This document provides an introduction to the indirect method in Hakomi therapy. It explains that the indirect method teaches clients to be their own Hakomi therapists by guiding them to work with their inner parts. An example is given comparing direct and indirect use of acknowledgment. In the indirect example, the therapist guides the client to 1) connect with a proud feeling, 2) report their experience, 3) acknowledge the feeling silently, and 4) report the result. The document concludes that playing this example back and forth illustrates how the direct and indirect modes differ while using the same Hakomi skill of acknowledgment.

1. Slide Show 1: A brief introduction to the
indirect method

2. What is the indirect method?
• The indirect method is a way to use Hakomi to support clients in being Hakomi
therapists to their own inner parts.
• You do not have to learn the indirect method to be certified as a Hakomi therapist.
• If you do want to use, it we want to help you to learn it correctly and effectively,
so that it supplements your conventional Hakomi work and makes it easier to master.
• We think that once you know it, you will be glad you took the time to learn it.
• We also think that teaching Hakomi skills to a client is the best way to master
them yourself.

3. Before we get too abstract let’s look at an example that compares conventional
direct Hakomi to the indirect mode.
An Example
Acknowledgment is an important Hakomi skill that is often used when we work conventionally
and directly with a client. Here is an example:
Hakomi Therapist Hakomi Client
Therapist says: “I see how proud you feel.”
Therapist working
directly

4. Therapist in the Same Situation Working Indirectly
Hakomi Therapist
Hakomi Client
Therapist working
indirectly
Therapist says: “I wonder if you could go inside and just be with that proud part, and
if you can do that, just say to it, silently: ’I see how proud you feel.’”
Even though it compresses a few steps into one, the following illustration shows how
the Hakomi therapist uses the indirect mode to teach his client how to use the same
acknowledgment to recognize and validate his own proud part.

5. What does this illustrate?
This example illustrates that the indirect method is about teaching clients to be
their own Hakomi therapists. In this example we have used one important Hakomi skill,
acknowledgment, as an illustration. Once you know how to use the indirect method
it is possible to teach your client many more Hakomi skills. Here is a partial list:
How to:
• extend loving presence to an inner part.
• track an inner part’s present moment state.
• acknowledge an inner part’s experience (as in the preceding example).
• get a report of “what happened?” from an inner part.
• win the trust of an inner part and strengthen a connection with it.
• evoke meaning or a memory from an inner part.
• give comfort, nourishment and support to an inner part.
• provide a missing experience to an inner part.
In other words, with the exception of doing experiments and taking over, we are
teaching all of the basic elements of Hakomi to our clients as they do their work.

6. It’s usually better to break things up into smaller steps, especially
if the client isn’t already an expert in working with his inner parts.
So we will break up the indirect work into four parts:
1. Invite him to go inside and just be with his experience.
2. Ask him to report what happens when he does that.
3. If all goes well, have him make the acknowledgment.
4. Let him tell us what happens (Parts 3 and 4 happen in one slide).
Here goes:
Now let’s look at that indirect example again.

7. Therapist in the Same Situation Working Indirectly
Hakomi Therapist
Hakomi Client
Therapist working
indirectly
Therapist says: “I wonder if you could go inside and just be with that proud part.”
In the first step we invite the client to go inside and be aware of that part that is
feeling good.

8. Therapist in the Same Situation Working Indirectly
Therapist working
indirectly
Therapist says: “What happens when you do that?”
We want to know if they can do that so we ask the client: “What happens…?”
Client reports: “It feels real good to be with these feelings.”

9. Therapist in the Same Situation Working Indirectly
Therapist working
indirectly
“Now see if you can say to that part, silently: ‘I sense (or see) how
good that makes you feel.’”
Now we coach him on making the acknowledgment to his own inner part or feeling:
Client tries it and says: “Wow, it feels even better.”

10. Conclusion
I’m hoping that if you play this slide show back and forth a few times
you will get the idea of how the direct and indirect modes differ and
how we are using the same Hakomi skill (acknowledgment) in both modes.
Dave Cole