Negative Cognition Properties

• Negative belief around target issue
• First person present tense (I am …)
• Statement of being (vs. doing)
• Child-like perspective
• Irrational quality
• Generalizable

• Next, the client decides what he/she would like to believe about self in place of the negative thought.
• The client assesses the validity of this positive thought (Positive Cognition (PC)) relative to the target experience, on a seven-point scale (Validity of Cognition (VoC) scale 1-7).
• The client then names the emotions associated with the target event and scales the disturbance level on an eleven-point scale (Subjective Units of Disturbance (SUD) scale 0-10).
• The client identifies the location of the body sensation associated with the disturbance.

Negative Cognitions

I am a bad person
I am worthless
I am shameful
I am unlovable
I am incompetent

Positive Cognitions

I am a good person I am worthwhile
I am honorable
I am lovable
I can take care of myself

• The desensitization phase is the core of the information processing. It begins with the client holding in focus a picture of the traumatic event, a negative self-perception and a body sensation associated with a disturbing event.
• The clinician then helps the client focus on a bilateral stimulus (BLS) while holding the target event in mind.
• The stimulus may consist of rapid hand movements or moving lights in the client’s field of vision; alternating tones to the ears, or alternating taps on the hands.

• These sets of bilateral attention may last from less than a half-minute to, in rare situations, several minutes, depending on the client’s response. The client is asked to bring his awareness to the office and to comment on whatever comes in awareness.
• After giving a short description of what thought, feeling or experience that comes up in the client’s mind, the client does another set of bilateral stimulation.
• Over many sets of BLS, the therapist supports the client through the processing of whatever images, thoughts, feelings or sensations that come into awareness.
• When the processing of the disturbing memory is complete, as measured by the amount of residual disturbance of the memory (SUD =0), the positive thought (positive cognition) is revisited, reconfirmed as appropriate and scaled as to validity in the presence of the original experience.
• Sets of bilateral stimulation are applied until the positive thought is experienced as being totally valid (7 on a scale of 1-7).
• The client is asked to close his/her eyes, concentrate on the target experience and mentally scan the entire body.
• If sensations or lack of sensations are reported, short sets of bilateral stimulation are applied until any negative sensation subsides or positive sensations are fully experienced.

• The client is guided to a neutral or positive emotional state prior to leaving the session.
• The client may continue to process the material for days after a session, perhaps having new insights, vivid dreams, strong feelings, intrusive thoughts, or renewed recall of past experiences.
• These experiences may feel confusing to the client, but they are considered to be a continuation of the healing process.
• The client is asked to keep a record of new sensations and experiences and report them to the clinician at the next session. If the client becomes concerned or surprisingly disturbed, he/she should let the clinician know right away.

• At the beginning of the next session, the client reviews the week, discussing any new sensations or experiences and reviewing his/her log. The disturbance of the previous session’s target experience is assessed to help decide on the course of action.
• Generally, the eight-phase process is applied to past events, current triggers and anticipated future events related to the target event (Three Pronged Approach).