R-TEP: Recent Traumatic Episode Protocol

R-TEP (Recent Traumatic Episode Protocol) is an EMDR early-intervention protocol for events that are too recent to have consolidated into a single memory. Instead of one target image, the clinician works with the whole episode: narrate it, scan it, process each disturbing point in turn under deliberate containment, then re-scan until the episode reads as clear.

It integrates Shapiro's Recent Event Protocol with Elan Shapiro and Brurit Laub's Continuum thinking, adding the G-Search scan and the telescopic re-scan loop that distinguish R-TEP from a plain recent-event approach.

Indicated when:

• The episode occurred recently — usually within roughly the last 2–3 months.
• The memory has not yet consolidated into one single, stable target image.
• The event is over and the client is not in ongoing danger.
• Phase 2 stabilization is in place: calm place, stop signal, dual attention, containment.

Stay in standard preparation instead when:

• The client is still in the situation, or the threat is ongoing.
• The episode is one strand of ongoing complex or developmental trauma.
• There is unmanaged dissociation, active crisis, or intoxication.

Training required. R-TEP is a post-basic protocol. Use it only after EMDR basic training plus specific R-TEP / early-intervention training or consultation.

Establish a Traumatic Episode frame: from a point of relative safety before the event, through the event, to a point of relative safety after it. The client tells the story once, in sequence, while short bilateral sets run alongside the telling. This is narrative with BLS support, not reprocessing — you are not following channels or chasing affect here.

Build the narrative as a timeline of discrete moments. Each moment is a candidate target, which makes the next step concrete rather than impressionistic.

Ask the client to scan the whole episode the way a search engine sweeps a page, and report where disturbance still registers — without going into any of it. Each hit is a Point of Disturbance (PoD): a fragment of the episode, not necessarily the "worst" moment, and often not the moment the clinician would have predicted.

Process the first PoD the scan surfaces. Resist the pull to sort PoDs by severity — the point of the protocol is to follow the client's own search order.

For each PoD: brief assessment (image, SUD, body location), then bilateral sets. Choose the containment level deliberately, per PoD, along the EMDR continuum:

• EMD — return to the PoD after every set. Narrowest; use when affect tolerance is low or the episode is very raw.
• EMDr — allow limited associative movement, return after two or three sets.
• EMDR — follow channels fully. Use only where stability clearly supports it.

There is no body scan at PoD level. Body scan happens once, at episode level, after the episode-level installation.

After a PoD clears, do not move straight to the next one on your list. Re-run the G-Search across the whole episode. Processing frequently reorganizes the episode: previously flat moments become disturbing, and previously flagged ones resolve on their own. Repeat scan → process → re-scan until a full pass returns nothing. This telescopic loop is the mechanism that keeps R-TEP from turning into a queue of isolated single-incident targets.

When the scan is clear: take a full-episode SUD, install the episode-level positive cognition, run a single body scan, add a future template for anticipated triggers, then run an extended Phase 7 closure.

If the episode is not clear when time runs out, contain, close down, and resume the scan next session. An incomplete episode is normal and expected — it is not a failed session.

R-TEP has a growing but smaller evidence base than standard EMDR: field studies and controlled trials in disaster, conflict, and post-incident contexts, generally with modest sample sizes. Treat it as a well-structured early-intervention protocol with promising support, not as an intervention with the evidence density of the standard eight-phase protocol.

R-TEP is built into the platform as a stand-alone guided session, not just written up as a reference. Inside a session you get:

• An entry gate with indication criteria, timing, and the training disclaimer.
• A timeline builder for the episode narrative.
• A G-Search screen that turns flagged moments into PoD cards.
• Per-PoD processing with SUD trails and an explicit EMD / EMDr / EMDR containment choice.
• A rescan counter, cleared vs open PoD list, and episode-level closeout.
• Collapsible bilateral stimulation at the top of the session, including a send-to-client link.
• Editable scripts in the script library, and a PDF session report with the episode timeline, per-PoD SUD charts, and rescan count.

See the Flash Technique guide for the other specialized protocol built into the platform.

• Shapiro, E., & Laub, B. (2008). Early EMDR Intervention (EEI): A Summary, a Theoretical Model, and the Recent Traumatic Episode Protocol (R-TEP). Journal of EMDR Practice and Research, 2(2), 79–96.
• Shapiro, E., Laub, B., & Rosenblat, O. (2018). Early EMDR intervention following intense rocket attacks on a town: A randomised clinical trial. Clinical Neuropsychiatry, 15(3), 194–205.
• Shapiro, E., & Laub, B. (2014). The Recent Traumatic Episode Protocol (R-TEP). In M. Luber (Ed.), Implementing EMDR Early Mental Health Interventions for Man-Made and Natural Disasters. New York: Springer.
• Shapiro, E. (2012). EMDR and Early Psychological Intervention Following Trauma. Revue Européenne de Psychologie Appliquée, 62(4), 241–251.
• Shapiro, F. (2018). Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapy: Basic Principles, Protocols, and Procedures (3rd ed.). New York: Guilford Press.
• Jarero, I., & Artigas, L. (2010). The EMDR Integrative Group Treatment Protocol: Application with Adults During Ongoing Geopolitical Crisis. Journal of EMDR Practice and Research, 4(4), 148–155.
• World Health Organization. (2013). Guidelines for the Management of Conditions Specifically Related to Stress. Geneva: WHO.

This page is educational paraphrasing for trained clinicians. No verbatim protocol text is reproduced; consult the primary sources and your own R-TEP training materials.