‘Doing the right thing’
Saturday 9th–Sunday 10th May 2026. Woodland Grange, Leamington Spa, UK.
Overview
Have you ever been working with a client and not known the right thing to do? Or faced choices in the therapy room, knowing there were downsides and risks to every option? Or sometimes felt out of your depth with a client, even if you are an experienced therapist? Perhaps you have struggled to accommodate clients’ views, on, say, immigration or sexuality or the Gaza situation, which conflict with your own? Or maybe you have used understandings from outside HG, such as polyvagal theory, without recognising when these are not based on firm scientific ground?
Perhaps you have worked with clients who are struggling to adapt to changing attitudes and an environment in which knowing what is right feels increasingly difficult? Or with clients who despair because they can’t understand why everyone doesn’t take the same moral view as they do?
As therapists and counsellors we are constantly faced with challenging dilemmas and it can be difficult to be sure what to do. We live in a culture in which agreements about what is right or wrong, good or bad, proven or provisional, seem to change quickly or break down completely. We may find ourselves more uncertain professionally. How can we safeguard ourselves as well as those we work with, but without losing our spontaneity, creativity and rapport as HG practitioners?
For the 2026 biennial in-person HGI conference, our theme is “Doing the right thing”. We plan to focus on issues that therapists can see in everyday practice, often without recognising the pitfalls they present or even being conscious that there is a problem. Common instances may include:
- confusing our needs with the needs of our clients
- allowing therapy to go on for too long
- treating some clients differently from others because of personal feelings
- struggling to own up to mistakes
- deciding when the risks of breaking confidentiality for legal reasons may be greater than not doing so
- recognising or resisting that we are out of our depth with a client
- dos and don’ts of tricky issues such as pretrial therapy for trauma
- navigating workplace demands (eg pressure to terminate therapy fast) that conflict with client needs
- challenging/sidestepping client views we may find distasteful
- handling a client becoming dependent/seeking a different type of relationship
- fine lines in remaining professional on social media (including Whatsapp)
- engaging with theories/approaches which are not part of HG teaching
- reluctance to make the most of supervision
- handling historical abuse without losing rapport
We want to explore a whole range of such issues through lively presentations, head-to-head debates and wider discussions, so that we can all leave the event with greater awareness and understanding; and see how HG can bring clarity to these challenges and highlight resources for meeting them. Our aim is for the conference to be informative and eye opening and continue to provoke thought well after the event.
Programme
Full programme and speakers – TBA as soon as possible.