Blocking beliefs in EMDR therapy are deeply ingrained negative cognitions — about the self, the trauma, or the healing process itself — that interrupt or halt the brain’s natural trauma reprocessing during active EMDR treatment, preventing the reduction of distress and the installation of adaptive beliefs that the therapy is designed to produce. The critical dimensions of blocking beliefs with EMDR therapy include what blocking beliefs are, how they differ from negative cognitions, why they form, the most common types and examples, how they are identified during treatment, the clinical tools used to address them, and how resolving them enables full trauma processing.

Key Takeaways:

• Blocking beliefs are a distinct clinical phenomenon in EMDR therapy — they are not the same as the core negative cognitions being reprocessed; rather, they are beliefs that prevent the reprocessing of those core negative cognitions from completing.
• EMDR is supported by more than 30 published randomized controlled trials and is recommended as a first-line treatment for PTSD by the World Health Organization (WHO) and most international clinical practice guidelines (de Jongh et al., Journal of Traumatic Stress, 2024).
• Three sessions of EMDR therapy resulted in an 84% remission rate of PTSD diagnosis in a mixed-sample RCT with a large and significant pre-to-post treatment effect size (PMC, Shapiro et al.).
• Blocking beliefs are identified through assessment tools including the Blocking Beliefs Questionnaire (BBQ) developed by Jim Knipe, Ph.D. — a structured instrument used within the EMDR protocol to detect self-limiting beliefs that slow or stop reprocessing.
• Blocking beliefs frequently arise from guilt, secondary gain, fear of change, shame, and protective functions — meaning the belief, despite causing suffering, is serving a perceived psychological survival purpose that the client is unwilling to relinquish.
• When a blocking belief is present, the SUDS scale — used in EMDR to measure distress reduction — fails to decrease from a high score toward zero, signaling that reprocessing has stalled regardless of continued bilateral stimulation.
• Blocking beliefs are addressable — therapists use cognitive interweaves, feeder memory targeting, resource installation, and therapeutic relationship interventions to resolve blocks and restore the forward movement of trauma reprocessing.

What Blocking Beliefs Are in EMDR Therapy

EMDR therapy — Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing — is an evidence-based, structured psychotherapy developed by Francine Shapiro in 1987, designed to help individuals process and resolve traumatic memories stored in maladaptive form in the brain’s memory networks. It is guided by the Adaptive Information Processing (AIP) model, which holds that unprocessed memories of distressing life experiences are the primary source of most trauma-related psychopathology — and that bilateral stimulation (eye movements, taps, or auditory cues) facilitates their reprocessing into adaptive, integrated memory form (PMC, AIP model, 2017).

Within that reprocessing framework, a blocking belief is a specific category of negative cognition that functions as an internal barrier to the reprocessing itself. Blocking beliefs are distinct from the core negative cognitions being targeted — such as “I am worthless” or “I am powerless” — because they operate at a meta-level: they are beliefs about whether healing is permissible, possible, or safe, rather than beliefs about the traumatic event itself (GoodTherapy, LCSW clinical practice). In clinical terms, a blocking belief is a secondary belief that prevents the primary target from reducing in distress — effectively locking the SUDS score in place and halting the forward processing the therapy depends on.

Jim Knipe, Ph.D., a prominent EMDR clinician and trainer, developed the Blocking Beliefs Questionnaire (BBQ) — a structured clinical instrument that lists known blocking belief patterns and allows therapists to systematically identify which beliefs may be interfering with a client’s reprocessing. The questionnaire has been adapted for use with children and adolescents, and blocking belief statements from the adult instrument have been translated into child-appropriate language for use in pediatric EMDR work (Springer Publishing).

How Blocking Beliefs Differ from Negative Cognitions

Understanding the distinction between negative cognitions and blocking beliefs is clinically essential — conflating them leads to ineffective treatment planning and missed opportunities for targeted intervention. Both involve negative self-referencing thought patterns, but they operate at different levels of the EMDR processing structure.

• Negative cognitions (NCs): The maladaptively stored self-referencing beliefs directly linked to the traumatic memory — for example, “I am not safe,” “I am bad,” “I am powerless,” “I am not good enough.” These are the primary targets of EMDR reprocessing. When reprocessing succeeds, the negative cognition transforms into the positive cognition (PC) — for example, “I am safe now,” “I did the best I could,” “I am in control.”
• Blocking beliefs: Beliefs that prevent the negative cognition from being reprocessed and replaced. They are not the primary trauma content; they are obstacles to processing that content. A blocking belief typically expresses a reason why healing should not, cannot, or must not happen — for example, “I shouldn’t get over this,” “I don’t deserve to heal,” “If I feel better, I am betraying the people who were harmed.”

