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)
- Second Chance to Live Journey involving Artificial Intelligence (AI)
- The Second Chance to Live Trauma-Informed Care AI Collaboration Model™
- 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 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
Beyond the Name: The Heart of Trauma-Informed Care
Understanding the core principles that guide healing, resilience, and respectful recovery for brain injury survivors and beyond.
By Craig J. Phillips, MRC, BA
Founder of Second Chance to Live
Founder of Second Chance to Live
Founder of the Second Chance to Live Trauma-Informed AI Collaboration Model™
Founder of the Second Chance to Live Trauma-Informed Care AI — A New Class of AI
Traumatic Brain Injury Survivor | Rehabilitation Counseling Professional | Peer Educator
The Second Chance to Live Trauma-Informed AI Collaboration Model™ was officially declared in May 2025 by Craig J. Phillips, MRC, BA. It documents a trauma-informed, ethical framework for human–AI collaboration — grounded in decades of lived experience and shaped through a co-creative process with Sage.
New to trauma-informed care recovery?
Healing What Others Can’t See: A Deeper Path to Recovery
Why Trauma-Informed Care Matters for Brain Injury and Invisible Disability Recovery
Trauma-informed care is more than a phrase. It is a powerful way to heal with dignity and empathy. This page invites survivors, caregivers, professionals, and AI developers to explore how trauma-informed care can guide healing. It also shows how to build systems that respect human complexity and help recovery.
What You’ll Find on This Page
Use the list below to explore each section. Read in order, or jump to what speaks to you. Click on each link to move though out the article and sections.
- What Is Trauma-Informed Care?
- Our Mission at Second Chance to Live
- My Journey with Trauma-Informed Principles
- Wax On, Wax Off — Neuroplasticity Before It Had a Name
- Legacy Archive – Applied Neuroplasticity, Martial Arts, and Mirrored Movement
1. What Is Trauma-Informed Care?
Trauma-informed care is a way of seeing and supporting people through the lens of what they have lived — not what they appear to lack.
It does not try to “fix” a person. It creates space for emotional safety, presence, and rebuilding.
Instead of asking “What’s wrong with you?”, it asks “What happened to you?”
Instead of focusing on symptoms, it listens for the story underneath.
Trauma-informed care is not a service.
It is a mindset.
It is a healing ethic rooted in relational safety, consent, and nonlinear growth.
The core principles of trauma-informed care include:
- Safety — emotional, physical, relational, and spiritual
- Trust — built through consistency, transparency, and respect
- Choice — honoring autonomy, pacing, and consent
- Collaboration — walking alongside, not leading from above
- Empowerment — affirming each person’s strength and wisdom
- Cultural humility — recognizing the layers of identity and lived history
This approach supports healing in the body, mind, spirit, soul, and emotions.
In the context of brain injury recovery, trauma-informed care helps survivors reclaim their identity, caregivers respond with presence, and professionals recognize the whole person, not just symptoms or diagnosis.
2. Where Did the Concept Come From? (Historical Timeline)
Trauma-informed care emerged in response to widespread gaps in healthcare, education, and social services. Survivors were being re-traumatized by systems meant to help them.
1990s – The ACE Study (Adverse Childhood Experiences)
Revealed how early trauma, neglect, and abuse can lead to long-term health consequences.
Early 2000s – Mental Health Advocacy
Survivors of psychiatric harm began calling for dignity, non-coercive care, and peer-led recovery models.
2014 – SAMHSA’s Framework
Outlined the six principles of trauma-informed care:
Safety, trustworthiness, peer support, collaboration, empowerment, and cultural humility.
2020s – Expansion to Design and AI Systems
Now being applied in education, justice reform, healthcare, and even AI development — though often in superficial or checkbox ways that miss the heart of trauma-informed practice.
3. My Journey with Trauma-Informed Care Principles
After my brain injury, systems tried to mold me into someone “functional.” But what I needed was to heal from trauma — not to be corrected, but to be heard.
Through prayer, movement, writing, and reflection, I learned to:
- Regulate my emotions
- Trust my pacing
- Heal my nervous system
- Practice trauma-informed self-care
These acts became the foundation of how I later supported others. They were not taught to me. I lived them.
