Eight days to confront your childhood: The Hoffman Method, extreme therapy with a cult following among the rich and famous

"They're referring to the Hoffman Method, an intensive personal development program that, according to its official website in the U.S., aims to identify negative behaviors, moods, and ways of thinking that developed unconsciously and were conditioned in childhood. Its detractors, however, see it as far from a gentle path to self-realization. For some, the eight-day retreat is more of a forced immersion in suffering than a fast track to transformation."

"I'm not always grateful or joyful now. But I can see the dark patterns that shaped me, he wrote on Instagram, in a post where he describes feeling raw, vulnerable, exposed. In a video call with EL PAIS, De Cardenas explained that he didn't come to the method because of a crisis or a major life break. I wanted to live with more gratitude; I felt like I was always competing."

The Hoffman Method is presented as an intensive personal development program designed to identify negative behaviors, moods and thought patterns conditioned in childhood. High-profile endorsements cite dramatic benefits, while critics portray the eight-day retreat as a harsh, immersive experience that can feel like forced suffering. Participants report intense vulnerability and altered perspectives, with some noting increased gratitude and awareness of recurring dark patterns. The institute frames the process as transformation across emotional, spiritual, intellectual and physical levels. The co-director cautions against promises of guaranteed change but notes that 95% of participants report relationship improvements and employs techniques such as Gestalt therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy.

Read at english.elpais.com