Understanding TRTP for your practice
TRTP: a structured approach to trauma
TRTP follows a structured three-step process focused on changing the patterns, beliefs and emotional responses shaped by past experiences—including those associated with anxiety, depression and other trauma-related difficulties. The process does not require repeated detailed retelling or reliving of distressing events.
Developed by Judith Richards, it works with deeply held beliefs and emotional responses connected to those experiences, with the aim of supporting greater safety, empowerment and choice.
Explore the approach, its therapeutic focus and how it could fit within your professional practice.
When clients understand — but still react
A client may understand why they feel anxious, expect rejection or believe they are not enough — yet the same emotional, behavioural or physical responses continue.
In the TRTP model, the issue is not simply a lack of insight. Deeply held unconscious beliefs may still be driving the pattern, while unresolved past experiences continue to be responded to as though they are happening now.
TRTP works to change those underlying beliefs, bring the past to an end, and change the responses connected to it.
The aim is not simply to manage the pattern — but to change what is creating it.
What does TRTP work with?
In the TRTP model, distressing experiences can remain active in the unconscious mind — as though they are still happening now.
These experiences may also create deeply held beliefs such as “I am not enough,” “I am powerless” or “I am not safe.”
TRTP works with both: the unresolved distress and the beliefs connected to it.
The aim is to bring the past to an end, change the underlying beliefs, and create a different emotional, behavioural and physical response in the present.
The process follows a defined sequence, while the content is individual to each client.
How is the process structured?
1. Work with deeply held beliefs
Identify and work to change deeply held beliefs such as “I am not enough” or “I am powerless” — replacing them with beliefs that support greater confidence, choice and possibility.
2. Address the emotional impact of the past
Work with unresolved distress from past experiences — bringing the past to an end so the client can respond from greater safety, choice and empowerment in the present.
3. Consolidate change and move forward
Consolidate the changes made, address anything that remains, and support the client to move forward with greater clarity, confidence and choice in everyday life.
TRTP is taught as a complete, sequenced process. Each step has a distinct purpose and connects with the work that follows.
How could TRTP fit within your practice?
TRTP can become a distinct therapeutic process within your broader professional practice.
Your existing skills in assessment, connection and professional judgement remain essential. TRTP adds a defined process for working with deeply held beliefs and unresolved distress connected to past experiences.
It may be relevant when clients present with persistent anxiety, low mood, trauma-related symptoms, low self-worth, relationship difficulties or emotional reactivity.
TRTP is taught and delivered as a complete sequence — not as a collection of individual techniques to be mixed into other modalities.
Assessment comes before the process
Suitability asks whether TRTP is appropriate for the client’s needs. Readiness asks whether their current circumstances, support and capacity to participate make this the right time to proceed.
Both matter. Where different or additional care is needed, assessment should identify that before the process begins. Training in TRTP does not replace your existing responsibilities around competence, consent, referral and client care.
What research supports TRTP?
A published feasibility study in Pilot and Feasibility Studies examined TRTP in a community setting and reported encouraging preliminary changes in distress measures.
It was a small, single-practitioner, before-and-after study without a control group. It supports further investigation, not a conclusion that TRTP is proven effective or superior to another therapy.
Our research section explains the study, a separate practice-based outcomes report, and the need for larger controlled research.
Questions practitioners often ask
Does TRTP require detailed retelling of traumatic events?
The process does not require detailed retelling or reliving of past events. Practitioners gather enough information to understand the client’s circumstances and assess suitability.
Is TRTP always completed in three sessions?
TRTP is structured around three connected steps, commonly delivered in three sessions. Your practitioner will explain the process and any preparation involved. Additional follow-up may be discussed where appropriate.
Do clients need one clearly defined traumatic event?
No. TRTP can work with distress linked to a single event or, more commonly, experiences accumulated over time.
The focus is not on finding one defining trauma, but on identifying what remains unresolved and continues to affect the person in the present.
Explore what TRTP could add to your practice
Review the training structure, entry requirements, learning support and pathway to certification. A free training information session gives you an opportunity to discuss your professional background and ask how the approach is taught.
Training completion and practitioner certification are separate stages. The training page explains what is required for each.