A Hybrid Learning Experience
Sign up below to receive updates as they are released.
Other Opportunities to Get Started
Our long-awaited Hakomi Comprehensive Level I is coming in 2027 in a hybrid format, combining live, online learning with in-person modules in Berkeley, California.
This program is a collaboration between the Hakomi Institute of California and Embodywise.
This highly anticipated training offers a comprehensive and immersive foundation in the Hakomi method. Participants will engage deeply with Hakomi principles, core theories, maps and models, and the specific techniques that define the work.
Each module integrates didactic teaching, experiential exercises, discussion, movement and embodiment practices, group process, and supervised practice to support meaningful integration. The hybrid design is being developed to support both the depth of the in-person learning and the accessibility of live online training.
Designed for professional therapists, clinical social workers, counselors, interns and students in related fields, licensed healing arts practitioners, and those transitioning into somatic psychotherapy, Level One is intended for those who want to study the method thoroughly and in its entirety
Duration: Two Years
Format: Hybrid (Live Online & Two In-Person Immersions Each Year)
Pathway: Year One Foundations, Year Two Advanced Clinical Practice
Certification: Primary pathway toward Hakomi Certification
Learning: Lectures • Live Demonstrations • Experiential Practice • Small-Group Supervision • Consultation.
Module 1: April 9-11, 2027 (In-Person, Bay Area, CA)
Module 2: May 7-8, 2027 (Live, online via Zoom)
Module 3: June 11-12, 2027 (Live, online via Zoom)
Module 4: September 10-11, 2027 (Live, online via Zoom)
Module 5: October 22-23, 2027 (Live, online via Zoom)
Module 6: November 19-21, 2027 (In-Person, Bay Area, CA)
Module 7: December 3-4, 2027 (Live, online via Zoom)
Module 8: January 21-22, 2028 (Live, online via Zoom)
Session Times (all times are Pacific):
Online Modules:
Friday & Saturdays: 8:30 am - 4:00 pm, Pacific Time
In Person Immersions:
Friday & Saturday: 9:00 am - 5:30 pm, PT
Sunday: 9:00 am - 4:30 pm, PT
Webinars
Webinar 1 July 9, 2027 (Live, online via Zoom)
Webinar 2: August 6, 2027 (Live, online via Zoom)
Webinar 3: September 24, 2027 (Live, online via Zoom)
Webinar 4: October 29, 2027 (Live, online via Zoom)
Webinar 5: January 14, 2028 (Live, online via Zoom)
Webinar Schedule (all times are Pacific)
9:00 am - 11:30 am, Pacific Time
Applications for the 2027 program are accepted through an online form. The program offers rolling admissions, meaning that applications will be reviewed as they are received until the program is filled. The deadline for early applications is March 1, 2027 and the deadline for final applications is March 28, 2027. Learn more and apply.
Please see FAQs section for information on scholarships, cancellations, and CE credits.
Application Fee
$75
Early Registration
$4,995 if applied by March 1, 2027
Final Application Date
March 28, 2027
Final Registration and Payment:
$5,495 if enrolled by April 2, 2027
Special Rates:
20% off regular registration price for CIIS Hakomi Graduates ($4,396)
50% off for repeat students ($2,748)
Tuition cost is not reimbursable under any circumstance, including but not limited to cancellation for illness-related conditions, travel delays, or other extenuating circumstances.
After you are notified that your application has been approved, a $500 non-refundable deposit and signed payment and liability agreement are required within seven (7) days of acceptance to secure your place in the training. Registration is not complete until both have been received.
If the deposit and agreement are not received within this timeframe, the offer of admission may be withdrawn and the space released to another applicant.
Due to the limited number of scholarships available, scholarship awards are only held for seven (7) days from the date of acceptance. If registration is not completed within that time, the scholarship may be forfeited and is not guaranteed to be reinstated.
The remaining tuition balance is due fourteen (14) days prior to the start of the training. If a payment plan has been arranged in advance, the first payment is due at that time.
Applicants accepted after the final application deadline are required to submit full payment upon acceptance to confirm enrollment.
All participants will need to sign a contract agreeing to the financial conditions of this training. VISA, MasterCard, Discover and American Express are accepted. Wire Transfer is a payment option (customer is responsible for wire transfer fees).
The Hakomi Comprehensive Training is designed for healing arts professionals who want to deepen their clinical practice through mindfulness, somatic psychotherapy, and experiential methods. Whether you are expanding an established practice or building a new clinical foundation, the training offers a comprehensive and integrative approach to working with the whole person.
