Ron Kurtz was a 20th century psychologist who combined eastern and western traditions to create the Hakomi Method.
Born in 1934 in Brooklyn, New York, he spent his undergraduate years studying both physics and English, and worked in computer electronics before returning to graduate school to study mathematical models of psychology. During his career, Kurtz taught at Indiana University, San Francisco State College, the Santa Barbara Graduate Institute, and the Esalen Institute at Big Sur, California.
Kurtz was one of the original founders of the United States Association for Body Psychotherapy. He received the Lifetime Achievement Award from that organization in 2008 and was recognized for his accomplishments by the Santa Barbara Graduate Institute with an honorary doctorate. He co-founded both The Hakomi Institute and The Hakomi Education Network, two organizations that continue his work.
Kurtz traveled extensively to teach the Hakomi Method and inspired the development of training programs in North and South America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
He died from a heart attack in 2011.
The evolution of Hakomi as described by Ron before his death in 2011:
“The original version of the Hakomi Method began forty years ago in my private practice in Albany, N.Y. After ten years of private practice and some teaching, I founded the Hakomi Institute and left that organization in 1990. During the twenty years since, I have continued to make changes to the method. I dropped some of the original material, like character theory, and added a great deal of new material.
The Refined Hakomi Method embraces new and powerful concepts, many from recent discoveries in neurology. Much that turned out to be unnecessary has been dropped. In the hands of a skilled practitioner, the Refined Method is simple, elegant and powerful.”
