Negative and Positive Cognitions

EMDR Concept

The paired self-beliefs used in EMDR — a negative belief that feels true when a difficult memory comes up, and a positive belief you'd like to feel true in its place.

Also known as: negative cognition, positive cognition, NC, PC

In EMDR, a negative cognition is a self-referential belief that feels true when you bring a difficult memory to mind, and a positive cognition is the adaptive belief you would like to feel true about yourself in its place. They come in pairs, attached to a specific target memory. Examples: NC — “I am not safe.” PC — “I am safe now.” NC — “It was my fault.” PC — “I did the best I could.”

Both beliefs are self-referential (about you, not about the event), present-tense (the felt truth right now, not the historical fact), and specific enough to work with. “I’m broken” is usable. “Everything is terrible” is too diffuse — there’s no adaptive belief to pair it with, and nothing concrete for the processing system to reach for.

Why the pairing matters

Many difficult memories carry an implicit belief about the self that was installed at the time — “I’m powerless,” “I don’t matter,” “Something is wrong with me.” That belief gets filed along with the memory and tends to resurface whenever the memory is triggered. Working with the memory alone, without naming the belief, leaves part of the charge unaddressed.

The positive cognition gives the processing system a direction. Bilateral stimulation with both the memory and the paired beliefs in mind tends to move the felt truth of the positive belief upward over time — tracked on the VoC scale — while the distress tracked on SUDs moves down.

Common NC/PC pairings

  • “I am powerless” → “I have choices now”
  • “I am unsafe” → “I am safe now”
  • “It was my fault” → “I did the best I could at the time”
  • “I am not enough” → “I am enough as I am”
  • “I cannot trust anyone” → “I can choose who to trust”
  • “I am unlovable” → “I am worthy of care”