In clinical practice, the distinction surfaces on the SUDS scale — the 0-to-10 distress measurement tool used in EMDR to track reprocessing progress. When a blocking belief is active, the SUDS score fails to decrease, even with continued bilateral stimulation sets. The distress around the target memory stays elevated — not because the memory hasn’t been sufficiently activated, but because an underlying meta-belief is holding it in place (GoodTherapy, clinical case illustration). As one EMDR clinician described it: the core belief “I’m not good enough” was progressing toward resolution — until a blocking belief of “I shouldn’t get over this” locked the SUDS score at a 10 and kept it there until the blocking belief itself was directly addressed.

Common Types and Examples of Blocking Beliefs

Blocking beliefs cluster around identifiable psychological themes. While their specific content is individual, recurring patterns across clinical populations reveal predictable categories — which is precisely what the Knipe Blocking Beliefs Questionnaire was designed to map. Each category reflects a different psychological function the blocking belief is serving.

Guilt-based blocking beliefs — beliefs that maintaining distress is necessary to honor responsibility or prevent future harm:

• “If I forgive myself, I’m condoning what happened.”
• “Continuing to hold this guilt will prevent me from making the same mistake.”
• “I deserve to feel this pain — letting go would mean I don’t care.”

Loyalty-based blocking beliefs — beliefs that healing constitutes a betrayal of those who were harmed or did not survive:

• “If I heal, I’m abandoning the people I lost.”
• “Feeling neutral about this would mean it didn’t matter.”
• “I shouldn’t get over this — it’s not something people should just get over.”

Safety-based blocking beliefs — beliefs that emotional hypervigilance is a protective strategy that must be maintained:

• “Being hyperalert keeps me and my loved ones safe. I can’t let my guard down.”
• “If I stop feeling afraid, I’ll stop being careful and something bad will happen again.”

Worthiness-based blocking beliefs — beliefs that the self does not merit healing or relief:

• “I don’t deserve to feel better.”
• “I am fundamentally broken — healing isn’t available for someone like me.”
• “I created this situation; I have no right to feel okay about it.”

Impossibility-based blocking beliefs — beliefs that healing from this specific trauma is categorically impossible:

• “It’s impossible to heal from something like this.”
• “Other people can heal from trauma, but not me — mine is too severe.”
• “I’ve tried everything. Nothing works for me.”

Why Blocking Beliefs Form: The Role of Secondary Gain and Protective Function

Blocking beliefs do not arise randomly — they form and persist because they are serving a function. This is the clinical insight that separates effective management of blocking beliefs from simple reassurance or rational argument: the belief is not irrational from the nervous system’s perspective. It emerged in response to real experiences, and it has been reinforced over time because it provides something the person’s system — consciously or unconsciously — perceives as necessary (EMDR365, clinical framework for blocks).

The primary psychological mechanisms driving blocking belief formation:

• Secondary gain: The blocking belief provides a tangible benefit — even if that benefit is outweighed by the cost of maintaining the belief. Examples include: maintaining eligibility for financial compensation tied to documented disability; preserving a relational role as the person who was harmed; sustaining connection to a deceased loved one through shared grief. Because the secondary gain is often unconscious or shame-laden, clients frequently resist acknowledging it — and therapists must approach this dimension with exceptional care and non-judgment.
• Protective parts: Within a parts-based understanding of trauma (consistent with IFS and ego state models), blocking beliefs are often held by a protective part of the personality that has been assigned the job of preventing a specific feared outcome — such as vulnerability, abandonment, or re-traumatization. These parts are not obstructionist by malice; they are doing the best job they can with the information available from past experience. Directly targeting them without understanding their function tends to increase resistance rather than resolve it (EMDR Chicago, clinical resources).
• Identity integration: For some clients, the traumatic experience and the suffering it produced have become so integrated into their self-concept that healing feels like a form of self-erasure. The blocking belief “If I heal, I won’t know who I am anymore” reflects a genuine existential risk as the client perceives it — and it requires careful therapeutic navigation rather than cognitive challenge.
• Fear of the positive cognition: Some clients develop a blocking belief in relation to the PC itself — not because they disbelieve the positive cognition, but because they fear what believing it would require of them. For example, believing “I am safe now” might feel like pressure to re-engage with the world in ways that feel dangerous or exhausting.

