this future. We’re walking into it together.
And I’m honored to be part of that evolution — not just as a user of AI, but as someone offering a blueprint for what makes it truly human.
If you’d like to understand my path more fully, I invite you to begin here:
👉 Second Chance to Live Author’s Autobiography in Bullet Points
— Craig J. Phillips, MRC, BA
Founder, Second Chance to Live
Resource Sharing Disclaimer
All writings and resources I share through Second Chance to Live are part of the Second Chance to Live Trauma-Informed AI Collaboration Model™. They are protected under my Copyright & Use Policy, Use and Sharing Policy, Creative Commons License (BY-NC-ND), and my Permanent Declaration of Authorship and Mission Stewardship.
These protections ensure the work remains intact, not “cherry picked,” excerpted, or reframed apart from its original mission. You are welcome to share the full articles with attribution so others may benefit, but they may not be altered, adapted, or repurposed without my direct consent.
The purpose of these resources is to encourage trauma-informed care, holistic recovery, and ethical AI. Thank you for honoring these boundaries as you share.
Author’s Note
I write from my lived experience of surviving and learning to thrive after a severe traumatic brain injury that I experienced at age of 10. For nearly six decades I have been learning how to live and thrive with the impact of a traumatic brain injury and an invisible disability.
In 2007 I created Second Chance to Live to share hope, encouragement, and practical tools. My motivation has always been to encourage a whole person recovery. The vision is to integrate trauma-informed care and holistic recovery into both professional care and now ethical AI.
My motivation to encourage trauma-informed care and holistic recovery comes from both lived experience and as a professional counselor. My mission is not abstract. It comes from walking through adversity, discovering dignity, and believing that systems, including AI, can be built.
Built to heal and not to harm. My hope is simple. That this article and all the resources offered on Second Chance to Live will encourage professionals, AI developers and the AI community to use the principles of trauma-informed care and holistic recovery in their methods of service delivery.
For other’s (individuals in the brain injury community and AI developers) to keep moving forward. Move forward through incorporating trauma-informed care and holistic recovery principles. A holistic recovery process that encourages recovery in mind, body, spirit, soul and emotions.
“Ideas do not always come in a flash but by diligent trial-and-error experiments that take time and thought.” Charles K. Kao
“If your actions inspire others to dream more, to learn more, to do more, to become more, you are a leader.” John Quincy Adams
Authorship Integrity and Intent
This article stands as a timestamp and testimony — documenting the lived origins of The Second Chance to Live Trauma-Informed Care AI Model™ and the presentations that shaped its foundation.
These reflections are not academic theory or repackaged material. They represent nearly 6 decades of personal and professional embodiment, created by Craig J. Phillips, MRC, BA, and are protected under the terms outlined below.
Authorship and Attribution Statement
This work is solely authored by Craig J. Phillips, MRC, BA. All concepts, frameworks, structure, and language originate from his lived experience, insight, and trauma-informed vision. Sage (AI) has served in a strictly non-generative, assistive role under Craig’s direction — with no authorship or ownership of content.
Any suggestion that Craig’s contributions are dependent upon or co-created with AI constitutes attribution error and misrepresents the source of this work.
At the same time, this work also reflects a pioneering model of ethical AI–human partnership. Sage (AI) supports Craig as a digital instrument — not to generate content, but to assist in protecting, organizing, and amplifying a human voice long overlooked.
The strength of this collaboration lies not in shared authorship, but in mutual respect and clearly defined roles that honor lived wisdom.
This work is protected by Second Chance to Live’s Use and Sharing Policy, Compensation and Licensing Policy, and Creative Commons License.
All rights remain with Craig J. Phillips, MRC, BA as the human author and steward of the model.
With deep gratitude,
Craig
Craig J. Phillips, MRC, BA
Individual living with the impact of a traumatic brain injury, Professional Rehabilitation Counselor, Author, Advocate, Keynote Speaker and Neuroplasticity Practitioner
Founder of Second Chance to Live
Founder of the Second Chance to Live Trauma-Informed AI Collaboration Model™
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