TRIBE Trauma Method®
When you know it’s over,
yet it still feels right here.
An experience can be in the past and still affect how you feel today.
TRIBE is a structured, practitioner-guided approach developed by Dr Sharryn Gardner.
It combines focused attention, guided eye movements, present-day perspectives, and space for integration to unhook us from unhelpful stuck loops now.
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Explore the Foundations ⬇
Understanding it.
Still feeling it.
You might have talked about it, even made sense of it and carried on with your life as best you could.
Reminders can still bring back that fear, shame, tension or the feeling that something awful is about to happen.
You may know you were not responsible and still feel guilty.
You may know you are safe now and still feel on guard.
TRIBE pays attention to both what you understand and what you experience emotionally and physically
The Foundations
The Thinking Behind TRIBE
Safety, consent and individual pacing are front and central to the work.
01
Safety, Choice and Readiness
We discuss what brings you, what you would like to change and whether this approach is appropriate.
You can ask as many questions as you like, pause or stop throughout the session.
03
Bringing the Present into the Picture
What you knew during an overwhelming experience may differ from what you know now.
The work makes room for that perspective without forcing a positive interpretation.
02
Attention and guided eye movements
TRIBE uses guided eye movements while you attend to an agreed experience or response.
Your practitioner checks your experience and adjusts the work accordingly.
04
Create Space for Insight and Integration
Time to settle and reflect is part of the work. Follow-up can explore whether any change carries into ordinary life.
The Experience
What Actually Happens in a Session?
1. We Agree What to Focus On
We begin with your concerns and what you hope will be different. Together, we explore how an experience or response affects you now, including feelings, bodily sensations, thoughts or meaning.
You do not have to give a detailed account of every part of your story. Your practitioner explains what information is needed to work appropriately.
2. Your Practitioner Guides the Process
You follow guided eye movements while letting the memory sit back. Your practitioner explains what you are being asked to do, watches for any subtle shifts, and checks how you are throughout the work.
There is no response you have to produce.
You do not need to perform or find the right words.
3. We Notice What Changes
At intervals, we review how the focus feels. You might notice changes in emotion, sensation or perspective, or little immediate change. What you report guides the next step.
3. We Allow Time to Settle
We review how you feel, allow space to settle and discuss next steps.
Sessions and follow-up depend on your circumstances and response. Individual outcomes will vary.
What is TRIBE Aiming to Change?
The aim is to reduce the distress associated with an experience and explore whether it can feel less immediate, threatening or defining.
The memory remains part of your history. The work focuses on its impact in the present and what recovery could mean for your everyday life.
Developed by Dr Sharryn Gardner
Why I Developed TRIBE
Across more than 30 years in medicine, I have cared for people during some of the most frightening moments of their lives.
My therapeutic work has also shown me how long those moments can linger.
I developed TRIBE from that combined experience, drawing on therapeutic approaches and refining a structured way of working through clinical practice.
My purpose is to make thoughtful, accessible trauma recovery available to more people.
Evidence and ongoing development
TRIBE is a developing method. Clinical observations and client feedback inform its development.
How does Research Inform the Method?
Researchers have studied eye movements in other psychological therapies.
Research into its components provides useful context, and we are establishing the effectiveness of TRIBE as a complete approach.
Where are we driving further evaluation?
Further research is ongoing to evaluate outcomes, suitability, the contribution of components and how change is sustained over time.
