Hakomi Mindful Somatic Psychotherapy: An Experiential Introduction

Hakomi Central Team (U.S.A.)

Hakomi is a body-centered (somatic) approach. The body is viewed as a “map of the psyche” – a door that can be opened to reveal the entire unconscious belief system of the individual. The body’s habitual patterns can become a powerful access route to deeply held core material.

Current neuroscience research has confirmed the basis for many foundational aspects of the Hakomi Method, including the effectiveness of mindfulness, loving presence, empathic attunement, limbic resonance, and memory reconsolidation.

We develop exquisite sensitivity and attunement, using empathic skills to read and contact subtle, unconscious cues. When integrated into the session with unique Hakomi techniques, it creates a rapid, experiential access route to unconscious core beliefs and implicit memories that invisibly shape our lives and behavior. Once conscious and directly experienced, these are available for memory re- consolidation and transformation, including the healing of attachment issues.This experiential process evokes a powerful “felt sense” for the client, allowing them to take ownership of core patterns as they emerge, and to integrate new options.

This workshop provides an immersive introduction to the Method, this includes lectures from the faculty, experiential exercises, demonstrations, discussion, group process sessions, and Supervision.

Faculty:
Rupesh Chhagan, M.S.O.M., L.Ac., C.H.P., Certified Hakomi Teacher

Target Audience

This workshop is designed to provide experiential learning in the Hakomi Method and is also a prerequisite to the Hakomi Comprehensive Training.

Objectives

• Describe the qualities of mindfulness that Hakomi uses in therapeutic settings.

• Practice the Hakomi skills of Loving Presence and Contact to enhance the therapist’s self-regulation, embodiment, and therapeutic relationship.

• Name the 5 Hakomi principles, (unity, organicity, non-violence, mind-body holism, mindfulness) that form the foundation of the Hakomi Method

• Summarize the importance of the exploratory (experimental) attitude as a key component of the Hakomi Method.

• Provide examples of subtle somatic cues tracked by the therapist in Hakomi work.

• Describe the application of Hakomi skills and principles in the experiential process as a way to access unconscious core material.

Dates:

September 23, 24, 30, and October 1, 2026

Hours: 2:30-5:30pm each day
All hours are Pacific Time

*Note* Must attend all four sessions to complete 12-hour prerequisite to Hakomi Training

Cost:
$295 if paid by August 23rd; $335 thereafter

(includes $75 non-refundable administrative fee)

CE: CEs not available for this workshop

Mindful Somatic Psychology and the 5 Elements: EARTH and METAL

OCT 3-4th

Pacific Rim College, Victoria, BC, Canada

 The 5 Element Map elegantly describes the human experience in health and disharmony. Each element is associated with mental, emotional, spiritual and physical qualities. The 5 Element map shows where disharmony may lie as well as what is needed to get back in balance. In this workshop, we focus on Earth and Metal and expand the associations to include developmental psychology, the functional expression of Empathy/Compassion and Sadness/Grief as well as the resonant skill from Hakomi (Mindfulness-Based Experiential Psychology)—providing and assessing the patient’s ability to internalize the therapeutic intervention. We will dive into the Earth and Metal Elements in an embodied, experiential way with meditations, lectures, partner exercises, practice sessions and demos.

After this workshop, on a personal level, students will deepen their relationship with self through an embodied understanding of the Earth and Metal Element. On a professional level, students will expand their diagnostic skills (Earth and Metal Element psycho-spiritual associations) and the practical skill of providing the necessary intervention and assessing whether the client can assimilate it.

In the final session of this three-part workshop series, we will put together all the skills and provide a way of working directly with the patient’s Qi in collaboration and mindfulness. Application of these skills with acupuncture will be demonstrated along with time for student practice.

Hakomi Mindful Somatic Psychotherapy: An Experiential Introduction

Hakomi Central Team (U.S.A.)

Hakomi is a body-centered (somatic) approach. The body is viewed as a “map of the psyche” – a door that can be opened to reveal the entire unconscious belief system of the individual. The body’s habitual patterns can become a powerful access route to deeply held core material.

Current neuroscience research has confirmed the basis for many foundational aspects of the Hakomi Method, including the effectiveness of mindfulness, loving presence, empathic attunement, limbic resonance, and memory reconsolidation.

We develop exquisite sensitivity and attunement, using empathic skills to read and contact subtle, unconscious cues. When integrated into the session with unique Hakomi techniques, it creates a rapid, experiential access route to unconscious core beliefs and implicit memories that invisibly shape our lives and behavior. Once conscious and directly experienced, these are available for memory re- consolidation and transformation, including the healing of attachment issues.This experiential process evokes a powerful “felt sense” for the client, allowing them to take ownership of core patterns as they emerge, and to integrate new options.

This workshop provides an immersive introduction to the Method, this includes lectures from the faculty, experiential exercises, demonstrations, discussion, group process sessions, and Supervision.

Faculty:
Rupesh Chhagan, M.S.O.M., L.Ac., C.H.P., Certified Hakomi Teacher

Target Audience

This workshop is designed to provide experiential learning in the Hakomi Method and is also a prerequisite to the Hakomi Comprehensive Training.

Objectives

• Describe the qualities of mindfulness that Hakomi uses in therapeutic settings.

• Practice the Hakomi skills of Loving Presence and Contact to enhance the therapist’s self-regulation, embodiment, and therapeutic relationship.

• Name the 5 Hakomi principles, (unity, organicity, non-violence, mind-body holism, mindfulness) that form the foundation of the Hakomi Method

• Summarize the importance of the exploratory (experimental) attitude as a key component of the Hakomi Method.

• Provide examples of subtle somatic cues tracked by the therapist in Hakomi work.

• Describe the application of Hakomi skills and principles in the experiential process as a way to access unconscious core material.

Dates:

September 23, 24, 30, and October 1, 2026

Hours: 2:30-5:30pm each day
All hours are Pacific Time

*Note* Must attend all four sessions to complete 12-hour prerequisite to Hakomi Training

Cost:
$295 if paid by August 23rd; $335 thereafter

(includes $75 non-refundable administrative fee)

CE: CEs not available for this workshop

Comprehensive Training, Level 1, Southwest U.S.A.

Hakomi Central Team (U.S.A.)

Level One offers a thorough grounding in the theories and techniques of Hakomi Mindful Somatic Psychotherapy. Level One includes in-depth coverage of the Hakomi principles, Hakomi theories, maps and models, and specific techniques of the Hakomi therapeutic process. Training weekends include a mix of didactic material, experiential exercises, discussion, movement/embodiment exercises, group maintenance time and supervised practice times.

The comprehensive training is designed for a wide range of professionals in the healing fields. We welcome psychotherapists, counselors, graduate students in mental health, coaches, educators, spiritual counselors, body workers, and healthcare professionals who aspire to incorporate Hakomi’s transformative skills into their work.

The goals of the Training are to provide students with: first, a deep understanding of the principles of the Hakomi Method and the ability to work within them in an attitude of loving presence. Second,  an understanding of the theories, maps and models, and specific techniques of the Hakomi therapeutic process and the ability to use these precisely and appropriately. Third, many experiential opportunities for the embodied application of the principles, theories, maps and models, and techniques of Hakomi.  Fourth, an understanding of one’s own inner organization and the process of using self as an instrument for therapy. Fifth, an understanding of the spiritual dimensions of Hakomi.