How Blocking Beliefs Are Identified During EMDR Treatment

Blocking beliefs are identified through a combination of structured clinical assessment tools, behavioral observation during reprocessing, and direct inquiry when reprocessing stalls. The identification process occurs across multiple phases of the standard 8-phase EMDR protocol — primarily in Phase 1 (History Taking) and Phase 4 (Desensitization), but also during Phase 7 (Closure) and Phase 8 (Reevaluation).

Primary methods for blocking belief identification:

• Blocking Beliefs Questionnaire (Knipe): A structured self-report instrument administered during assessment or preparation phases. The client reviews a list of belief statements and indicates which resonate — providing the therapist with a map of potential blockages before reprocessing begins. The questionnaire was developed specifically for use within the EMDR protocol and is referenced in EMDR training resources and the Springer textbook on EMDR with children and adolescents.
• SUDS plateau observation: During Phase 4 Desensitization, a SUDS score that fails to decrease across multiple bilateral stimulation sets is a primary clinical signal of a blocking belief. The looping pattern — where the client returns repeatedly to the same thoughts or images without new adaptive associations emerging — indicates that maladaptively stored information is not flowing forward through the AIP processing network (Dana Carretta, LMFT, looping clinical explanation).
• Direct inquiry: When reprocessing stalls, skilled EMDR therapists ask targeted questions — such as “Is there any part of you that feels it wouldn’t be okay to let this go?” or “What would it mean about you if this memory no longer disturbed you?” — to surface the blocking belief directly. These questions invite the client to articulate a belief they may not have consciously identified.
• Body-based signals: Blocking beliefs frequently manifest somatically — as tightness, heaviness, shutdown, or a sense of being physically held in place. When a client reports these sensations without corresponding progress in distress reduction, the therapist investigates for an underlying blocking belief connected to the somatic experience.

Clinical Approaches to Resolving Blocking Beliefs

Resolving blocking beliefs in EMDR therapy requires clinical flexibility — the standard protocol may need to be adapted, suspended, or supplemented depending on the nature and origin of the block. The foundational principle is that blocking beliefs must be addressed collaboratively and with curiosity, not confronted or dismissed, because they exist for reasons rooted in the client’s actual experience (EMDR365, clinical options for blocking beliefs).

Evidence-informed approaches for resolving blocking beliefs within EMDR:

• Targeting the blocking belief directly: The classic guidance is to treat the blocking belief itself as an EMDR target — running a full Assessment Phase on it, identifying the negative cognition embedded in the blocking belief, and reprocessing it using bilateral stimulation. Once the blocking belief has been processed and its SUDS score reduced, the original target is typically re-approached with greater processing fluidity.
• Feeder memory targeting: Blocking beliefs are often anchored to specific early memories — formative experiences that established the belief as necessary or true. Identifying and reprocessing these feeder memories — the memories that serve as the experiential foundation for the blocking belief — can dissolve the belief at its root rather than at the surface level.
• Cognitive interweaves: A cognitive interweave is a therapist-introduced statement, question, or perspective designed to jump-start stalled reprocessing by introducing information the client already knows but is not integrating in the moment. For example, if a client is looping on “I deserved what happened to me,” the therapist might ask, “If a child the same age as you were then had this same experience — would they deserve it?” This interweave leverages the client’s existing adaptive knowledge to interrupt the looping pattern (Dana Carretta, LMFT).
• Therapeutic relationship as intervention: For clients with complex trauma who cannot hold a positive belief about themselves, one clinical approach involves the therapist explicitly and genuinely holding that belief within their own nervous system in the session — making the adaptive belief visibly present in the room when the client cannot yet hold it internally. This somatic-relational intervention leverages the co-regulatory function of the therapeutic relationship to introduce what bilateral stimulation alone cannot reach (EMDR365, clinical framework).
• Working in adjacent territory: When the blocking belief makes it impossible to approach the primary trauma targets, the therapist may do EMDR work in areas of the client’s experience where the blocking belief is absent — using the adaptive information generated there to gradually shift the neurological conditions under which the blocked material can eventually be approached.
• Resource Development and Installation (RDI): Installing internal resources — images, memories, or states of safety and competence — during the Preparation Phase builds the neurological scaffolding needed to tolerate the intensity of confronting a blocking belief directly. Clients with insufficient internal resources often cannot approach their blocking beliefs without decompensating; RDI addresses this by strengthening the platform from which blocked processing can be attempted.

