Welcome to our April 2009 newsletter.
If you, like us, think that a greater awareness of our innate needs and resources is important for society, please tell others about the human givens (HG) approach and forward this newsletter to them.
In this issue:
- Fourth Human Givens Conference
- HG article in 'Practice Nursing'
- The BPS, Educational Psychology and HG
- New Zealand's Ministry of Education hosts HG presentation
- Case history
Fourth Human Givens Conference
9th and 10th May 2009
Every HG Conference has introduced major new ideas into psychology and the way we use psychological interventions in education, psychotherapy and social work. The resulting frisson of mental excitement among attendees remains memorable. If you are hoping for another weekend of intense stimulation, this year's conference will easily fulfill your expectations! There will also be lots of practical ideas to take away and use, plus plenty of opportunities to catch up with old friends and meet new people interested in the work we are doing. For more information and to book a place, click here for a PDF or call Kathy Hardy on +44 (0)1323 811440.
We look forward to seeing you there!
------------------------------------------------------------------HG article commissioned for 'Practice Nursing'
MindFields College HG graduate and nurse, Caroline Forrest, was recently commissioned to write a major, peer-reviewed article on the human givens approach to smoking cessation for the journal, Practice Nursing. The result is a wonderfully clear article which gives the basic principles behind the human givens approach (particularly in relation to addiction) and encourages nurses to familiarise themselves with the approach which Caroline and her colleagues find very effective.
To read the full article in PDF form click here.
------------------------------------------------------------------
The BPS, Educational Psychology and HG
The recent conference of the Division of Educational and Child Psychology (DECP) of the British Psychological Society heard Dr Cathy Atkinson of Manchester University and educational psychologist Lisa Hales of the Family and Education Support Team at Milton Keynes, both MindFields College graduates, give a major double presentation on how the human givens approach can be applied to work with individuals, families, groups and systems.
According to the very favourable review of it by Juliet Whitehead of Cardiff University in the March issue of Debate, it brilliantly succeeded in helping educationalists understand the approach and was ”highly engaging and thought-provoking”.
She concluded that, “the human givens approach in itself could be interpreted as reasoned action informed by psychology” and “much enthusiasm was stirred up amongst attendees”. The seminar’s chairperson declared herself totally fascinated by the practicality of the approach and ended up by saying, “This is the best seminar I have been to.” Juliet Whitehead concurred, “I could not agree more,” she said.
------------------------------------------------------------------
New Zealand's Ministry of Education hosts HG presentation
The first large-scale human givens presentation (to over 100 attendees) in New Zealand has just been successfully delivered by HG.Dip graduates Dr Angelo Cacciatto and Michael Grevis over an eight day period between 23rd March and 3rd April. Hosted by the Ministry of Education, the event came about through Fiona Baker's and Shane Winterton’s passion for HG. Attendees included psychologists, teachers, educational psychologists, counsellors, and social workers. The approach was met with tremendous enthusiasm – feedback can be viewed on the Clearmind College website.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Case History: The theatre director who was happy but couldn't stop crying
Whenever possible we like to include an interesting case history that illustrates effective therapy – the following was kindly submitted by Véronique Chown.
Amanda (not her real name) is a highly successful young woman in her late thirties with two boys (aged 9 and 11). When her youngest child went to school, she resumed her career with the full support of her husband. She enjoys her work, loves being a mother, has lots of friends and a good social life in London, mostly centred around the theatre. When asked what she wanted from seeing me, Amanda said that she wanted to stop bursting into tears at inappropriate times. I asked her to elaborate and give me concrete examples and she described how she would cry easily at happy things and rarely at sad things – some examples she gave included:
- when a colleague complimented her on her appearance
- during a standing ovation at a concert
- witnessing some sporting excellence on the TV
- someone complimenting her on her work
- a delighted friend visiting her and wanting to show off her new baby
- at a formal dinner when receiving news of a successful bid for funding from the Arts Council
- witnessing a friend or colleague doing something well.
I initiated some solution focused questioning. She was unable to tell me when the problem didn’t happen (looking for exceptions) or when it was less or even a little bit less (other than with her family). She was not able to tell me when it started, though she thought perhaps it was when the children were little, but she couldn’t be sure. Questions regarding what was happening at that time revealed very little too.
She admitted to being totally puzzled and not having the remotest idea as to why it happened. She felt it was a bit 'freaky' to feel happy for someone or about something and to cry instead of laugh or smile. She said that it seemed to be getting worse and interfered with her life on a daily basis. It was embarrassing to have to reassure people that they hadn’t upset her.
She had no difficulty in describing her life without the problem.
I explained to her that when there is a disproportionate emotional response to something that there are four possible causes. It could be:
- a learned response
- a trauma
- an emotional glitch as in a molar memory
- an incorrect pattern match
I reassured her that there are many different ways of working and it was my job to find the right way for her.
I have found that it can be useful to elicit any words or thoughts associated with the feeling. With this in mind I asked her to focus on a time when the feeling had come up strongly. She chose a recent standing ovation at the theatre where she worked. I asked her to “turn up the feeling” and then I asked to “just go with the first thought that pops into your mind”. Immediately she said “I enjoyed it so much, but I’ll never experience it again.” There was deep sobbing as she said these words.
This was the key. Once we had those words, “I’ll never experience it again”, I knew we were looking at a pattern connected with loss of some kind. From then on the therapy was straightforward. I repeated the words to her and she said that it reminded her of the time when her mother died about 8 years ago. It was a very traumatic time for her with associated feelings of guilt. She said that she felt this same feeling of loss today with regard to her two children whom she referred to as “slipping away”. In a few years they would be leaving home. She said she had a great relationship with the boys but that this feeling of anxiety connected with loss loomed and prevented her from enjoying them to the full.
We rewound her mother’s death and reframed her dying. I took her forward in time so that she could look back and ‘see’ her boys’ potential and what they had achieved. I also told her a short story that contained a strong pattern of hope, continuity and renewal.
After the session she reported that she had “been completely fine” and had not felt anxious about the children leaving home. She felt calm when she thought of her mother and had not burst into tears inappropriately. The other thing that she had noticed but not mentioned too me previously was that for a number of years she had felt a strong desire to have another child because it would prolong the time when she would have children at home. She observed that this longing too had dissolved. She reported feeling calmer and more in control than she had done in years.
What is wonderful about the human givens approach is that we have so many points of intervention, so many different ways of doing good therapy. If the approach I used still hadn’t yielded anything, I could have worked directly using her own metaphor either verbally or using her own images. I could have worked cognitively, I could have returned to a solution-focused approach; always a good bet if in doubt!
The other thing that this case highlights is how the metaphorical pattern matching process often (but not always) connects to a much larger pattern than the presenting problem. The trick is to identify and deactivate the core problem which then sets off a domino effect of positive and often unexpected change.
------------------------------------------------------------------
One last thought...
"Children are like wet cement. Whatever falls on them makes an impression."
Alvin Toffler
------------------------------------------------------------------
We hope you've enjoyed this latest edition of the HGI e-newsletter.
If someone has forwarded this to you and you would like to continue receiving it, please sign up by clicking here.
(To make sure it doesn't end up in your junk mail folder, please add our email address to your address book.)
Best wishes
Jane Tyrrell
Human Givens Institute
www.hgi.org.uk
Further information:
Useful publications: www.humangivens.com
Courses and training:www.mindfields.org.uk
Talk about the human givens: www.vimeo.com/754995
Registered charity:www.hgfoundation.com
Blog: www.mindfields.org.uk/blog
Website about depression: www.lift-depression.com