Common Terms
DAS (Dual Attention Stimuli)
DAS refers to the visual, auditory, or physical stimulation we use to activate both sides of the brain during EMDR. This may include visual movements (my hand, a ball, a light bar), self-stimulation (butterfly hug, squeeze balls, leg tapping), and sometimes bilateral or binaural sounds through headphones.
VOC (Validity of Cognition)
VOC measures how true a negative or positive belief feels to you in the moment. You’ll rate this on a scale from 1–7, where 1 feels completely false and 7 feels completely true. We check VOC at multiple points throughout the EMDR process.
SUDS (Subjective Units of Disturbance Scale)
SUDS reflects the level of emotional distress you feel when focusing on the issue we are working on. You’ll rate this on a scale from 0–10, where 0 is no disturbance and 10 is the highest level of distress you can imagine. This helps us track your progress as processing continues.
NC (Negative Cognition)
The NC is the negative belief you hold about yourself that is linked to the memory or issue we are working on. Common themes include:
-Responsibility: “I should have known better.”
-Safety: “I can’t trust anyone.”
-Choice: “I have to be perfect.”
-Power: “I can’t succeed.”
-Value: “I’m a failure.”
If identifying your NC feels difficult, I will help with this during session.
PC (Positive Cognition)
The PC is the positive belief you want to hold about yourself—often the direct opposite of your NC. Using the examples listed in the NC section:-Responsibility: “I did the best I could.”-Safety: “I can choose who I trust.”-Choice: “My imperfections are part of who I am.”-Power: “I can succeed.”-Value: “I am worthy / I am a success.”
I can help you identify your PC, and I have a list of common NCs and PCs available if you’d like to review them.
I can help you identify your PC, and I have a list of common NCs and PCs available if you’d like to review them.
Body Sensations
These are the physical experiences connected to your emotions. When you feel an emotion, it often appears somewhere in your body. When describing a sensation, we focus on:
-Location: Where do you feel it? (e.g., “in my stomach”)
-Quality: Tightness, heaviness, throbbing, fluttering, warmth, tingling, etc.
-Intensity: Mild to strong, comfortable to painful
For example:
“I feel a pit in my stomach.”
OR
“There’s tingling on the bottom of my right thigh—uncomfortable but not painful.”
Emotions
Emotions are the feelings you are experiencing (e.g., sadness, anger, fear, hurt, shame, overwhelm). Being able to identify emotions clearly is an important part of EMDR.Sometimes we use phrases like “I feel messed up” or “I feel off,” but these are interpretations, not emotions. If naming emotions is difficult for you, that’s something we can practice together before we begin EMDR.