Hi Ho Hi Ho, it's back to work I go.

I've been ready to flex my social worker wings for quite a while now but I was waiting for Callie to reach the magical age where she could go to school a few days a week and for inspiration to strike me as to what exactly I wanted to do with myself.  My background is in medical social work but after working in the fast paced environment of the University Hospital in ABQ, I found myself very sad about the sleepy slow pace of the hospitals around here.

I decided that what is really inspiring to me right now is therapy.  I like talking to people.  And at this point in my life I feel like I have had enough life experiences to not come off as a total fraud when people bring their most vulnerable issues to me.  My Masters in Social Work would technically allow me to counsel others but I need some more training.  I know I do.  I would be a terrible therapist right now.  So I started to look around the area for classes on counseling or therapy.  None in Durango.  None in Farmington, NM.  I even looked for summer courses in my hometown of Columbia, MO.  Nothing.  I was super bummed and super discouraged.

So I put it out to God and the Universe.  It was a Sunday night and I was lying in bed and I asked for a sign.  Of where I was suppose to be.  And I just let it go.

The next morning in my email inbox was an invitation to take a Hakomi Therapy workshop here in Durango.  The information for the workshop indicated that there would be a Hakomi Therapy training program starting here in Durango this September.  I couldn't believe it. This seemed to be exactly what I was looking for.

So I took the workshop and the first day was ok.  Just ok.  The therapy itself is very abstract.  There are lots of terms and ideas and I just couldn't quite figure out how all of this psycho-babble would turn into therapy.  But on Day 2 a woman in the class offered to go through a therapy session with the lead teacher in front of us.  And watching the web that was woven around her was amazing.  It turned into a full on therapy session and to see the transformation of this woman during the hour she sat in front of us was awe-inspiring.  And I was hooked.  

I applied to the program and just found out that I was accepted!!!!  Classes start in September.  The program itself is two years long and I will have class one weekend (Fri/Sat/Sun) a month.  At the end of this program, I will be trained in Hakomi but I have to take a test to actually be called a Hakomi Therapist.

I'm not really sure where this will lead me - I may open up my own practice some day, but I'm really excited for this new challenge and I'm really excited to do something for myself that doesn't involve poopy diapers or grocery shopping!

The Hakomi Method combines the Eastern traditions of mindfulness and non-violence with a unique, highly effective Western methodology. Hakomi was developed and is applied primarily as an experiential psychotherapy, but is also designed to be integrated by other practitioners in a wide variety of contexts.

Hakomi is a body-centered, somatic approach. In a therapeutic context, the body's structures and habitual patterns become a powerful doorway to unconscious core material, including the hidden core beliefs which shape our lives, relationships, and self-images.

The Hakomi Method quickly accesses this core material, allowing it to emerge safely into consciousness. Once conscious, it can be re-evaluated, and where appropriate, powerfully transformed. New dimensions of awareness can be integrated, helping the individual to build a more satisfying and effective life. 

Loving presence and the healing relationship are central to Hakomi. The process creates an exquisite level of sensitivity and attunement between practitioner and client, developing a deep sense of safety and connection which facilitaties the effectiveness of the work.