Rating Your Positive Cognition
Important distinction
In EMDR processing with a therapist, the positive cognition is used in Phase 5 (Installation) — strengthening the PC after the traumatic memory has been desensitised. In this program, we use the PC for resourcing only: strengthening access to a positive belief so it becomes more available. We do not attempt to install it on an unprocessed memory.
The VoC Scale
The Validity of Cognition (VoC) scale runs from 1 to 7:
- 1 — Completely false. I cannot feel any truth in this at all.
- 3–4 — Partially true. I can see some truth intellectually but it does not feel true.
- 6–7 — Completely true. This feels fully true in my body as well as my mind.
Rate your PC on the VoC scale now, while holding your touchstone memory in mind. Not in the abstract — connected to the specific memory. This is your current VoC baseline.
After processing with a therapist, you will rate it again. The movement from baseline to post-processing VoC is one of the most reliable markers of successful EMDR resolution.