Assessment Scale Used in studied protocols

How strong is the feeling?

Use a 0–10 scale with optional child-friendly language.

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.

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How disturbing is it right now?

Simple words

Moderate

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

SUD Scale (Subjective Units of Disturbance)

What the evidence supports

Research on a complete therapy does not establish that an isolated activity or this website produces the same outcomes. EMDR includes assessment, preparation, memory work and follow-up with a trained clinician. Its mechanisms are still being studied.

These pages compile published sources. An independent clinical review of this site and a trial of its tools are not documented here. Labels describe the technique’s use context; they are not an efficacy certification.

VA: EMDR evidence and limitations · NICE: recommendations by age and context

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

How to use this activity and clinical context

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

Clinicians: During Phase 3 assessment and every few sets during Phase 4 desensitization. Keep it quick — you’re asking for a gut number, not an analysis.
Families: When your child has feelings that are hard to put into words, the faces version can help them show you how big the feeling is.

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.”