Assessment Scale Research-backed

SUD Scale (Subjective Units of Disturbance)

Measure distress from 0 (none) to 10 (worst imaginable). Includes a kid-friendly faces mode for younger clients.

This is a reference tool, not a replacement for EMDR therapy. EMDR must be delivered by a trained clinician. If you are using these tools outside of therapy and become distressed, stop, ground yourself, and contact a mental health professional.
Open in fullscreen

How disturbing is it right now?

5
Moderate disturbance
0 — none 5 10 — worst imaginable
"On a scale of 0 to 10, where 0 is no disturbance or neutral and 10 is the worst disturbance you can imagine, how disturbing does the incident feel to you now?"

Clinical sources

  • Shapiro, F. (2018). Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapy: Basic Principles, Protocols, and Procedures, 3rd ed. Guilford Press.

What this is

The SUD (Subjective Units of Disturbance) scale is the standard EMDR measurement for how distressing a memory or feeling is right now, on a scale from 0 to 10. It’s used throughout the protocol — in Phase 3 to get a baseline, between sets in Phase 4, and at closure to confirm processing.

When to use it

Clinical notes

Standard wording: “On a scale of 0 to 10, where 0 is no disturbance or neutral and 10 is the worst disturbance you can imagine, how disturbing does the incident feel to you now?”

Kid wording: “How yucky does it feel in your body right now? Zero is not yucky at all, ten is the worst yucky you can imagine.”