HAKOMI AND SOMATIC THERAPY

I have been certified by the Hakomi Institute to practice Hakomi, a somatic psychotherapy based on mindfulness.

Hakomi can help you:

• SEE where you are now--where there is movement, where you are stuck, and what is holding you back.

• OPEN doors to self understanding--get to know why certain relational patterns play out over and over in your life.

• DIMINISH the impact of negative life experiences on your relationship to self and others.

• UPROOT self-defeating patterns of relating to yourself.

• HEAL unresolved trauma.

• CULTIVATE resources that will help you hold your ground and grow your ever-unfolding potential.

• FIND strength in vulnerability and authenticity.

• EMBODY the depths of who you are while facing life's challenges.

Hakomi was developed by a psychotherapist named Ron Kurtz and his colleagues during the 1980's. Its roots are in the ancient wisdom traditions of Buddhism and Taoism while being informed and validated by recent findings in neuroscience and the use of mindfulness in therapy. Ron and his colleagues drew from an enormous range of influences - eastern spirituality, physics, body-centered therapies such as Gestalt, Reichian work, the Feldenkrais Method, Bioenergetics, Focusing, NLP, Ericksonian Hypnosis, and General Systems Theory. It synthesized a pioneering approach to somatic change work combining mindfulness and experiential exploration of behavior.

At the heart of the Hakomi method is a set of time-honored principles which underlie all aspects of the work. These principles are: Mindfulness, Mind-Body Connection, Unity, Nonviolence, Organicity, Change and Truth. Navigating by these principles, the practitioner approaches both the client and the process with a sense of wholeness, respect, and humility.

The Experience of a Hakomi Session

Hakomi is a process where in an atmosphere of safety and acceptance, mindfulness and curiosity, the client is able to discover and refine the beliefs and attitudes that shape the quality of his or her life.

True change happens as we replace habitual patterns of belief and behavior with new, more satisfying ones. Hakomi is less interested in solving specific problems and more focused on studying the patterns that lead to the experience you have.

The emphasis of sessions is on self-study with the therapist's guidance, rather than on extended conversation and dialogue. Though this may seem counterintuitive, five minutes spent carefully studying a sensation, image or emotion may yield far greater insight than an hour of detailed description or analysis.

Hakomi is a somatic therapy. Somatic means “of the body.” The key to Hakomi’s power and effectiveness is that we use the body as an access point to deeper core patterns of being and relating. Most sessions will include a focus on the way your physical body holds and expresses important psychological information. You might explore moving in a way that your body seems to want to. The spontaneity of such movement, followed by mindful study can yield insight and healing.

Profound shifts occur when unconscious patterning, which may have been helpful and strategic in the past, is brought into awareness. The body-mind naturally realigns itself and the result is healing and transformation.

Hakomi sessions conclude with processes that resource the client and integrate new insights and potentials.