The T.R.I.P approach involves working with trauma and its impact on the person as a whole. This approach recognizes that frequently memories are implicit and stored at a body level. The assumption of T.R.I.P is that the body, brain, emotions, beliefs, sensations and relationships are needing both regulation and integration (internal connectedness) for the person to feel alive, and are able to live in the present.

 Origins of T.R.I.P  

The T.R.I.P model has been inspired and influenced by the ideas, theories, concepts and practices from the following therapies:  

1. OEI - One Eye Integration/Observed & Experiential Integration
2. Parts Therapy - Structural dissociation & Internal Family Systems
3. Somatic therapies
4. EFT - Emotionally Focused Therapy
5. Developmental Attachment theory - Dr, G. Neufeld (Neufeld institute)

 As a result, three core processes were shaped that make up TRIP that serve as a placeholder for regulating and integrating trauma: The Projection process, the Permission process and the Compassion process.

T.R.I.P facilitates three significant processes:

1) Projection process - this helps to bring awareness how each eye, brain and body response is different. It demonstrates how the past continues to impact the present at all levels of functioning. As the process continues to heal the trauma, the projection from the past onto the present reduces and people start to experience and discern the outside world more accurately.

This process helps the person to understand boundaries, safety and recognize dissociation and how this relates to the nervous system.

2) Permission process - Trauma often includes experiences that didn’t consider our yes or our no. We may not have had a voice at all, no say in the matter. Because of how the brain changes due to trauma, parts of us may have learned how to speak up in the present life, but parts of us are still stuck in the trauma in the way it happened then. This often becomes evident when we engage in the eye-brain methods used as part of TR.I.P. We ensure that all parts of us not only understand consent, we let all parts know that we don’t dive into the trauma work unless it is very clear what all parts need in order to the work. The permission process is used each time focusing on trauma work is considered.

3) Compassion process: As a result of trauma people develop certain survival and coping mechanisms that help them to “keep going” and “not look back”. This is essential at the time we need to survive.

Unfortunately, even when the immediate threat and danger have subsided this part of us continues to “keep going” and is unable to pay attention to our emotional and psychological needs. This often shows up in the Compassion process where one eye holds a Part that doesn’t have compassion for the other side (the parts presenting in the other eye).

The compassion process helps the different parts of us to reconnect and engage in self-compassion over harsh criticism or ignoring our own needs. The process helps to identify what is happening somatically and reduces the pain and sensations as a result of working through the traumas of the past. The brain and the body will then learn that this is something that happened in the past and is not occurring in the here and now.

These processes are facilitated using eye-brain techniques, emotional validation and regulation, somatic therapy, psycho-education (sense making) about attachment and trauma, and recognizing our brain exists of different parts of ourselves upon having experienced trauma.

The T.R.I.P process consistently integrates somatic strategies to process and release trauma. When chronic physical symptoms are part of the trauma presentation, we recognize that this is often directly related to a Part who uses the body to communicate a trauma based emotion, attachment needs and these Parts are often disconnected from other parts of us.

In T.R.IP we integrated eye movements therapy originating from OEI, yet we adjusted and added different applications for these eye movements (glitch repair) to enhance regulation and integration whilst using eye movements. The two categorizes of eye movements are “Trauma Trails” and “Calm Trails”. This combination allows clients to process trauma with a reduced intensity and increased opportunities for integration.

These processes are facilitated using eye-brain techniques, emotional validation and regulation, somatic therapy, psycho-education (sense making) about attachment and trauma, and recognizing our brain exists of different parts of ourselves upon having experienced trauma.

The T.R.I.P process consistently integrates somatic strategies to process and release trauma. When chronic physical symptoms are part of the trauma presentation, we recognize that this is often directly related to a Part who uses the body to communicate a trauma based emotion, attachment needs and these Parts are often disconnected from other parts of us.

In T.R.IP we integrated eye movements therapy originating from OEI, yet we adjusted and added different applications for these eye movements (glitch repair) to enhance regulation and integration whilst using eye movements. The two categorizes of eye movements are “Trauma Trails” and “Calm Trails”. This combination allows clients to process trauma with a reduced intensity and increased opportunities for integration.