“If you can observe your own experience with a minimum of interference, and if you don’t try to control what you experience, if you simply allow things to happen and you observe them, then you will be able to discover things about yourself that you did not know before. You can discover little pieces of the inner structures of your mind, the very things that make you who you are.”
Ron Kurtz, Hakomi Founder
Hakomi is a mindfulness-based somatic (body-centered) psychotherapy. Mindfulness refers to a relaxed and gentle way of focusing your attention inward to notice and name different states of consciousness. The core concepts of the therapy include: gentleness, nonviolence, compassion, and mind/body/spirit holism originating from Buddhist and Taoist philosophies. Allowing the client’s thoughts, feelings, and body sensations to unfold in an organic way supports mind-body integration.
What Does Hakomi Do?
- Hakomi helps clients change “core material” – composed of limiting memories, images, beliefs, neural patterns, and deeply-held emotional temperaments.
- Hakomi is experiential – by connecting to the client’s present felt experience, the therapist is able to access core material.
- Hakomi is body-centered – the body stores feelings, memories, experiences, and core beliefs at the cellular level; therefore, connecting to the body enables the therapist to access core material.
Goals of Hakomi
- To establish a relationship that creates safety and allow the client to become self-aware.
- To evoke felt experiences that allow for the discovery of core material.
- To support healing changes in the core material.
How Does Hakomi Help?
- It allows for the release of strong emotions and bound energy.
- It provides for missing experiences of the inner child and other states of being.
- It processes core beliefs to help attain meaning and support new ways of being in everyday life.
Vicky Roubekas Psychology 