This training is appropriate for:
Participants who wish to integrate mindfulness, embodied awareness, and relational presence into their therapeutic work will find this training especially valuable. Whether you work with trauma, attachment, anxiety, depression, relationship issues, or personal growth, the Hakomi Method offers a compassionate and clinically sophisticated framework for supporting meaningful and lasting change.
Because the training is highly experiential, students are invited to engage in both professional skill development and personal self-study, recognizing that the therapist's own awareness and embodiment are essential components of effective clinical practice.
For those helping professionals who are not currently licensed mental health practitioners, we strongly encourage additional training in counseling psychology. Many of the techniques we teach in Hakomi address core-level psychological wounding, and thus have the potential to impact our clients at the deepest levels. For unlicensed students wishing to use these deeper techniques, a more general training is counseling psychology is also recommended, in order to (1) become familiar with which clients the deeper Hakomi techniques might be effective and with which clients using such techniques might be counter-productive, and (2) receive training in a myriad of clinical issues the Hakomi Comprehensive Training does not address, including addiction, eating orders, severe psychiatric disorders, complex family dynamics, and numerous other issues.
Completion of a Hakomi Intro Workshop is required*
This training can also be a track for those seeking certification in the Hakomi Method. Please visit our website or Hakomi Institute (international headquarters) to learn more.
This training requires the completion of a 12-hour Hakomi Intro workshop. If you have not yet completed a Hakomi Intro, we are currently offering the following options:
*If you anticipate any challenges that may affect your ability to meet this requirement, please send an email to info@embodywise.com. We are committed to supporting accessibility and may be able to provide reasonable accommodations on a case-by-case basis.
Throughout the Comprehensive Training, students cultivate the knowledge, clinical skills, and embodied presence needed to practice the Hakomi Method with confidence, sensitivity, and integrity.
Embodied Understanding of Hakomi Principles
Students learn to practice therapy from the core Hakomi principles of mindfulness, nonviolence, unity, and organicity, cultivating a therapeutic environment of safety and curiosity.
Clinical Precision and Somatic Competence
Students develop the ability to recognize and work skillfully with somatic experience, mindfulness, and present-moment process. They learn to apply Hakomi interventions with increasing precision, attunement, and clinical discernment.
Understanding Developmental Adaptations and Character Organization
Students explore how early developmental experiences, attachment patterns, family systems, and cultural influences shape personality organization. They learn to recognize these adaptive patterns as they emerge through the body, emotions, beliefs, and relational dynamics.
Therapeutic Presence: The Self as Instrument
Students deepen awareness of their own internal experience and develop the capacity to use mindfulness, presence, and embodiment as essential therapeutic resources. Through ongoing self-study and experiential practice, they cultivate greater emotional regulation, relational attunement, and responsiveness in the therapeutic encounter.
Understanding the Systems That Shape Us
Effective psychotherapy requires more than clinical skill; additionally, it asks therapists to understand the many influences that shape both our clients' lives and our own. Throughout the training, students are invited to explore how family, culture, social identity, historical context, and systems of privilege and marginalization contribute to our ways of perceiving, relating, and making meaning.
Through mindful self-reflection and experiential inquiry, participants examine their own social location, lived experiences, assumptions, biases, and values, recognizing how these inevitably enter the therapeutic relationship. This exploration is approached with curiosity, compassion, and nonjudgment, consistent with the core principles of the Hakomi Method.
Students are encouraged to consider the unique responsibility of the therapist's role, including the ways in which therapists hold influence and power within the therapeutic relationship. Developing awareness of this dynamic supports greater humility, ethical practice, and the capacity to create an environment in which clients from diverse backgrounds feel respected, understood, and safe.
Rather than striving for certainty or perfection, this aspect of the training focuses on ongoing self-awareness and cultural responsiveness. It prepares therapists to meet the complexity of human experience with openness, sensitivity, and a commitment to lifelong learning.
Integrating Theory and Practice
Students learn to integrate Hakomi's theoretical foundations with practical clinical application through supervised practice, experiential learning, and reflective inquiry. By the end of the training, they are able to bring Hakomi principles into their therapeutic work with greater confidence, flexibility, and authenticity.
The Hakomi Comprehensive Training is a two-year professional program that provides an in-depth education in the Hakomi Method of Mindful Somatic Psychotherapy.
As one of the pioneering mindfulness-based somatic psychotherapy approaches, Hakomi integrates mindfulness, embodied awareness, relational presence, and experiential inquiry to help clients access and transform the implicit beliefs, emotional memories, and adaptive patterns that shape their lives.
