Cognition: the mental action or process of acquiring, storing, retrieving, and using knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses.
In Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy, we focus on positive and negative cognitions (a.k.a., beliefs).
The goal is to replace negatively held beliefs like - “I am a failure”, “I am a bad person”, “I am not worthy” - with more positive/realistic beliefs like “I can do hard things”, “I am a good person”, “I am worthy”.
As previously stated, cognitions/beliefs are deeply tied to our feelings and behavior. So it is important to explore and examine these beliefs as they will give insight into why we feel and act the way that we do.
