Tag:
What Happens During EMDR Installation?
Short Answer: Installation is the fifth phase of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). It generally comes after the distress connected with a target has decreased during desensitization. During installation, you focus on the target along with a positive belief you would prefer to associate with yourself, such as “I can handle this now” or “I did the best I could.” Bilateral stimulation is then used while you hold the target and positive belief in mind. The purpose is to strengthen a more helpful way of thinking about yourself in relation to the experience.
Key Takeaways
- Installation is Phase 5 of the standard eight-phase EMDR process.
- It generally follows the desensitization phase.
- The focus shifts from reducing distress to strengthening a preferred positive belief.
- The positive belief is something you would like to feel is true about yourself in relation to the target.
- Bilateral stimulation is used while focusing on the target and positive belief.
- You do not need to force yourself to believe something that does not feel genuine.
- Installation can be part of both therapist-guided and structured self-guided EMDR.
Where Does Installation Fit Into EMDR?
EMDR is commonly described as an eight-phase process:
- History Taking and Treatment Planning
- Preparation
- Assessment
- Desensitization
- Installation
- Body Scan
- Closure
- Reevaluation
Installation is Phase 5.
During the previous desensitization phase, you work with the target using bilateral stimulation while noticing what comes up.
As the distress connected with the target decreases, the focus can shift toward the positive belief identified for that target.
That is where installation begins.
What Is Being “Installed”?
The word installation can sound unusual if you have never encountered it in EMDR before.
It does not mean that a new thought is literally being placed into your mind.
In EMDR terminology, installation refers to strengthening a positive belief that you would prefer to associate with yourself and the processed experience.
For example, someone might begin with a memory connected with the negative belief:
“I'm powerless.”
A preferred positive belief might be:
“I have choices now.”
Or someone might begin with:
“I'm not good enough.”
and prefer:
“I'm okay as I am.”
Installation focuses more directly on strengthening the positive belief after the distress associated with the target has decreased.
Where Does the Positive Belief Come From?
The positive belief is generally identified earlier in the EMDR process, during the assessment phase.
When you first consider the target, you may notice a negative belief connected with it.
You then identify what you would prefer to believe about yourself instead.
The positive belief is not necessarily a simple opposite of the negative one. It is meant to be a statement that feels personally relevant to you.
Examples might include:
- “I did the best I could.”
- “I can handle this now.”
- “I have choices.”
- “I am worthy.”
- “I can trust myself.”
- “I am okay as I am.”
- “I can move forward.”
Different targets can be connected with different beliefs.
The Positive Belief Should Feel Relevant
Installation is not about choosing the most optimistic statement you can think of.
The belief needs to make sense in relation to the target.
For example, if the original issue involved feeling powerless during an experience, “I have choices now” may feel more relevant than a broad statement such as “Everything is wonderful.”
If the target involved self-blame, a belief such as “I did the best I could” may fit better.
The wording does not have to be perfect.
What matters is that the belief represents how you would prefer to see yourself in relation to the experience.
For someone working through self-esteem concerns, the positive belief may focus on worth, capability, or how they see themselves now.
What Happens During Installation?
During installation, you bring the target and the positive belief to mind together.
You then use bilateral stimulation, such as:
- Guided eye movements
- Alternating sounds
- Alternating tapping
After a set of bilateral stimulation, you pause and notice what comes up.
You may notice that the positive belief feels stronger or more natural.
You may notice another thought, feeling, image, or physical sensation.
Or you may notice only a small change.
As with other parts of EMDR, there is no need to manufacture a particular reaction.
How Do You Know Whether the Positive Belief Feels True?
EMDR commonly uses a simple rating called the Validity of Cognition (VOC) scale.
In this context, “cognition” simply means the positive belief or thought.
The VOC scale typically runs from 1 to 7, with 1 meaning the belief feels completely false and 7 meaning it feels completely true.
For example, you might consider the target while thinking:
“I can handle this now.”
Then you notice how true that statement feels to you at that moment.
The number is simply a way of tracking your experience. It is not a test or a score you need to pass.
Does the Positive Belief Have to Reach a 7?
The purpose of the scale is to notice how believable the positive thought feels, not to force yourself toward a particular number.
A belief may become more convincing as installation continues.