Year One establishes the essential foundations of the Hakomi Method. Through a highly experiential learning process, students develop the capacity to track the body’s moment-to-moment experience, cultivate therapeutic presence, and work skillfully with trauma, attachment, developmental adaptations, and the unconscious organization of experience.
The program is offered in a hybrid format, combining the depth of two in-person immersion retreats with live online training weekends. This structure allows students to build a sustained learning community while benefiting from intensive experiential practice, ongoing supervision, and the opportunity to integrate new skills into their clinical work between sessions.
The training combines contemporary neuroscience, somatic psychology, mindfulness practice, attachment theory, and experiential psychotherapy within a compassionate, nonviolent clinical framework. Participants learn not only new therapeutic interventions, but also how to embody the qualities of presence, curiosity, and attunement that are central to effective psychotherapy.
Designed for licensed mental health professionals, associates, graduate students, and helping professionals seeking advanced clinical training, the program integrates lectures, live demonstrations, supervised practice, experiential exercises, and ongoing consultation to support deep personal and professional development.
Students may enroll in the full two-year Comprehensive Training or begin with Year One and continue into Year Two to further refine clinical skill, therapeutic precision, and integration.
The Hakomi Comprehensive Training is also the primary pathway toward certification in the Hakomi Method.
Hakomi is recognized worldwide as one of the foundational approaches in mindfulness-based somatic psychotherapy. Its effectiveness lies in the integration of several essential principles:
Rather than relying primarily on insight, interpretation, or cognitive restructuring, Hakomi invites clients into mindful exploration of their present-moment experience. By working directly with implicit memory, nervous system regulation, attachment dynamics, and embodied experience, lasting transformation emerges naturally from within rather than through effort alone.
This approach enables therapists to help clients move beyond symptom reduction toward greater self-awareness, emotional resilience, relational capacity, and embodied well-being.
Advances in neuroscience, attachment theory, and trauma research have increasingly confirmed what somatic psychotherapists have recognized for decades: our experiences are not only remembered through thoughts and stories, but are also embodied in the nervous system.
Trauma, chronic stress, relational wounds, and developmental adaptations are often organized through implicit memory—patterns that shape how we perceive ourselves, others, and the world long before they become conscious. While insight and cognitive understanding are valuable, lasting therapeutic change often requires working directly with the body’s lived experience.
Somatic psychotherapy helps clients cultivate awareness of sensations, breath, movement, posture, impulses, and relational responses as they unfold in the present moment. These embodied experiences provide direct access to the unconscious patterns that influence emotions, behaviors, and relationships. By bringing mindful awareness to these patterns, clients can discover new possibilities for regulation, resilience, and healing.
Hakomi has been at the forefront of this movement for over four decades. As one of the original mindfulness-centered somatic psychotherapy methods, Hakomi integrates mindfulness, embodied awareness, and relational presence to create a therapeutic process that is both gentle and deeply transformative. Rather than attempting to change clients through analysis or interpretation, Hakomi supports the conditions in which change can emerge naturally from within.
Through Hakomi, clients learn to:
For therapists, learning somatic psychotherapy expands the clinical lens beyond thoughts and symptoms to include the whole person—body, mind, emotions, relationships, and nervous system. It offers a way of working that is grounded in presence, informed by contemporary science, and guided by deep respect for each person’s innate capacity for healing.
As the fields of trauma therapy, interpersonal neurobiology, and contemplative psychology continue to evolve, somatic psychotherapy is becoming an essential foundation for effective clinical practice. Hakomi remains one of the field’s most respected and enduring approaches, offering a comprehensive framework for facilitating profound and lasting transformation.
Year One provides a comprehensive foundation in the theory, principles, and clinical practice of Hakomi Mindful Somatic Psychotherapy. Through an experiential learning process, students develop the capacity to work skillfully with present-moment experience, mindful awareness, and embodied therapeutic presence.
Students learn to recognize subtle somatic cues, support mindful self-study, and facilitate experiential processes that reveal the unconscious beliefs, emotional patterns, and developmental adaptations shaping a client’s experience.
Throughout the year, students develop proficiency in:
By the end of Year One, students have developed a strong foundation in working with embodied experience, implicit memory, attachment dynamics, and relational patterns. They leave with practical clinical skills that can be integrated immediately into psychotherapy while preparing for the more advanced therapeutic applications explored in Year Two.
Hakomi is learned through experience. Rather than simply studying concepts or techniques, students are invited to embody the principles of the method through direct practice, mindful self-exploration, and supervised clinical application.
