Tea, coffee and other refreshments

Jo Baker

Gareth Hughes

For any society to function we need some agreement about how we are to live together. But increasingly, any sense of agreement is breaking down in the Western world. While some argue that all moral views are equal, others see any variation from what they believe as a sign of immorality. Increasing polarisation means we aren’t even talking to each other in the same language or using the same framework. We can’t even agree what we are talking about. If we can’t even agree on the basics of right and wrong, how are we to build a society in which everyone is able to meet their needs in a healthy balance. How do we agree on what is right and what is wrong and how we should behave? Perhaps the Human Givens organising ideas and the scientific findings that support them, can help give us insight into how we create a framework to move forward.

Ivan Tyrrell

In this short presentation, Ivan Tyrrell presents a compelling case to show that it is.

Ros Townsend

The organising ideas of the human givens approach become ever richer the more deeply we explore and examine them. For many years the main focus has been on our innate needs – but now increased emphasis is being given to the resources that are an equal part of our inheritance. Ros Townsend explores how these innate resources, and the needs they seek to help us meet, leave us both as the most successful species on the planet and also at unique risk of moral distress and injury.

with Ivan Tyrrell and Ros Townsend

Tea, coffee and other refreshments

Pauline Ronan

How do we recognise that something doesn’t feel right morally or ethically? Pauline shares her experience of working in an HG way with ethical sensibilities involving a case of adolescent grooming; religious beliefs that, in one case, held a person back and in another dramatically enhanced life possibilities; and trying to dislodge deeply ingrained, damaging conditioning.

Ezra Hewing

Recognising shortcomings in our behaviour can be uncomfortable – especially when others draw attention to them! When strong emotional arousal prevents us from ‘doing the right thing’, it’s much easier to defend the moral highground and point the finger… So when clients are locked in moral conflicts with family, friends and work colleagues, how do we help them to understand other people’s ethical points of view?  And how do we recognise and work with our own blind spots or fixed ideas?

The recognition that stages in our moral development are shaped by needs for security, status, attention and belonging can help us to understand other people’s behaviour – and our own. Might we also be able to reach beyond these stages to exercise a conscience which is not ruled by our needs and biases. How do we work towards a freedom of conscience?

with Pauline Ronan and Ezra Hewing

Introduced by Jo Baker

Group work exploring a specific dilemma on this topic.

Introduced by Jo Baker

Group discussion

Julian Penton

We are in the profession of helping people to overcoming the barriers in the way of them successfully meeting their needs. What considerations might apply when making a judgement about the right thing to do to best serve a client in meeting their needs when they are at risk of harm? Particularly, how do we feel about taking the risk of being seen to have defied guidance – particularly from our own professional body –in cases where our actions might come to light? How comfortably does it sit with us if we prioritise rule following over our judgement that a client’s interests are not best served by strict adherence to those rules?

• Plus group work and feedback.

Tea, coffee and other refreshments

Laurie Castelli-Gair

We recognise human givens as both a practical therapeutic approach and a wider framework for understanding human needs, wellbeing, and flourishing. But what happens when progress does not unfold as we hoped, when familiar tools feel stretched, or when certain client presentations seem to sit at the edge of the model?  Are there times when other approaches, whether psychological, physical, psychosocial, or spiritual, might complement, challenge, or expand the way we think about human givens in a changing therapeutic landscape? Or do we sometimes rush to reach for additional techniques from other sources instead of truly availing ourselves of HG riches? Laurie Castelli-Gair has designed this session as a shared conversation to which you are invited to bring your own examples from practice: moments of challenge and uncertainty, and how you did or didn’t resolve it.

• Plus group and panel discussion

with Gareth Hughes

Time to reflex on all the content of the first day.

3 course buffet dinner

Tea, coffee and other refreshments

Jo Baker

Julian Penton

After finishing his HG training, Julian Penton thought that, with his new understanding of human nature and psychotherapy toolkit, he could help anyone, fast! Experience quickly instilled a necessary humility – and the task of working out when to stop working with some people and how to decide this. Some people decided this for themselves and never returned – early on in practice, this was decidedly uncomfortable. Were they not ready for change? Was there insufficient rapport? Was he not the ‘right’ therapist and how had someone decided this? Were the interventions used inexpertly or inappropriately applied? Julian leads a group discussion on how we deal with such concerns.

• Plus group discussion

Ros Townsend

In the HG approach to emotional health, it has always been stressed that we should avoid encouraging dependency in our clients. But what exactly does dependency mean? What is it that we should really be on guard against as therapists? And how can we ensure that our ego – our need to be a good HG therapist – does not get in the way of this? Ros Townsend presents a thought-provoking new perspective.

• Includes time for questions

Tea, coffee and other refreshments

Gareth Hughes

The government has ordered a review of over-diagnosis of mental illnesses. Newspaper headlines proclaim a crisis of young people self-diagnosing and articles claim that many are unable to tolerate normal stress and strains. But what are we actually talking about if we believe people who say they are ill, aren’t ill? Are abstract terms just being stacked one on top of another? Do any of the ways in which we talk about mental health make sense when we look at them properly and how do these conversations impact those who are in pain? How much do we miss if we aren’t listening properly? Gareth Hughes takes a deeper look.

• Includes group discussion

Denise Winn

We all know how important evidence is, particularly the valuable evidence gathered through use of Pragmatic Tracker, for showing effectiveness of our approach and enhancing HG acceptance. But how flawed are the research tools we have to work with? What criticisms can be levelled at symptom questionnaires, including PHQ9 and GAD7 – and ENA? How does it affect practitioners when figures on a graph don’t seem truly to reflect their work with a client? And how can we make best use of AI to further HG research potential? Denise Winn puts the questions for HG experts to answer.

• Bill Andrews will contribute via video link, followed by group discussion and questions.

included

Alex and Rosie Kennedy

Following the story of a single individual across the lifespan, from before birth through to parenthood, this session highlights the opportunities to make meaningful differences at various stages of a person’s life. Rosie and Alex share real-world insight into what this looks like across different contexts, services and life stages. They explore how emotional needs and coping strategies can shift across development and how services and professionals can work more effectively together to support individuals before crisis points are reached.

• Includes time for questions

Annette Henry, Kim Hood and Andy Tarrant, from the HGI’s Registration and Professional Standards Committee (RPSC), share best practice and case histories to help us avoid common pitfalls and maintain the highest ethical standards.

• Includes time for questions

Tea, coffee and other refreshments

Introduced by Jo Baker

Group work exploring a specific scenario.

Gareth Hughes

End of the conference weekend