The Art of Hakomi: Tuning Your Therapeutic Presence and Embodiment of the Method

Maci Daye, LPC, is a co-founder of the Hakomi Institute of Mallorca, a senior Hakomi Trainer and AASECT-certified sex therapist. She is the author of Passion and Presence: A Couple’s Guide to Awakened Intimacy and Mindful Sex and the creator of the Passion and Presence® Mindful Couples Sex Therapy training, which blends the curious, compassionate spirit of Hakomi with contemporary sex therapy and interpersonal neurobiology.

Valentina Iadeluca proudly holds the distinction of being Italy’s first certified Hakomi therapist and trainer, emphasizing the integration of body-oriented psychotherapy with mindfulness in her country.

Her professional path has taken her to Portland, Oregon, where she interned at the M.E.T.A. Counseling Clinic from 2018 to 2019, where she deepened her understanding and practice of the method, besides gaining additional training in Hakomi-informed approaches, such as Primary Attachment Therapy and Recreation of the Self.

Back in Europe, Valentina has established her private practice in Rome and Munich and also works online with clients from different parts of the world. She also completed a 4-year psychotherapy program in Italy to become fully licensed in her country, focusing on CBT and the so-called third-way approaches: MBSR, MBCT, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Compassion Focused Therapy, and Dialectical Behavior Therapy. She also trained in EMDR (level 1 and 2) and, more recently, graduated from the Passion and Presence Certificate Program.

Currently, she teaches at the Hakomi Institute of Mallorca in Spain, where she also serves as Executive Co-Director, coordinating the extensive training program offered by her team and related marketing outreach. 

In addition to her work as a therapist, Valentina has dedicated herself to writing, co-authoring several books, including "Meditare con la Vita", which has reached a broad audience in Italy. Her publications aim to provide insight and guidance for both therapists and those seeking personal growth through mindfulness and somatic awareness. One of her books, La Teoria Polivagale in Pratica, has been translated into English and published by Routledge in October 2025 with the title “Polivagal Theory in Group Practice”.