Across both the in-person immersions and live online training weekends, students engage in a rich blend of learning experiences, including:
This experiential approach allows students to develop both clinical competence and embodied therapeutic presence. As learning unfolds over time, students begin to internalize the Hakomi Method, cultivating the sensitivity, confidence, and attunement needed to work effectively with clients.
Throughout the year, participants progressively develop the ability to:
By learning through experience, reflection, and supervised practice, students develop not only new clinical skills but also a way of being with clients that is grounded in mindfulness, curiosity, compassion, and respect for each person’s innate capacity to heal.
The Hakomi Comprehensive Training is intentionally designed as a hybrid program that combines the depth of immersive, in-person learning with the continuity and accessibility of live online education.
Throughout the year, students participate in two in-person immersion retreats, where they engage in extended experiential practice, live demonstrations, mindfulness practice, supervision, and community building. Between immersions, live online training weekends provide ongoing instruction, practice groups, and opportunities to integrate learning into clinical work.
This rhythm of immersion, practice, reflection, and application supports deep learning over time. Students are able to immediately apply new skills with clients, return with questions and clinical experiences, and continue refining their practice within a supportive learning community.
The hybrid format offers:
The Hakomi Comprehensive Training provides the foundational training required for those who wish to pursue certification in the Hakomi Method.
Students who complete the full two-year Comprehensive Training and additional advanced coursework may apply for certification through the Hakomi certification process.
The California Comprehensive Training includes an overview of the Hakomi Character Map, introducing students to the developmental and somatic patterns that organize personality. However, it does not provide an in-depth study of character strategies.
For students interested in certification, we offer a separate, in-depth Character Strategy Training that fulfills the character study requirement for certification eligibility.
Certification candidates participate in mentorship and supervision and demonstrate their clinical competence through observed sessions evaluated by Hakomi trainers.
For students who wish to pursue certification in the Hakomi Method, the California training program offers a clear developmental pathway.
1. Comprehensive Training (Two Years)
Students begin with the Hakomi Comprehensive Training, a two-year program (approximately 300 contact hours) that provides the foundational study of:
Year One includes an introduction to the Hakomi Character Map, offering an overview of how character patterns organize around developmental experience.
2. Character Strategy Training
Students seeking certification complete a separate in-depth Character Strategy Training.
This advanced training explores the Hakomi Character Map in depth, including:
Completion of this training fulfills the character study requirement for certification eligibility.
3. Mentorship and Supervision
Certification candidates participate in ongoing mentorship and supervision, refining their clinical skills and deepening their understanding of the Hakomi Method.
This stage supports the integration of:
4. Certification Review
Candidates demonstrate their competence through observed clinical sessions evaluated by two Hakomi trainers. Certification reflects the therapist’s ability to practice the Hakomi Method with skill, presence, and fidelity to the principles of the work.
For more information, including accommodation for special needs and details about our grievance process, contact our administrator at info@embodywise.com.
This program is sponsored by Embodywise. Embodywise is approved by the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists to sponsor continuing education for LMFTs, LPCCs, LEPs, and/or LCSWs. Embodywise maintains responsibility for this program/course and its content.
This course meets the qualifications for up to 104 hours of continuing education credit for LMFTs, LPCCs, LEPs, and/or LCSWs as required by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences. CE approval agency: CAMFT. Provider number: 82187. CE hours are subject to change with schedule changes.
Full Attendance is required to receive CEs. This means being present for all scheduled hours of the training or course. A grace period of up to 15 minutes per session is permitted for late arrivals or early departures.
You will need to sign our CE sign-in sheet and submit a signed class evaluation form to receive CE credit for this course. We will email CE certificates within 30 days after the course ends.
If you live outside of California, please check with your local licensing board to ensure that they’ll accept this course for CE credit. As an approved continuing education provider, Embodywise is required to award CE credit for instructional time only; no CE credit will be granted for lunches and breaks.
Applicants will be asked to submit the following as part of the application process:
Applications are reviewed on a first come, first serve basis.
We are committed to making our training available to underrepresented groups such as People of the Global Majority, LGBTQIA+, military service members, veterans, first responders, persons with disabilities, those experiencing economic marginalization.
We will have a limited number of slots to support historically underrepresented groups and recognize the need to support these groups to facilitate our vision for an inclusive and equitable access to these trainings. If you meet these criteria and would like to apply for a scholarship, please complete both the application form and the scholarship application.
Scholarship amounts are based on the regular registration price, not the early registration price.
We understand that unforeseen circumstances such as illness may arise, however please note that due to the nature of our services and the commitments involved, we have a no-refund policy in place for various situations, including but not limited to illness-related conditions, travel delays, or other extenuating circumstances.
