What is Hakomi Method?
The Hakomi Method is a form of somatic psychotherapy that uses mindfulness, body awareness, and compassionate presence to access and transform unconscious beliefs, emotional patterns, and implicit memories stored in the body. Developed by Ron Kurtz in the 1970s, the method integrates mindfulness and somatic techniques to address psychological and emotional issues. Unlike conventional talk therapy, Hakomi is one of the only healing methods that uses mindfulness to access unconscious psychological material that’s not easily accessible by conversation alone.
The method rests on five core principles: mindfulness, nonviolence, organicity (trusting the client’s innate capacity for healing), mind-body holism, and unity (recognition of interconnection). Practitioners learn to track and explore subtle somatic cues (i.e., facial expressions, breathing, tensions, postures, and movement patterns) that indicate the presence of unconscious psychological material. Through what are called “little experiments”—gentle explorations conducted in mindful states—clients discover core beliefs about themselves and the world that shape their present experience.
Origins & Lineage
Ron Kurtz was a 20th century psychologist who combined eastern and western traditions to create the Hakomi Method. Born in 1934 in Brooklyn, New York, he spent his undergraduate years studying both physics and English, and worked in computer electronics before returning to graduate school to study mathematical models of psychology. He received his PhD in experimental psychology from Indiana University.
Following graduate training in experimental psychology, Ron first taught at San Francisco State College, also leading encounter groups, and studying Gestalt. He became a client of John Pierrakos, founder of Bioenergetics, began to read the work of Wilhelm Reich and Alexander Lowen, and was inspired by the work of Albert Pesso. A practitioner of yoga since 1959, he was also strongly influenced by Buddhism and Taoism. He studied with Moshe Feldenkrais and received Rolfing sessions.
He began leading workshops and trainings in the mid-1970’s and led the first training in the Hakomi Method in 1977. A core group of people began to study with Ron Kurtz in Connecticut, Mexico, and Boulder Colorado in the late 1970’s, helping Ron to develop the Hakomi Method into a teachable form, and together founding the Hakomi Institute in Boulder in 1981 (Pat Ogden, Phil Del Prince, Jon Eisman, Halko Weiss, Greg Johanson, Devi Records, and Dyrian Benz.) Halko Weiss founded the Hakomi Institute of Europe in Germany in 1982.
His book Body-Centered Psychotherapy: The Hakomi Method was published in 1990. The third book, Grace Unfolding: Psychotherapy in the Spirit of Tao-te Ching (2011), was co-authored with Greg Johanson. He died from a heart attack in 2011. In later years, Kurtz dropped some of the original material, like character theory, and added a great deal of new material. The Refined Hakomi Method embraces new and powerful concepts, many from recent discoveries in neurology.
How It’s Practiced
Hakomi sessions differ markedly from conventional psychotherapy. The therapist establishes what practitioners call “loving presence”—a heart-centered, non-judgmental attunement to the client. In Hakomi, mindfulness isn’t used to calm or distract. It’s used to study. We invite clients into a state of quiet, curious observation where they can notice what arises without judgment.
Once the client enters a mindful state, the therapist may offer gentle physical contact, invite attention to a bodily sensation, repeat a phrase the client has spoken, or introduce a “probe”—a statement designed to evoke an observable response. If individuals are willing, their somatic experiences are explored by means of “little experiments,” which aim to discover the beliefs they hold about themselves and the world. These experiments often make use of probes, or positive statements conveying an idea exactly opposite to what the person appears to believe.
The client’s response—a shift in breathing, a tightening in the chest, tears, or an impulse to push away—reveals unconscious material. Together, therapist and client explore what emerges: memories, beliefs, emotions, or body-held patterns from formative experiences. Eventually, we help the client to practice the new modes of organizing that they adopt, and to integrate these modes into their daily lives. In this phase, Hakomi works somatically to integrate new insights and to anchor them in the body.
Hakomi Method Today
For over 40 years, Hakomi has pioneered the psychodynamic use of mindfulness in the therapeutic process. The Hakomi Institute continues to offer comprehensive training programs worldwide, with affiliated institutes in North America, Europe, and beyond. Hakomi Trainings are primarily for psychotherapists, graduate students, and interns in mental health. We also welcome qualified professionals in related fields who want to use the transformational skills of Hakomi in their work.
Introductory workshops are widely available and open to the general public. Introductory workshops and Mindful Pause sessions are open to everyone and do not require a background in psychology. The method has influenced numerous contemporary somatic and trauma-informed approaches, including Sensorimotor Psychotherapy (developed by Hakomi co-founder Pat Ogden).
Coaches, spiritual counselors, organization development practitioners, bodyworkers, educators, health care professionals, and other helping professionals have also found Hakomi’s principles and practices a powerful adjunct to their work.
Common Misconceptions
Hakomi is not a relaxation technique, nor is it mindfulness meditation applied to therapy. While it draws from Buddhist practices, it is a psychotherapeutic method grounded in Western developmental psychology and neuroscience. Due in part to Hakomi’s influence, many healing approaches now use mindfulness to calm and self-regulate their clients. However, Hakomi is one of the only healing methods that uses mindfulness to access unconscious psychological material that’s not easily accessible by conversation alone.
Hakomi is also not a weekend training or self-help modality. Full certification requires years of supervised study. While the principles of presence and gentle inquiry can benefit anyone, the therapeutic application of “little experiments” and working with unconscious core material requires extensive training in relational neuroscience, attachment theory, and somatic tracking.
Finally, though the method is body-centered, it is not bodywork or massage. Touch, when used, is minimal and always consensual—a hand on the shoulder, contact to support presence—not manipulation of tissue or energy.
How to Begin
For those curious about Hakomi, the most accessible entry point is Ron Kurtz’s 1990 book Body-Centered Psychotherapy: The Hakomi Method, which outlines the foundational principles and practices. A more comprehensive contemporary resource is Hakomi Mindfulness-Centered Somatic Psychotherapy: A Comprehensive Guide to Theory and Practice (2015), edited by Halko Weiss, Greg Johanson, and Lorena Monda.
Experientially, attending an introductory workshop offered by the Hakomi Institute or affiliated regional training centers provides direct exposure to the method’s relational quality and mindfulness techniques. The Hakomi Institute website maintains a directory of certified practitioners for those seeking individual sessions. The Ron Kurtz Hakomi Educational Materials archive also offers video and audio recordings of Kurtz teaching, providing insight into his unique therapeutic presence and approach.