What matters is that the belief feels genuine rather than something you are simply telling yourself because you think you are supposed to.
EMDR is not about pretending that a statement feels completely true when it does not.
Is Installation the Same as Positive Thinking?
No.
Installation is more specific than simply repeating encouraging statements.
You are not choosing an unrelated positive phrase and repeating it until you believe it.
The belief is connected with the target you have been processing.
For example, if a past experience left you thinking:
“I should have done more,”
processing may eventually make a belief such as:
“I did what I could at the time”
feel more fitting.
The goal is not to convince yourself that the difficult experience was good or did not matter.
It is to strengthen a way of viewing yourself that fits better with how the experience feels after processing.
Can the Positive Belief Change During EMDR?
Yes.
The belief you selected during the assessment phase may not always be the one that fits best later.
Processing can change how you understand the experience.
For example, you might originally choose:
“I'm strong.”
Later, another belief such as:
“I can trust myself”
may feel more relevant.
If another positive belief fits better, that can become the focus of installation.
You do not have to stay with the original wording simply because you chose it earlier.
What If the Positive Belief Doesn't Feel True Yet?
You do not need to force it.
If a belief does not feel genuine, notice that.
Sometimes the wording may need to change.
Sometimes more processing of the target may be useful before the positive belief feels like a good fit.
The goal is not to talk yourself into saying something you do not believe.
A useful positive belief is one that becomes increasingly natural in relation to the experience.
Does Installation Erase the Negative Belief?
Installation is not about deleting thoughts from your mind.
You may still remember that you once thought:
“It was my fault,”
or:
“I'm powerless.”
What may change is how convincing that thought feels now.
The memory can remain while your understanding of yourself in relation to it changes.
For example, you may still remember feeling powerless at the time while also recognizing:
“I have choices now.”
Does Installation Change the Memory?
Installation does not change the facts of what happened.
The memory itself remains part of your history.
What may change is the meaning attached to it.
An experience that once seemed to prove something negative about you may no longer carry the same conclusion.
For example:
“I failed because I couldn't stop what happened”
may shift toward:
“I did what I could in that situation.”
The event has not changed. Your present-day response to it may have.
What Happens After Installation?
After installation comes Phase 6: Body Scan.
During the body scan, you bring the target and positive belief to mind and notice whether you experience any remaining physical sensations connected with the memory.
You are essentially checking how the processed experience now feels in your body.
After that, EMDR moves into closure and, in a later session or check-in, reevaluation.
Installation in Therapist-Guided EMDR
In therapist-guided EMDR, the therapist guides the installation phase.
They may ask you to bring the target and positive belief together, guide another set of bilateral stimulation, and then ask how true the belief feels.
The therapist may repeat this process while checking how the belief changes.
You generally do not need to explain or analyze every change in detail.
The focus remains on noticing your response.
Installation in Self-Guided EMDR
The same basic process can be adapted to a structured self-guided format.
You identify the positive belief connected with your target, notice how believable it feels, and use bilateral stimulation while focusing on the target and the preferred belief.
After each set, you can check in with yourself and notice whether anything has changed.
Because the process is self-guided, you manage the pacing and move through the steps yourself.
How Installation Works With Virtual EMDR
Virtual EMDR is a structured, self-guided online EMDR program.
The installation portion follows the same general purpose: strengthening a preferred positive belief in relation to the target you have been processing.
Instead of a therapist guiding each step in real time, the program provides the structure while you work through the process independently.
You notice how the positive belief feels, use bilateral stimulation, and check in with your response as you continue.
As with other parts of Virtual EMDR, you control your own pacing and can pause when you choose.
Conclusion
Installation is the phase of EMDR that focuses on strengthening a preferred positive belief after the distress connected with a target has decreased.
You bring the target and positive belief to mind, use bilateral stimulation, and notice how believable the new perspective feels.
You do not need to force yourself to think positively or pretend that a belief feels true when it does not. The positive belief is meant to fit naturally with how you now understand yourself and the experience.
Whether EMDR is done with a therapist or through a structured self-guided program such as Virtual EMDR, the basic purpose of installation is the same: to strengthen a more helpful and believable way of viewing yourself in relation to the experience you have been processing.
View Comments