PHENOMENOLOGICAL EXPLICATION OF INTEROCEPTIVE EXPERIENCE IN TRAUMA-FOCUSED ACCEPTANCE AND COMMITMENT THERAPY: CONCEPTS, PRINCIPLES, AND RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Bulletin of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv Philosophy May 29, 2026 Davyd Tsybenko
Trauma disrupts how people perceive their own bodily signals (interoception), making these experiences hard to articulate and integrate in therapy. This theoretical paper argues that combining phenomenology with Contextual Behavioral Science can help. Trauma is described as an ontological rupture that turns internal sensations into aversive events through learned relational frames. Under continuous traumatic stress, such as in Ukraine's military context, phenomenological explication—a structured method of describing private experiences—acts as a bridge to transform undifferentiated somatic terror into something manageable, enabling defusion and acceptance in Trauma-Focused Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (TF-ACT). The authors conclude that micro-phenomenological interviewing should be added to TF-ACT protocols to improve stimulus control and psychological flexibility.