TRTP Has Taken Its First Formal Research Step. Here Is Why That Matters
Most people looking for help with anxiety, low mood, trauma symptoms or emotional reactivity are not searching for a research methodology. They are asking a much more human question: Can I trust this process enough to take the next step?
That is why the publication of the first formal study of TRTP matters.
It does not matter because one paper should make the decision for you. It matters because a therapeutic process that developed in real-world practice has now been placed inside a formal study, measured, documented and opened to scrutiny.
Why this publication is personal for me
I have worked full-time within TRTP since 2021. Today I am its General Manager, a trainer and a practitioner. I have seen the process from several angles: how it is taught, how practitioners are supported, the questions potential clients ask, and the responsibility that comes with talking publicly about people’s mental health.
One thing I have learned is that confidence and overstatement are not the same thing. We can believe in the value of a process while still asking it to move through a serious evidence-building pathway.
For me, this publication is meaningful because it represents exactly that move.
Research does not begin with a final verdict
When people hear the word “study”, it is easy to imagine a simple verdict: it works or it does not. Early research is usually more practical than that. Before a large controlled trial can be run, researchers need to know whether an intervention can be studied reliably in the setting where it is actually delivered.
Can suitable participants be recruited? Will they complete the process and the follow-up measures? Can the data be collected consistently? Is the process acceptable to participants? Are there early signals that make a larger study worth doing?
Those are the kinds of questions a feasibility study is designed to answer.
What the TRTP feasibility study examined
The paper, titled “The Richards Trauma Process: a before-after single-arm feasibility trial of a novel psychotherapy”, was published in the journal Pilot and Feasibility Studies on 4 June 2026.
The study followed consecutive new adult clients presenting to a psychotherapist in Australia. Its objectives were to examine whether TRTP could be studied in a community setting, document acceptability and safety, and gather preliminary outcome information from adults presenting with elevated psychological distress.
The researchers used recognised self-report measures covering depression, anxiety, stress and trauma symptoms. Behind the study terminology were real people who agreed to have their experience measured before the process and again at one-month follow-up.
What the study reported
In the TRTP (The Richards Trauma Process) feasibility study, 40 new clients were assessed. Twenty-three were eligible, consented and commenced TRTP, and 20 completed TRTP and the one-month follow-up. Treatment completers averaged about six hours of therapy in this study.
Mean self-reported scores on the DASS-21 and PCL-5 measures moved in the desired direction, and the study reported no clinically meaningful deterioration in individual scores or participants. Eleven of the 15 pre-set feasibility criteria were met.
These findings are encouraging, but they are preliminary. The study was a small before-after, single-arm feasibility study without a control group or randomisation, so it cannot establish that TRTP caused the changes observed.
The authors concluded that a larger trial of TRTP in a community setting is feasible and warranted. They also identified practical changes that could strengthen the design of future research.
Why this matters to people considering help
Research can sound as though it belongs to organisations, universities and journals. For a person considering therapy, its purpose is much simpler: it can reduce some of the fog around a decision.
It gives you something concrete to read
You do not have to rely only on a website claim or a practitioner’s enthusiasm. The study design, participant flow, measures, results and limitations are available for others to examine.
It shows a willingness to be examined
A developing therapeutic approach should be prepared to move beyond anecdote. Formal research invites questions, identifies weaknesses and creates a clearer path for what needs to happen next.
It helps define the next question
This study asked whether larger research was practical and justified. A future controlled trial would ask a different and more demanding question about effectiveness. Evidence is built in stages; it is not created by skipping directly to the strongest claim.
What a research paper cannot decide for you
A published study cannot assess your personal circumstances, decide whether TRTP is suitable for you, replace medical or mental health care, or guarantee an outcome. It should inform a conversation, not pressure you into one.
At Reset Today, our approach is straightforward: explain the process clearly, assess suitability, answer questions honestly and give you room to decide. Research is part of that picture, but the quality of the practitioner relationship and the fit of the process still matter.
A grounded way to view this milestone
I do not see this publication as a finish line. I see it as the first formal checkpoint in a longer research pathway.
That matters. It means TRTP has moved from being a process used and taught in practice to one that is now being examined through published research. It also means the responsible next step is clear: continue the research and subject the process to stronger study designs.
Hope and healthy scepticism can sit in the same room. You can be encouraged by an early study while still wanting the evidence to keep developing. In my view, that is the most useful and honest place to stand.
Read the official research summary
You can read the accessible overview, the study pathway and links to the published paper on the official TRTP Research page.
To understand how the process is delivered at Reset Today, visit our TRTP Therapy page. You can also meet Blair or contact Reset Today for a free, obligation-free conversation.
Frequently asked questions
Has TRTP been formally researched?
Yes. TRTP now has a published before-after, single-arm feasibility study in a peer-reviewed journal. It is the first formal published study of The Richards Trauma Process.
Does the study prove that TRTP is effective?
No. A feasibility study is an early research step. Because this study did not include a control group or randomisation, it cannot prove that TRTP caused the changes observed. It supports the case for a larger controlled trial.
What is likely to happen next in the research pathway?
The logical next stage is a larger, more rigorous study that includes an appropriate comparison or control condition. That would allow researchers to ask stronger questions about effectiveness.
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