GTEP stands for Group Traumatic Episode Protocol. It is a structured, gentle form of EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) designed specifically for group settings. Developed by EMDR trainers Elan Shapiro and Brurit Laub, GTEP uses the same evidence-based framework as individual EMDR but adapts it so that a small group of people can process distressing or traumatic experiences together, at the same time, without needing to share their stories out loud.

EMDR has decades of research behind it as an effective treatment for trauma and stress-related symptoms. GTEP brings that same healing process into a collective space, which matters a lot for people who have felt isolated in their pain.

Living with endometriosis is not just physically demanding. For many women, it comes with a complicated emotional history that never quite gets addressed in a doctor’s office.

You may recognize some of these experiences:

• Anxiety or dread before medical appointments, procedures, or surgery

• Grief and anger from years of being dismissed, misdiagnosed, or told your pain was not real

• Trauma from painful examinations, emergency visits, or unexpected diagnoses

• Emotional exhaustion from managing a condition that most people around you do not fully understand

• A sense of disconnection from your own body after so much of the medical system has felt unsafe

GTEP can help you move through those stuck places. Specifically, it can:

• Reduce the emotional charge connected to specific medical experiences

• Help your nervous system feel safer before and after surgery or procedures

• Give you tools to self-regulate when medical stress spikes

• Connect you with others who genuinely understand, without requiring you to perform your pain for the group

• Build a felt sense of resilience that goes beyond coping and into actual healing

Many participants report feeling noticeably calmer, less reactive, and more grounded after even a single session.

Sessions are held in a small group format, either online or in person. Your facilitator guides the group through a structured, step-by-step process that follows the GTEP protocol.

Here is what that generally looks like:

• You will be oriented to the process and given grounding tools before any processing begins

• You will privately identify a distressing memory or experience you want to work on, without sharing it with the group

• The facilitator leads bilateral stimulation (eye movements or tapping) while you work on your memory internally

• There are check-ins and grounding moments built into the process

• Sessions typically run 2 to 3 hours

The group creates a sense of shared humanity and collective nervous system regulation, even though each person is doing their own internal work. That combination is part of what makes GTEP uniquely powerful.

No, and this is one of the things that sets GTEP apart.

You do not need to describe what happened to you, explain it to the group, or revisit it out loud. Your memories stay private. You work with them internally while receiving guided support from the facilitator and the subtle, regulating presence of the group around you.

This makes GTEP accessible for people who want to heal but are not ready, or not willing, to narrate their pain to strangers. You get to keep your story and still do the work.

They serve very different purposes. A support group provides community, validation, and shared experience. GTEP is a clinical protocol that actively processes and reduces trauma symptoms. Both have value, and for many people they complement each other well.

In GTEP, you are not primarily there to talk or listen. You are there to process. The group structure supports the work without becoming the focus of it.

Your facilitator will establish grounding and self-regulation tools with you before any processing begins. The protocol is designed to move at a pace your nervous system can tolerate, and there are built-in pauses and check-ins throughout.

If at any point the process feels like too much, you can signal your facilitator and shift to a stabilization technique instead. You are always in the driver’s seat. The group moves together, but you get to decide how deep you go.

GTEP may be a good fit if you:

• Have had stressful or traumatic medical experiences connected to endometriosis, adenomyosis, or other chronic conditions

• Are preparing for an upcoming surgery or recovering from a recent one

• Feel anxious, angry, emotionally numb, or stuck around your health

• Have tried talk therapy and found it helpful but incomplete, or found the re-telling exhausting

• Want a structured, evidence-based approach in a community of people who get it

GTEP is not individual therapy and is not designed to treat severe, complex trauma as a standalone intervention. If you are unsure whether it is the right fit for your situation, reach out before registering and we can talk it through.

Everything shared within the group stays within the group. Participants are asked to agree to a confidentiality agreement as part of the intake process. Your facilitator follows all professional, ethical, and legal standards for mental health practice.

Because this is a group setting, confidentiality cannot be legally guaranteed the way it can in individual therapy. However, the group agreement creates a clear, shared commitment to privacy and respect.

• HSA and FSA cards are accepted

• Superbills are provided for out-of-network insurance reimbursement

• Group rates are significantly more affordable than individual EMDR sessions

• Payment plans may be available. Reach out to ask.

Groups are intentionally kept small, typically between 4 and 8 participants. This allows for the intimacy and individual attunement that GTEP requires, while still preserving the collective benefit of a group experience. Larger groups dilute both. Smaller groups tend to do the work better.