Date of Conferral

4-21-2026

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Counselor Education and Supervision

Advisor

Katarzyna Holloway

Abstract

This phenomenological study explored counselors’ lived experiences of utilizing Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) with children ages 8 to 12 years of age. Guided by a Husserlian approach, the research examined how clinicians make meaning of adapting EMDR—traditionally conceptualized as a structured, eight-phase protocol—for developmental and relational responsiveness within child psychotherapy. Through phenomenological reduction and epoché, counselors described a shift in consciousness from viewing EMDR as a rigid procedure to experiencing it as a flexible, relationally attuned process grounded in the child’s lived world. Counselors described the phenomenon of implementing EMDR with children with playful adaptations and co-regulation. The noesis revealed how counselors’ empathic perception, clinical intuition, and attentiveness to children’s verbal, bodily, and play-based expressions guided moment-to-moment therapeutic adjustments. The counselors emphasized suspending preconceived assumptions of EMDR, instead recognizing healing in children as nonlinear, embodied, imagistic, and often expressed symbolically through play. The phenomenon studied emerged as a blend of structure, creativity, and relational presence. While maintaining core EMDR components, counselors experienced effective practice as rooted in attuned responsiveness rather than technical adherence alone. Findings suggest that the therapeutic power of EMDR with children lies not solely in protocol fidelity, but additionally in the intentional, relational aspect within which structure and intuitive attunement interweave to facilitate integration and healing.

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