Trauma Informed Interviewing: Why Science Says It’s Important to Investigations

Trauma-informed interviewing is an approach that acknowledges how trauma might affect the interviewee’s memory, cognition, and behavior. Instead of relying on traditional interrogation techniques, which may re-traumatize the person or yield unreliable information, this method uses neuroscience and psychology to empower and support them.

While not every interviewee requires a trauma-informed questioning approach, investigators should keep the following information in mind to ensure their interviews that are more accurate, ethical, and compassionate.

The Brain’s Response to Trauma

When someone experiences trauma, their brain shifts into survival mode, triggering one of the “Four F” responses to stress: fight, flight, freeze, or fawn (act submissive or compliant). This response is controlled by the amygdala, which processes emotions (including fear) and initiates the body’s stress reaction. At the same time, the prefrontal cortex, responsible for rational thinking and decision-making, becomes impaired. This means that during a traumatic event, individuals often act on instinct rather than logic.

Bruce Pitt-Payne, LSM, CPII, LPI (BC) says that during this process, “the prefrontal cortex—the front part of the brain that’s responsible for intellectual thought—becomes impaired, which means we go down to more around the brain stem area, which is more primitive, relying on reflexes and habits to survive.”

Additionally, the hippocampus, which encodes and organizes memories, may not function properly under extreme stress. This results in fragmented or disorganized memories, where the person can recall some details vividly, while they don’t have any memory of others. Pitt-Payne, who was involved in an active shooter situation during his work as an RCMP officer, explains, “Imagine if you’re focusing on a danger, just like I was on that gun when I was held hostage, it will be to the detriment of, possibly, other senses or other memories.”

How Memory Is Affected by Trauma

Before using the trauma-informed interviewing approach, investigators must understand how memory is affected by distressing experiences. Traditional interviews often assume that if a person cannot recall details in a linear, structured manner, they must be lying. However, scientific research shows that trauma survivors often:

• Recall fragmented memories: some details (such as a weapon) may be vividly remembered, while others (such as a perpetrator’s hair color or height) are missing
• Experience time distortion: they might struggle to remember events in chronological order
• Exhibit dissociation: they could feel as though they were watching the event happen to them from outside their body

This phenomenon was evident in Pitt-Payne’s own experience mentioned above. After being interviewed just two hours after his release, he struggled to recall key details about the perpetrator. “I was asked what color the hostage taker’s eyes were, and all I could think was—eyes? He had eyes?” The interviewer expected precise details, unaware that trauma had affected Payne’s ability to process and recall certain information.

Trauma Responses and Their Interview Implications

Beyond memory, trauma affects behavior and communication, too. During their traumatic situation, a person might experience:

• Tonic immobility: a state of temporary paralysis where they cannot move or speak
• Collapsed immobility: feelings of faintness, muscle weakness, dizziness, or even loss of consciousness
• Disassociation: feeling “spaced out” or “on autopilot”

In an interview setting, these responses can be misinterpreted. As Pitt-Payne points out, you might think something like “Why didn’t [they] fight back?” However, it could be that the person, “physically or mentally could not go to that step. So we can’t blame somebody and decrease our perception of their reliability or accuracy because of the way they present,” he explains.

In a trauma informed interview, investigators can avoid causing further harm to the person by prioritizing patience, open-ended questioning, and an understanding of how trauma shapes responses.

Trauma informed interviewing is not just a compassionate approach—it is scientifically supported. Understanding how trauma affects brain function, memory, and behavior allows investigators to conduct more effective interviews while also treating interviewees with more compassion. The best part is, you don’t have to fully change how you conduct interviews; you simply need to add some flexibility and understanding to your current processes. As Pitt-Payne says, “We’re not reinventing anything. We are augmenting it. We are making it better or more suitable for the person that has gone through trauma.”

How Case IQ Can Help

Case IQ’s whistleblowing and case management tools provide organizations with an end-to-end solution for managing investigations. You can intake, track, manage, and report on your investigations, including organizing all interview notes and recordings, in one secure platform, ensuring speedy and thorough resolutions. Request a demo of Case IQ today to see how your organization can handle any incident with confidence.