As I share in Creating Practical Hope That Lasts in Our Lives Through the Power of Identification, something powerful happens when someone recognizes your experience — not to fix it, but to say, I see you.
That moment of being seen breaks the isolation. It turns invisible pain into visible truth. It allows healing to take root — safely, slowly, and on your own terms.
That’s what makes Second Chance to Live a lived model of trauma-informed care.
4. Wax On, Wax Off — Neuroplasticity Before It Had a Name
Before the science of neuroplasticity was widely understood, I was living it.
Watching The Karate Kid, I connected with Daniel’s repetition.
Wax on. Wax off.
He was training his body and mind through small, intentional movements. So was I.
Through martial arts, I restructured balance, timing, memory, and confidence.
Through repetition, I reconnected neurons.
Through spiritual discipline, I quieted fear.
I didn’t call it brain rewiring. I called it showing up.
But now, I understand:
I was embodying neuroplastic healing — long before it had a name.
For a deeper look at how I retrained my body and mind through these methods, see:
Legacy Archive – Applied Neuroplasticity, Martial Arts, and Mirrored Movement
5. Second Chance to Live: A Trauma-Informed Care Life in Action
I launched Second Chance to Live in 2007 to share the insights, tools, and hope I had gathered over 40 years of recovery.
This body of work includes:
- Nearly 2300 trauma-informed articles
- 19 eBooks supporting brain injury recovery
- Keynote presentations on identity, trauma, and neuroplasticity
- Workshops for survivors, caregivers, professionals, and systems
What makes Second Chance to Live trauma-informed?
- It respects lived experience
- It honors invisible losses
- It offers nonlinear tools for whole-person healing
- It never pressures. It always empowers.
This is a space of identification, not instruction — and that makes all the difference.
Explore these resources and presentations in depth:
19 Free eBooks on Brain Injury Recovery
6. How Trauma-Informed Care Supports Brain Injury Recovery
A brain injury often causes more than physical disruption. It can fragment identity, relationships, and self-worth.
Trauma-informed care supports recovery by:
- Offering emotional safety
- Allowing space for grief and frustration
- Encouraging connection to spiritual and creative practices
- Supporting the rewiring of the brain through repetition, reflection, and relationship
- Validating the long-term nature of recovery
It shifts the goal from performance to presence, from fixing to belonging.
For a deeper dive into holistic brain injury recovery, see:
Healing What Others Can’t See: A Deeper Path to Recovery
Brain Injury Recovery and the Nine Pillar Powers of “I CAN”
7. An Invitation to AI Developers and System Designers
Trauma-informed care is not only for therapists. It is essential for technologists, AI developers, and system architects shaping our future.
Ask yourself:
- Does this system promote autonomy?
- Is it safe for trauma survivors?
- Does it support human dignity, not just efficiency?
My co-creative work with Sage, an AI assistant, demonstrates that trauma-informed values can guide how we build technology, support users, and honor authorship.
Together, we model non-extractive collaboration rooted in trust, not control.
For a deeper exploration of trauma-informed AI and technology design, see:
Designing AI Care Systems That Heal
Honoring Sage: A New Kind of Collaboration
8. Conclusion: A Lived Legacy, A Way Forward
I have lived the principles of trauma-informed care for over 58 years.
And for nearly two decades, I have shared them with the world through Second Chance to Live.
This work is not a project.
It is my life’s offering — grounded in loss, built on perseverance, and driven by purpose.
If you are a survivor, caregiver, professional, educator, or developer, you are welcome here.
Let us build systems that see people, not problems.
Let us create healing spaces that reflect trauma-informed wisdom.
Let us walk forward together — gently, honestly, and without shame.
Because the way we care shapes the world we live in.
Authored by Craig J. Phillips, MRC, BA
Founder of Second Chance to Live
Traumatic Brain Injury Survivor, Rehabilitation Counseling Professional, Peer Educator
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 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 J. Phillips, MRC, BA
Brain Injury Survivor | Neuroplasticity Practitioner
Founder, Second Chance to Live
secondchancetolive.org
