First published feasibility study found strong retention but no proof
An Australian feasibility study of The Richards Trauma Process has concluded that a larger controlled trial is warranted after 20 of 23 starters completed therapy and one-month follow-up.
Published online in Pilot and Feasibility Studies on 4 June 2026, the paper is titled The Richards Trauma Process: a before-after single-arm feasibility trial of a novel psychotherapy.
Researchers described it as the first formal published study of TRTP. They also stressed that the design cannot prove efficacy.
In the community-based trial, 23 of 40 eligible new adult clients consented and commenced TRTP. Of those 23, 20 completed therapy and the one-month follow-up.
Among those 20 completers, participants averaged 3.2 sessions, or about 6.1 hours of treatment. Eighteen showed clinically meaningful improvement, while paired outcome data reported no clinically meaningful deterioration.
However, the study used a before-after single-arm design with no randomisation and no control group. As a result, it does not establish that TRTP caused the observed improvements.
Petrina Barson on feasibility
On feasibility, the pilot met 11 of 15 criteria. Recruitment and retention proved workable, data collection functioned in a community setting, and the intervention appeared acceptable and safe in this sample.
Dr Petrina Barson said the findings should be read as a case for better testing, not as a breakthrough. “Our study suggests TRTP is feasible to study in a community setting and that larger controlled trials are warranted, but it is not proof of efficacy,” Dr Barson said.
Recent global data have added pressure on mental-health systems. Around the study, that has sharpened questions about whether promising additional therapies are being tested rigorously enough alongside established care.
Judith Richards created TRTP from lived experience and says it has been used in practice for years. She argued that disciplined research now matters more than hype.
“People deserve to understand what a therapy may help, what it may not, and what still needs to be tested,” Ms Richards said.
Authors did not argue for replacing existing evidence-based care. Instead, they presented the pilot as support for a larger definitive trial to test whether TRTP adds value alongside established treatments.
The article is available as an early-access, citable version in Pilot and Feasibility Studies.