Makeup Policy
There are 18 total training days throughout the program. However, it’s important to note that attendance is tracked by session, not by day or by hour. The daily training schedule is split with a lunch break and include two sessions. Each session is tracked individually toward your attendance total.
There are 36 total sessions (including both online and in-person sessions). To receive a certificate of completion, participants must attend at least 29 of the 36 training sessions and may miss no more than 7 sessions. If you miss more than 20%, the following makeup requirements apply:
If you miss 8 sessions, in order to get a certificate of completion, you'll need to listen to all the Learning Platform classes, as well as the videos of the live days you missed, write a brief report of what you learned in each one, do any exercises from those times with a group member or to pay an assistant to do them with you, and write a report on that as well. This should be done within a six-month window from the end of the training and requires a $150 Review Fee.
If you miss between 9 and 12 sessions, in addition to the requirements above, you can work with one of the Hakomi Teachers or Teachers in Training to do some live sessions with a buddy to demonstrate your skills level, ask questions about the material and get some additional input. It would be a good learning experience in any case, but could take some time to make sure your skills level is equivalent to Level One. You can arrange this with one of our teachers or teachers in training separately at their normal fees, and then they can report back to the lead faculty when they think your skills are ready.
If you miss more than 12 sessions, you'll need to take the Level 1 training again to receive a certificate of completion and/or continue on to Professional Training Level 2. We'll be happy to offer you a 50% repeat-student discount.
Brief Report Requirements
For each portion of a training missed and reviewed (e.g. - 1.5 hrs) - one short paragraph (100 ~ 200 words). For each full training day missed and review - one page (~ 500 words)
CE certificates are issued by module, not by individual session. Full attendance and participation in all sessions within a module is required to receive CE credit for that module. If any portion of a module is missed, CE credit cannot be awarded for that module.
Peer Practice Groups
We encourage all students to participate in self-organizing practice groups. Please note that these groups are not faculty-led and are not moderated. There will also be no tech support provided. However, we’ve created some guidance to help you get started:
A Google Doc will be available to registered participants with suggested practice dates and times.
Students can sign up to be a group leader, providing their own Zoom meeting link.
Students can then sign up for a group by selecting a time and a group leader.
If the suggested times don’t work, students are welcome to propose different dates and times and self-organize.
Practice instructions will be provided on our learning platform for each module to help guide you.
We highly recommend participating in these practice groups to support your learning journey!
Recording our live online training sessions is an integral part of our educational process. These recordings serve as valuable resources for both the enhancement of our training programs and for the benefit of all participants. However, we understand that some individuals may have reservations about being recorded, and we want to ensure transparency and respect your concerns.
It is our policy to record all training sessions for training purposes. These recordings may include audio, video, and screen-sharing content. The recording is made available on our online learning platform for participants to access throughout the training program. If you comment during a presentation, this will be recorded. Breakout groups are not recorded.
We respect your right to privacy and offer options for those who prefer not to appear on the recordings. You may choose to turn off your video and mute your microphone during the session, ensuring that your image and voice will not be captured in the recording. However, please note that participating in these sessions indicates your agreement to be recorded unless you opt out using these provided options.
View all members of the Hakomi California Faculty
Certified Hakomi Therapist and Trainer ISITTA Founder and Trainer
Certified Hakomi Therapist and Trainer ISITTA Founder and Trainer
Certified Hakomi Therapist and Trainer
Certified Hakomi Therapist and Trainer
Certified Hakomi Therapist and Teacher
Certified Hakomi Therapist and Teacher
Certified Hakomi Therapist and Teacher
Certified Hakomi Therapist and Teacher
Certified Hakomi Therapist and Teacher
Certified Hakomi Therapist and Teacher
Certified Hakomi Therapist and Teacher
Certified Hakomi Therapist and Teacher
Certified Hakomi Therapist and Teacher
Certified Hakomi Therapist and Teacher
Certified Hakomi Therapist and Trainer
Certified Hakomi Therapist and Trainer
Certified Hakomi Therapist and Teacher
Certified Hakomi Therapist and Teacher
Hakomi Teacher in Training, Indigenous Healer
Hakomi Teacher in Training, Indigenous Healer
Senior Hakomi Trainer Founder of Re-Creation of the Self
Senior Hakomi Trainer Founder of Re-Creation of the Self
Learn more below. Be part of this upcoming cohort–sign up to receive program updates.
Embodied Wisdom, Right to Your Inbox
Join our community of somatic practitioners, and receive exclusive announcements for programs, special offers, and resources.