The EMDR group traumatic episode protocol: A theoretical framework

This paper presents a theoretical framework underlying the EMDR Group Traumatic Episode Protocol, conceptualizing trauma not as a single discrete event but as a continuum of experience, comprising interconnected past experiences, present triggers, and anticipated future concerns.

Resource Abstract

“The expansion of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy into group formats has created a need for greater conceptual clarity regarding how trauma can be organized and processed within group contexts. This paper presents a theoretical framework underlying the EMDR Group Traumatic Episode Protocol, conceptualizing trauma not as a single discrete event but as a temporally extended Trauma Episode, understood as a continuum of experience, comprising interconnected past experiences, present triggers, and anticipated future concerns. Grounded in the adaptive information processing model, this framework identifies a multitarget processing structure organized around points of disturbance (PoDs), representing discrete yet interconnected elements within a broader associative trauma network. A central construct, termed microprocessing, describes the self-directed and circumscribed engagement with one PoD at a time. It is proposed to regulate the amount and associative range of traumatic material activated while supporting progressive integration across the Trauma Episode. Within the group EMDR context, PoDs are identified through guided introspective procedures, creating an iterative target-identification and sequencing structure without requiring clinician selection of each target. This does not replace screening, risk assessment, or determination of suitability for group participation. The approach supports a model of EMDR group intervention as a structured form of guided self-help while retaining the need for trained facilitation, clinical governance, and appropriate referral pathways. The model extends existing EMDR theory by addressing the temporal and cumulative nature of trauma and provides a conceptual basis for multitarget processing and scalable group intervention.”

—Description from publisher

Resource Access

Open Access

Shapiro, E. (2026). The EMDR group traumatic episode protocol: A theoretical framework. Journal of EMDR Practice and Research, 20, Article 47. https://doi.org/10.34133/jemdr.0047(opens in new tab)