Psychotherapy: The Hakomi Method
Hakomi has its roots in the ancient wisdom traditions of Buddhism and Taoism, while concurrently being informed and validated by recent findings in the field of neuroscience. Hakomi is designed to be an extremely effective and efficient way to access core material, i.e. the beliefs, attitudes, and emotions that exist below the level of everyday awareness, yet which inform the choices that we make in our life, as well as the strategies that we utilize to respond to life events.
As very sophisticated mammals, we are wired neurologically with an ability to recognize patterns, and to generalize from past experiences to anticipate future events. This system of automatic appraisal, preparation, and response has been invaluable for helping humans to avoid the ancient threats of predation. Although most of us no longer live in a world where we need to worry about being eaten by predators, this system of threat detection and response continues to be part of our brain architecture. A drawback to this hard-wired system of protection, is when our automatic appraisals of impending threats are inaccurate, or when our behavioral response is ineffective for the current situation. This automatic sequence often becomes reinforced through the consequences that follow an ineffective response, thereby confirming the original bias that evaluated the situation as threatening.
As a method, Hakomi tends to be very efficient with accessing these underlying assumptions, their associated memories, and the developmental strategies that were context appropriate, but now limit choice. This method does not stop at insight into causation but continues through an experiential inquiry into the necessary "missing experience" that will allow the belief system (a particular neurological pattern and sequence) to shift. The experience is first "practiced" in the safety of the therapeutic environment, and then applied to the client's life situation in real and concrete ways. In this manner, new neurological patterns are developed over time, resulting in new perceptions, strategies, and life circumstances. This is how genuine change occurs.
