For family therapists
Haklo is a twenty-minute weekly gathering a family keeps at home. This page covers what it is, why it exists, what it will never do, and what I am asking of you.
What it is
Once a week the family sits down together with one phone and passes it around. Each person takes a turn in four short rounds. It takes about twenty minutes, and everyone in the room speaks and is heard by the people they live with.
Over the weeks, the family keeps a record of what they chose to save, in their own words. Haklo never writes a word of it. With Haklo Plus, each person also gets brief prompts between gatherings that help the next one actually happen.
Round 1
One honest thing from the week behind, so the room learns what each person has been carrying.
Round 2
One personal stretch, said out loud and kept visible until the family gathers again.
Round 3
What is coming up for each person, named before the week fills in.
Round 4
One quiet kindness for someone in the room, done sometime in the week ahead.
Why it exists
Most of what a family takes home from a session depends on them finding a time, gathering everyone, and starting. In my experience building Haklo, that first step is where good intentions stall. Once a family is at the table, the conversation tends to take care of itself.
John Gottman calls these rituals of connection: small, predictable moments that keep people turned toward each other. Bruce Feiler writes about research at Emory showing that children who knew their family’s story, told together, were more resilient when life got hard. Haklo supplies the structure, so returning to each other each week does not depend on anyone’s willpower.
Haklo comes from the Choctaw word for “to hear, to listen.”
What it isn’t
These refusals are part of the design. They are also what you would want to know before mentioning Haklo to anyone you work with.
Haklo does not diagnose, assess, treat, or give clinical advice. It is no substitute for your work, and it never presents itself as one.
It has no way to recognize or respond to an emergency, and families should never rely on it for one.
It does not score, rank, or track individual family members.
You receive nothing about a family’s gatherings. Neither does anyone outside the family.
Family content is never sold, never used for advertising, and never used to train AI models. Families can delete their account and data from inside the app.
If bringing everyone into one room is not safe, or conflict at home is escalating, Haklo is the wrong tool for that family right now. Your judgment comes first.
The ask
This winter I am running a small pilot with a handful of family therapists in the Atlanta area. There are two ways to take part, and either one helps.
A 30-minute conversation
Tell me what you assign families between sessions, what sticks, and what would worry you about a tool like this. As thanks for your time, I’ll buy you coffee or make a $50 gift to a charity you choose.
Mention it to a family or two
If a family you see would benefit from a weekly gathering, tell them about Haklo. Families you refer get Haklo Plus free during the pilot. Afterward I’ll share what we learned, with nothing that identifies any family.
Haklo never pays for referrals. The coffee or charity gift is thanks for a conversation, and it is the only thing offered to clinicians.
Send a note and I’ll find a time that works for you. Thirty minutes, by phone, video, or over coffee in Atlanta.
Email hello@haklo.appClay Nelson, founder