Assessment Scale Used in studied protocols

How true does it feel?

Use a 1–7 belief scale together with your clinician.

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.

Keeps your choices. You can return to this guide at any time.

Loading activity…

If loading does not finish, you can reload the page or choose another activity.

Settings

Appearance

Color theme Target color Background

Sound

Volume 30%

Background sound Background level Base pitch (Hz) 200 Offset (Hz) 4.0

Headphones needed for left-right separation.

Settings saved on this device

How true does the positive belief feel?

Positive cognition (optional, not stored):

Somewhat true

1 — completely false 7 — completely true

"Think about that incident. When you think of the incident, how true do those words feel to you now, on a scale of 1 to 7?"

Clinical sources

VOC Scale (Validity of Cognition)

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 VOC (Validity of Cognition) scale measures how true a positive self-belief feels on a gut level, from 1 (completely false) to 7 (completely true). It’s distinct from intellectual agreement — you’re asking the client what it feels like in their body.

When to use it

Phase 3: After identifying the positive cognition and getting its initial VOC score.
Phase 5: After installation, to confirm the PC feels increasingly true.

Clinical notes

Standard wording: “Think about that incident. When you think of the incident, how true do those words [the positive cognition] feel to you now, on a scale of 1 to 7, where 1 is completely false and 7 is completely true?”