EMDR progress notes: ten product fields, example and template

This page maps the ten fields currently rendered by Intuita. It is a documentation aid, not an EMDR protocol or instruction for delivering treatment.

Ten live fields · SUD and VOC excluded from AI generation · EMDR-trained therapist review required

What is an EMDR note?

EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. Intuita's note is a product-specific documentation structure with ten fields: target memory; negative cognition; positive cognition; emotions; body sensation; desensitization; installation; closure and future template; SUD; and VOC. It should not be presented as a complete or authoritative EMDR protocol.

When do you use the EMDR note?

Use this format only when an EMDR-trained therapist decides these product fields fit the documentation needed for that session. SOAP and DAP are general progress-note structures; this one keeps EMDR-specific source facts separate. It does not determine whether EMDR was indicated, delivered correctly or clinically effective.

The live product structure, field by field

Target memory

The specific memory, image, incident or experience the therapist and client addressed.

Negative cognition (NC)

The negative self-belief explicitly associated with the target; do not infer or paraphrase it into a stronger claim.

Positive cognition (PC)

The desired positive self-belief explicitly stated in the session source.

Emotions

The emotions the client explicitly reports in relation to the target and cognition.

Body sensation

The physical sensation and location the client explicitly reports.

Desensitization phase

A factual narrative of what the therapist did and what the client reported or showed during the documented sets.

Installation phase

A factual record of installation work that actually occurred, without inventing a result or VOC value.

Closure and future template

What the therapist actually documented about closure and any future-template work. Do not infer stability, readiness or homework.

SUD score (0–10)

A client-reported, therapist-confirmed measurement. The numeric field is structurally excluded from the AI response schema.

VOC score (1–7)

A client-reported, therapist-confirmed measurement. The numeric field is structurally excluded from the AI response schema.

A worked example

A fictional example — for illustration only, not based on a real client.

Draft — for illustration only

Target memory

A moment when client S. felt unheard during a group project.

Negative cognition (NC)

NC stated by client: 'What I say doesn't matter.'

Positive cognition (PC)

PC stated by client: 'My voice counts.'

Emotions

Client named disappointment and tension when returning to the image.

Body sensation

Client located tension in the shoulders.

Desensitization phase

Therapist documented the sets used; client described attention shifting from the event to the present-day memory of it.

Installation phase

No installation phase was documented in this fictional source.

Closure and future template

Therapist documented the grounding exercise used at closure; no future-template work was recorded.

SUD score (0–10)

SUD: — (therapist-confirmed field)

VOC score (1–7)

VOC: — (therapist-confirmed field)

Copyable blank template

Use the section headings below as an on-page starting point. Keep only source-grounded facts and write every clinical Assessment, Plan or Progress judgment yourself.

Copy these headings into your documentation workspace

Target memory

________________________________________

Negative cognition (NC)

________________________________________

Positive cognition (PC)

________________________________________

Emotions

________________________________________

Body sensation

________________________________________

Desensitization phase

________________________________________

Installation phase

________________________________________

Closure and future template

________________________________________

SUD score (0–10)

________________________________________

VOC score (1–7)

________________________________________

Common mistakes to avoid

Mixing report and observation

Keep what the client reported distinct from what the therapist directly observed whenever the format calls for that distinction.

Letting a draft supply clinical judgment

An AI draft is not the therapist’s Assessment, Plan or Progress judgment. Add only the interpretation and next steps you independently stand behind.

Saving before checking the source

Check names, timing, quotations, interventions and agreed plans against the eligible session source before separately saving the record.

EMDR-specific fields or a general progress note?

SOAP and DAP organize a broad session summary. Intuita's EMDR format separates target, cognitions, emotions, body sensation, two documented phases, closure/future-template context and therapist-confirmed SUD/VOC. It is still a note structure—not an eight-phase treatment protocol.

Editorial page by Intuita, updated 25 July 2026. Examples are fictional and templates are educational starting points, not mandatory clinical standards.

How Intuita drafts it from your session

When you request it, Intuita can draft the eight text fields from the eligible session source. The response schema omits SUD and VOC, so those numeric measurements remain blank for therapist confirmation. An EMDR-trained therapist checks every text field and decides what to save.

Requested AI draft — you review and edit before a separate save-to-record action

Clinical fields remain therapist-authored

Do not use an AI draft to invent or decide diagnosis, safety or risk status, referrals, homework, treatment changes, Assessment, Plan or Progress. A draft may organize only what the eligible source actually records. The therapist checks that source, supplies the clinical judgment, and decides what enters the record.

Sources and publisher

Publisher
Intuita publishes this educational guide and the product description. It is not a mandatory documentation standard.
Product implementation check
Checked against Intuita's live ten-field EMDR schema on 25 July 2026. The eight text fields are AI-fillable; SUD and VOC are structurally omitted from the model response schema.

External references explain documentation conventions. Local law, professional standards and practice policy take priority.

Frequently asked questions about the EMDR note

Does Intuita fill in the SUD and VOC scores automatically?

No — never. SUD and VOC are measurements the client reports and the therapist records. Intuita always leaves these fields blank in the draft note.

What's the difference between the EMDR note and SOAP or DAP?

The product's EMDR note separates ten EMDR-specific documentation fields. SOAP and DAP are general progress-note structures. The note does not replace the EMDR protocol or document every phase by itself.

Can Intuita draft my EMDR note when I request it?

You can request an EMDR-structured draft. SUD and VOC remain therapist-entered, and an EMDR-trained therapist must review every field before separately deciding what to save.

Does Intuita work for an EMDR session without a recording?

A therapist can use recap without recording, but it contains only what the therapist enters after the session. Details that were not entered cannot be recovered, so an EMDR-trained therapist must complete and verify the field map.

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