Blocking Beliefs in the Context of Addiction and Dual Diagnosis Treatment

Blocking beliefs are particularly prevalent — and clinically significant — in clients presenting with co-occurring trauma and substance use disorder (SUD). EMDR demonstrates documented effectiveness in SUD treatment contexts: a published meta-analysis found EMDR effective for SUD with an effect size of d=0.580 (95% CI [0.209, 0.951], p=.002), specifically in enhancing treatment engagement and addressing disorder severity (EMDR Institute, citing meta-analysis in Journal of EMDR Practice and Research, 2023).

In clients with addiction, blocking beliefs frequently cluster around worthiness, identity, and secondary gain. Common patterns include: “I’ve ruined too much to deserve a good life now,” “If I heal from my trauma, I lose my reason for staying sober — the pain is what keeps me accountable,” and “I can’t face those memories without using.” These beliefs do not merely slow EMDR processing — they directly undermine recovery motivation when unaddressed. Trauma-informed addiction treatment that integrates blocking belief identification and resolution within the EMDR framework addresses the neurobiological root of trauma-driven substance use — rather than treating only its behavioral manifestation.

According to the EMDR Institute, EMDR and trauma-focused CBT are the only two psychotherapies recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) for PTSD in teens and adults — and the evidence base for EMDR now extends across more than 30 published randomized controlled trials.

Summary

Blocking beliefs in EMDR therapy are secondary negative cognitions — distinct from primary trauma targets — that serve identifiable psychological functions including guilt, protective vigilance, loyalty, and secondary gain, and that halt the brain’s natural trauma reprocessing unless identified and directly addressed using structured clinical tools such as the Knipe Blocking Beliefs Questionnaire, cognitive interweaves, feeder memory targeting, and therapeutic relationship interventions. Resolving blocking beliefs is not a peripheral concern in EMDR treatment — it is often the pivot point between years of stalled healing and genuine, lasting trauma resolution.

At Worthy Wellness Center in Carlsbad, California, EMDR therapy is offered within a women-specific, trauma-informed treatment program that addresses the full clinical picture — including the blocking beliefs that keep trauma locked in place. If you or someone you care about has felt stuck in trauma recovery, Worthy Wellness Center can help.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a blocking belief in EMDR therapy?

A blocking belief in EMDR therapy is a deeply held negative cognition — typically about whether healing is deserved, permissible, safe, or possible — that prevents the brain from completing the reprocessing of a traumatic memory during treatment. Blocking beliefs are distinct from the primary negative cognitions being targeted in EMDR; they operate at a meta-level, functioning as an internal barrier to the processing itself. They are identified by Jim Knipe, Ph.D.’s Blocking Beliefs Questionnaire and by clinical observation of stalled SUDS scores during Phase 4 Desensitization. Common examples include: “I shouldn’t get over this,” “I don’t deserve to feel better,” “If I forgive myself I’m condoning what happened.”

How do blocking beliefs show up during an EMDR session?

Blocking beliefs most commonly surface as looping — a pattern where the client’s SUDS (distress) score fails to decrease across multiple bilateral stimulation sets, with the client returning repeatedly to the same thoughts, images, or body sensations without adaptive new associations emerging. The reprocessing appears stuck. The client may experience emotional resistance, physical shutdown, a sense of being pulled backward, or explicit statements that they should not or cannot heal from this. Blocking beliefs may also emerge during direct inquiry when the therapist asks whether any part of the client feels it would not be okay to let the memory go.

What is the Blocking Beliefs Questionnaire?

The Blocking Beliefs Questionnaire (BBQ) is a structured clinical assessment instrument developed by Jim Knipe, Ph.D., a prominent EMDR trainer and clinician. It lists a comprehensive set of belief statements reflecting known blocking belief patterns — including guilt, unworthiness, impossibility, loyalty to suffering, and protective hypervigilance — and asks clients to identify which statements resonate for them. The BBQ is used within the EMDR protocol to systematically identify potential blockages before reprocessing begins. An adapted version for children and adolescents exists, developed for use in pediatric EMDR treatment (Springer Publishing).

