Introduction

This page is designed to provide information for those seeking a Hakomi therapist or practititoner. You may also choose to simply scroll to the bottom and click "continue."

All of the individuals in this directory are Certified in the Hakomi Method: as Certified Hakomi Therapists (C.H.T.) or Certified Hakomi Practitioners (C.H.P.), they have all achieved the same level of training and competence. The majority of Certified Hakomi Therapists use the Hakomi Method as a primary or adjunct approach in their psychotherapy, counseling, or clinical social work practices.

However, although Hakomi was developed primarily as a psychotherapy, it has been discovered over the last several decades that it can be successfully applied in a wide variety of related fields. Hakomi therapists and practitioners may integrate the Hakomi approach and principles into practices and professions including bodywork, expressive therapies, pastoral and spiritual counseling, holistic and alternative healing, coaching and consulting, mediation and conflict resolution, teaching mindfulness and meditation, work with groups and organizations, and other non-clinical applications. The title "Certified Hakomi Practitioner" implies that the individual integrates Hakomi primarily in one or more related fields, rather than psychotherapy.

Certification in the Hakomi Method confirms that at the time of certification, the therapist or practitioner completed an extensive training and certification process in which they both demonstrated competence in the Method and an embodiment of the Hakomi principles.

After certification, Hakomi therapists who integrate Hakomi into their psychotherapy or counseling practices may focus on the practice of Hakomi, and/or integrate it with other modalities. All therapists and practitioners in this directory must adhere to the laws of their state with regard to the practice of psychotherapy and counseling and the use of related titles (e.g. some states require psychotherapists to be licensed, others do not.) All are required to continue to follow the Hakomi Institute Code of Ethics and the ethical guidelines of their profession.

Many Hakomi therapists and practitioners will provide a free interview in person or over the phone, giving you the opportunity to ask questions and sense whether they are a good match for what you seek. Many also have websites where you can learn more about their work.

In terms of what you can expect from working with a Certified Hakomi therapist or practitioner, here are some general guidelines:

• The therapist or practitioner will work to cultivate an attitude and atmosphere of loving presence, acceptance and safety. These factors are key to the practice of the Hakomi method.
• They will work within the Hakomi principle of nonviolence. This means they will not impose their beliefs, observations, or analysis on you. Although they may offer certain insights, you will always have the opportunity to decide for yourself, disagree, and/or ultimately sense what feels right or true for you. In Hakomi the practitioner does not insist that they are right, know what's best for you, or that their professional expertise is superior to your internal wisdom.
• You will have the opportunity to learn experientially what is true for you. For example, in Hakomi psychotherapy, we discover the unconscious core beliefs that guide our conscious lives without our knowledge. The therapist will not tell you what your core beliefs are or try to convince you, instead, you will experience these for yourself as they emerge safely and spontaneously in the course of the therapy. (Or, in a non-clinical application, such as movement work, you would experience spontaneously the nature of the movement that wants to arise from your body.)
• The therapist or practitioner will help you learn to work in mindfulness. This is an active application of the Buddhist meditative practice, in which we develop a heightened awareness of our internal state, and learn to witness our thoughts, emotions, memories and bodily sensations as they arise and without judgement. In Hakomi psychotherapy, mindfulness helps to access core unconscious material quite rapidly and safely. In other contexts, mindfulness can also help to cultivate deeper spiritual states of consciousness.
• Hakomi will help you to develop your understanding and experience of body-mind integration. It is a principle common to both holistic health and Hakomi that emotional stress is stored in the body and may manifest as chronic tension or illness. In Hakomi psychotherapy, we use specific techniques to "access" these chronic patterns of tension, movement and posture as they can lead us to direct experience of core beliefs and the memories and experiences that generated them.We can also learn to read body language and structure to learn more about an individual's unconscious beliefs and life patterns, and/or to enhance our relationships by understanding how individuals communicate nonverbally.

You will learn to integrate the experiences, insights, and information that unfold during the Hakomi process so they are useful and applicable in your daily life.

These are the guidelines and principles of Hakomi that are observed in our practitioners at the time we certify them. However, we do not follow their work after certification nor the other modalities that they integrate into their practices.Therefore the Hakomi Institute does not vouch that individual experiences will be exactly as described above.

Some things you may wish to consider in choosing a therapist or practitioner are:

• Is Hakomi a central modality in their practice, or how large a role does it play? What other approaches do they integrate? Most therapists and practitioners combine a variety of modalities. It may be less important for you that Hakomi is their central focus than that their overall approach feels appropriate for you.
• If you have a history of traumatic incidents or are seeking treatment for a specific psychological problem or issue, (e.g. clinical depression, PTSD, eating disorders, substance abuse, bipolar disorder, BPD, panic disorder, OCD, phobias, psychosis or other psychiatric diagnosis) please ask if the therapist has training and experience in working with these issues, as their treatment is not covered in the Hakomi Therapy Training. However, most Hakomi-trained psychotherapists have extensive education in the field in addition to their Hakomi training.
• If you are seeking therapy for a couple, child, adolescent, or member of a specific population or culture, please inquire of the therapist regarding their training and experience, as work in these fields usually requires specific training as well.
• People using this Directory may be seeking a therapist, or they may be seeking an experience of the Hakomi Method, and/or a personal growth experience. Our therapists and practitioners provide a rich variety of offerings, and we recommend contacting them individually, visiting their websites, or contacting our Central Office for more information.

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