Speculative Healing: AI Expressive Arts and World Building for Trauma Recovery and Workplace Readiness

Trauma survivors often encounter emotional and systemic barriers as they reintegrate into their communities and seek meaningful employment. Traditional therapeutic approaches may not fully address the complexities of trauma recovery, particularly in fostering identity formation and long-term resilience. This workshop introduces an innovative conceptual model that leverages AI-driven expressive arts, speculative world-building, and participatory healing circles to support survivors in envisioning a future beyond their harm. At the core of this approach is the integration of AI-augmented expressive arts to facilitate emotional expression and post-trauma identity formation. Participants engage in world-building exercises that allow them to construct speculative futures, visualizing and embodying an empowered post-trauma self. By externalizing their experiences through creative digital media, survivors can safely explore their personal narratives, cultivate self-efficacy, and reclaim agency over their healing journey. Healing circles play a crucial role in this process, fostering a collective and speculative future that validates individual experiences while promoting shared resilience. These facilitated spaces provide a psychologically safe environment where participants engage in storytelling, artistic expression, and AI-enhanced visualization, making the trauma recovery process both accessible and transformative. Using immersive AI simulations, participants develop a tangible connection to their envisioned future selves. Grounded in Positive Selves Theory (Markus & Nurius, 1986), this approach encourages resilience and motivation by reinforcing future-oriented narratives, helping survivors see themselves beyond their trauma. Applying Collective Efficacy Theory, the conceptual trauma recovery model supports the creation and sharing of personal artifacts—artistic representations of strength, hope, and growth. This collaborative process fosters solidarity and shared healing, allowing participants to witness and contribute to each other's transformation. Utilizing the Design Justice Framework, the model identifies and addresses systemic employment barriers that trauma survivors face. AI-driven training modules equip participants with workplace skills, while the integration of expressive arts builds confidence and agency, fostering equitable workforce reintegration. This conceptual model offers a holistic framework for trauma recovery by blending emotional expression, collective healing, and self-efficacy development. The integration of AI, creative practices, and social justice-oriented design highlights its potential to disrupt inequities and create inclusive pathways for survivors to heal and thrive.