Can blocking beliefs be resolved in EMDR therapy?

Yes — blocking beliefs are a recognized and addressable clinical phenomenon within EMDR therapy, not an insurmountable barrier. Resolution approaches include: targeting the blocking belief directly as an EMDR processing target; identifying and reprocessing the feeder memories that established and maintain the belief; using cognitive interweaves to introduce adaptive information when processing stalls; leveraging the therapeutic relationship as a somatic-relational resource; and building internal resources through RDI that create the stability needed to approach blocked material. Resolving blocking beliefs is often the clinical pivot point between prolonged stalled treatment and substantial forward progress in trauma resolution.

What is the difference between a blocking belief and a negative cognition in EMDR?

A negative cognition in EMDR is the maladaptively stored self-referencing belief directly linked to the traumatic memory — for example, “I am not safe,” “I am worthless,” “I am powerless.” It is the primary target of reprocessing. A blocking belief is different: it is a secondary belief that prevents the negative cognition from being reprocessed. Blocking beliefs are beliefs about the healing process itself — “I shouldn’t get over this,” “I don’t deserve to feel better” — rather than beliefs about the event. When a blocking belief is active, the primary negative cognition cannot transform into its adaptive positive cognition counterpart, because the blocking belief is holding the traumatic memory’s distress in place regardless of continued bilateral stimulation.

Are blocking beliefs common in trauma survivors with addiction?

Yes — blocking beliefs are particularly prevalent in clients presenting with co-occurring trauma and substance use disorder, and they represent a meaningful clinical obstacle in this population. Common blocking belief patterns in addiction contexts include beliefs about worthiness of recovery, identity investment in the role of a suffering person, and fear that healing from trauma will remove the pain-based motivation for sobriety. EMDR demonstrates documented effectiveness in substance use disorder treatment contexts — a published meta-analysis reported an effect size of d=0.580 for EMDR’s impact on SUD treatment engagement and disorder severity. Addressing blocking beliefs in dual diagnosis treatment directly targets the neurobiological root of trauma-driven substance use.

How long does it take to resolve blocking beliefs in EMDR?

The time required to resolve blocking beliefs varies considerably depending on the complexity of the client’s trauma history, the origin and function of the blocking belief, and the degree of secondary gain involved. For some clients, a single session of focused blocking belief targeting restores forward processing momentum quickly. For clients with complex developmental trauma — particularly those whose blocking beliefs are embedded in protective parts of the personality or tied to significant secondary gain — resolution may require multiple sessions of structured preparation, resource building, and gradual approach. Individuals with particularly intense or chronic trauma histories may take longer to complete full EMDR treatment with blocking beliefs present, but skilled therapists working within the standard EMDR protocol can systematically shorten that timeframe.

Sources

• EMDR Institute — Research Overview
• WHO — Guidelines for Management of Conditions Specifically Related to Stress (2013)
• de Jongh et al. (2024) — State of the Science: EMDR Therapy — Journal of Traumatic Stress — onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/jts.23012
• PMC — The Role of EMDR Therapy in Medicine: Addressing Psychological and Physical Symptoms (Shapiro et al.) — pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3951033/
• PMC — The AIP Model of EMDR Therapy and Pathogenic Memories (Hase et al., 2017) — pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5613256/
• PMC — Editorial: EMDR and the AIP Model: Healing the Scars of Trauma (2024) — pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11463189/
• GoodTherapy — Are Blocking Beliefs Holding You Back in EMDR Therapy? — goodtherapy.org/blog/are-blocking-beliefs-holding-you-back-in-emdr-therapy-0108144
• EMDR365 — Some Options for Working with Blocking Beliefs in EMDR Therapy — emdr365.com/blocksworking/
• Ginny Paige, LCSW — Are Blocking Beliefs Impeding Your Therapy Goals? — ginnypaigelcsw.com
• Springer Publishing — Blocking Beliefs Questionnaire for Children and Adolescents — connect.springerpub.com
• Knipe, J., Ph.D. — Questionnaire for Assessing Blocking Beliefs (BBQ) — static1.squarespace.com (original document)
• Dana Carretta, LMFT — What is Looping in EMDR Therapy? — danacarretta.com/post/looping
• EMDR Institute — Effectiveness in SUD: Meta-Analysis (Journal of EMDR Practice and Research, 2023) — emdr.com/research-overview/