Psychotherapy, Science, and Spirit: Nonlinear Systems, Hakomi Therapy, and the Tao

This article explores how contemporary science may inform psychotherapies that also allow for concepts of “Spirit.” Hakomi therapy is used as one example for exploring such an integration. The discussion begins with tenants from the philosophy of science outlined by Bateson and Wilber, and how Hakomi therapy incorporates them into therapeutic principles also influenced by Buddhism and Taoism. These metaprinciples lead into a discussion of the sciences of complex nonlinear systems and to further implications for psychotherapy. The conditions for fostering transformation in a complex adaptive system are discussed in terms of spiritual concerns for raising consciousness in the world.