Welcome to the latest edition of the Human Givens Institute's (HGI) monthly e-newsletter. It's for anyone, anywhere in the world, who's interested in human givens psychology and news about its applications in psychotherapy, education and related fields.

In this issue:
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High profile USA journal showcases the human givens approach to treating depression

When clinical psychologist Michael Yapko heard that the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy was making the theme for its next journal issue ‘Depression treatment around the world’, he urged the editors to commission a piece about the human givens approach. The resulting 5-page article, ‘Human Givens: Worrying, Dreaming and Depression’, has just appeared in their November/December issue of Family Therapy Magazine.

Recognition of the human givens (HG) approach by such a prestigious source is gratifying to British practitioners of the only school of psychotherapy to originate in the UK. It was the clarity of thinking behind HG, and the fact that it incorporates empirically supported tools and techniques from other models but sets them in a larger organising idea about brain functioning, innate needs and the importance of the REM state, that appealed to the American editors. The increasing interest in HG in America (some people have even flown to the UK for therapy) looks set to grow.

You can read the article here (where there is also a PDF of the original journal article available to download).

The article is a first rate introduction to our work and we would urge you to forward this link to anyone who might, or you think should, be interested.

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Human givens therapists return to continue their work in Rwanda



Following the success of their first trip last year, HG Diploma graduates Carly Raby and Dr Maarit Brooks returned to Rwanda this October to teach a three-day course “Healing Adults and Children from the Effects of Trauma”. The course participants were mainly counsellors from the Rwandan Association of Trauma Counsellors, ARCT, and it was delivered in Kinyarwanda (the local language), through an interpreter.

Although it is now 14 years since the Rwandan Genocide, cases of PTSD are still very common. Mrs Jane Abatoni, the head of ARCT in Kigali, explained to Carly and Maarit that the sufferers who seek help are often complex cases who have frequently suffered several extremely traumatic incidents. This means that after one traumatic event has been treated, other, often worse, experiences surface. The sessions the ARCT counsellors give at the trauma centre can end up lasting for several hours and prove exhausting for both the therapist and the sufferer. The ARCT has received trauma training from various foreign organisations, but this had previously mostly been of poor quality, with, sadly, some of the techniques taught making sufferers even worse.

Carly and Maarit's intensive and practical course, however, covered the human givens, RIGAAR, PTSD, information about the interaction between the emotional and logical brain, healing stories, relaxation, guided imagery and the trauma rewind technique for adults and children. (Carly has adapted the HG version of the rewind technique so that it is suitable for children and fits the way they behave.) The comprehensive course notes and slides had been translated into Kinyarwanda, but the team hadn’t been prepared for the poisonous snake which found its way into the lecture room!

Feedback about the course was extremely positive and Carly’s husband, Sam Raby, is currently carrying out a research project about the efficacy of human givens therapy for the treatment of trauma in Rwanda. The results should be available by Summer 2009.

The course was delivered on a charitable basis with funding coming from Carly, Maarit and their families, from Luna which is a children’s charity run by Carly and Sam, REACH Rwanda, Christ Church in Clifton and some private supporters.

Human Givens Publishing kindly donated sets of its HG self-help books for both ARCT and REACH Rwanda, which were very much appreciated. (ARCT is generally very short of good mental health books, so if anybody would like to donate some please do contact Maarit at: Maarit@thebrooks.org.uk )

Carly, Maarit and their colleagues hope to return again to Rwanda in 2009 to continue their work there and would be delighted to hear of any donors who would consider supporting the course costs, again please contact Maarit direct.

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New HG talks posted up on YouTube

Further to the success of our earlier postings on YouTube and Vimeo, which have attracted considerable interest and broadened knowledge about the human givens approach worldwide, the HGI has just uploaded several more films of talks given by Joe Griffin and Ivan Tyrrell on a variety of key subjects.

Click on the following links to view them.

Modern theories of dreaming

Hypnosis: be careful

REM State - the origins of culture

A history of hypnosis and trance inductions

Strange dreams that prove the expectation fulfilment theory

What is the function of dreaming?

Again, if you enjoy these links and find them interesting – do please pass them on to others to view.

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New theory of 'caetextia' attracting interest

Joe Griffin and Ivan Tyrrell's new explanation for the wide range of behaviours spanned by the autistic spectrum and beyond - 'caetextia' (or context blindness) - is proving of profound interest to those who have already heard about it. And this will no doubt grow after its publication today in an expanded article in the new issue of the Human Givens Journal.

This latest edition is as jam-packed as ever and also includes a thought-provoking article by the HGI's Ethics Committee in which they consider some of the ethical dilemmas HG Practitioners may face.

Other articles, by a range of authors, include: Pain-free natural birth (for both mother and baby); Tomorrow's doctor: medical training and the human givens; and Closing angry files: a swift way to deal with distress triggered by anger.

Click here for full details.

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HG Publishing's Special Online Offers

And if you're thinking of taking out a subscription to the Human Givens Journal (please do – it is funded purely by our loyal subscribers!) why not make the most of HG Publishing's current offer – two free back issues with every new UK or Overseas subscription taken out online.

Many customers are currently also buying books and CDs as thought-provoking Christmas presents for their friends and colleagues, and HG Publishing currently has another special offer – buy all four books in the HG Self-Help Series (which includes How to lift depression ...fast, Freedom from Addiction, How to Master Anxiety and Release from Anger) for the price of three! Click here for details.

For details of all current special offers, click here.

Gift certificates are also available online for you to send to friends and colleagues further afield.

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One last thought...

"The essence of living is discovering. Indeed, it is discovering that makes life worth the effort."
Vijay Krishna

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We hope you've enjoyed this edition of the HGI e-newsletter.

If you are new and would like to continue receiving this newsletter, 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.)

And if you've got any suggestions or case histories, please send them to us.

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
Registered charity:www.hgfoundation.com
Blog: www.mindfields.org.uk/blog