Integrating Trauma-Informed Approaches into Sociological Research: Methodological and Ethical Innovations

The issue of trauma has long been considered the domain of psychology. As a result, it has been largely overlooked by sociologists, even by those conducting fieldwork with psychotraumatized individuals. By overlooking the contributions of psychotraumatology, traditional qualitative research techniques in sociology can inadvertently contribute to silencing survivors, triggering trauma (PTSD), and even retraumatization. These canonical methods may also contribute to the underestimation of the scope of these forms of violence and their relevance as key variables in sociological inquiry, in addition to raising important ethical concerns.

Informed by my background in socio-anthropology and psychotraumatology, I have developed a research protocol incorporating popular education methods, notably the Theatre of the Oppressed, during my PhD research on paid domestic work in Bolivia and Peru. I will analyze how this methods have provided valuable insights into gender-based violence and trauma, while challenging traditional epistemological and ethical frameworks in qualitative sociology.

I will argue that these tools are especially relevant to research involving individuals who experience mental health issues as a consequence of violence, as they create safer environments for participants to articulate their experiences of violence, its structural causes, and its mental health impacts. Additionally, these approaches are crucial from an ethical standpoint, as they are more respectful of the needs of psychotraumatized individuals, ensuring that research practices do not inadvertently re-traumatize or silence participants, particularly regarding stigmatized issues like sexual and gender-based violence and mental health.