Citra Abriani Maharani, Muslihati, Yuliati Hotifah, Arbin Janu Setiyowati, M. Ramli
This article develops a humanistic and person-centered epistemological framework for understanding how relational trauma in familial sexual abuse reshapes the way individuals experience the world. This form of trauma not only affects bodily and emotional experience but also disrupts the continuity of experience through which individuals recognize their feelings, build safe relationships, and make sense of their lives. Drawing on Rogers’ person-centered theory of experiencing, Gendlin’s concept of the felt sense, Buber’s dialogical philosophy of presence and encounter, relational trauma theory, and the concept of epistemic justice, this article explores four forms of knowing: experiential, relational, contextual, and ethical. These dimensions help explain how trauma disrupts the continuity of experience and the survivor’s capacity to understand themselves and others. The framework also has implications for humanistic and person-centered counseling practice, particularly by emphasizing therapeutic presence, embodied listening, and relational processes that affirm the dignity and agency of survivors. © 2026 World Association for Person-Centered & Experiential Psychotherapy & Counseling.
Department of Guidance and Counseling, Universitas Negeri Malang, Malang, Indonesia; Department of Guidance and Counseling, Faculty of Teacher Training and Education, Universitas Lampung, Bandar Lampung, Indonesia
