By Jaffy Phillips, MA, Hakomi Topic Expert Contributor

Click here to contact Jaffy and/or see her GoodTherapy.org Profile

1. What does the name “Hakomi” mean?

Early in the development of the work, one of Ron Kurtz’ colleagues had a dream in which Kurtz handed him a slip of paper with the words “Hakomi Therapy” written on it. “Hakomi” (sometimes spelled “Hakimi”) was later discovered to be a Hopi Indian word with two related meanings: “who are you” (current) and “how do you stand in relation to these many realms” (archaic) (Kurtz, 1990). Since then, the word has been discovered to have meanings in several other languages as well. Read the rest of this entry

By Jaffy Phillips, MA, Hakomi Topic Expert Contributor

Click here to contact Jaffy and/or see her GoodTherapy.org Profile

Prospective clients often ask what first drew me to study Hakomi therapy. My answer: the principles. (And a touch of fate or providence.)

I first encountered Hakomi by way of a lucky accident. Someone left a copy of Ron Kurtz’ book (Body-Centered Psychotherapy: The Hakomi Method) on a windowsill in a house I moved into. I quickly read it from cover to cover. As a body-worker at the time, I was interested in the relationship between body and mind, but the main thing that kept me reading was the chapter about the principles. As I read it, I felt myself relax and settle in. I felt a sense of relief, like a big exhale: finally, something that made sense to my heart! It was like the feeling of coming home after a long time away. Read the rest of this entry

By Jaffy Phillips, MA, Hakomi Topic Expert Contributor

Click here to contact Jaffy and/or see her GoodTherapy.org Profile

Hi, my name is Jaffy Phillips. I am a certified Hakomi therapist, and I have studied a number of other body-centered approaches to therapy as well. I volunteered to be the topic expert for Hakomi therapy here at Goodtherapy.org because I feel that Hakomi makes such an important contribution to the larger field of psychotherapy, and because it is really the foundation of my own practice.

There are so many wonderful things about Hakomi that it is impossible to address them all in one short article. Instead, what I would like to do here is to speak a bit about what makes it so special to me, and to briefly introduce some of the topics I will be covering in upcoming articles (monthly). Read the rest of this entry

By Laurie F. Schwartz, L.M.H.C, M.S.

Click here to contact Laurie and/or see her GoodTherapy.org Profile

In the ongoing practice of psychotherapy clients and therapists exchange many words in the often frustrating attempt to make the therapeutic conversation come alive. In the midst of all the verbal communication what is often missing is the sense of both people being fully engaged and focused. Therapy can often too easily become reduced to people talking, communicating with words, and often ignoring the intense sense of life that can emerge when we tap into our immediate emotional and body-centered experience.

While many forms of communication take place outside of verbal dialogue, many therapists have little knowledge how to bring the nonverbal, present moment experience into their work. Yet, with a few basic principles and methods, many of them drawn from body-centered experiential psychotherapy called the Hakomi Method, therapists can help clients in a different way, which enhances both the intensity and the effectiveness of psychotherapy. (Kurtz, 1990). Read the rest of this entry