Why was the human givens approach developed?
If you could read a potted history of psychotherapy you would see an evolution of break-neck speed from the birth of the field to the chaotic situation of today, where we have at least 650 models of counselling and psychotherapy. Although many of these offer some effective techniques and useful insights, overall we have an uncoordinated disarray of theories, terminology and methods, which causes confusion among both health professionals and those in need of help.
Mature sciences like chemistry, physics and engineering are built on a broad common ground of understanding. Despite the wealth of psychological and neuroscientific knowledge available to us, this is currently lacking in psychotherapy. It was to address this lack that the human givens overarching idea was first proposed.
Psychologists Joe Griffin and Ivan Tyrrell, co-founders of the human givens approach, looked to the fundamental principles of what it means to be human to develop a simple, robust, scientifically up-to-date, coordinated and agreed bio-psycho-social model of healthy human functioning: a shared language and a practical framework upon which to build an effective, integrative approach to emotional health which truly understands us as human beings with human needs.
Explore our articles and interviews
The uses and abuses of hypnosis
Ivan Tyrrell warns that hypnosis is a powerful tool that must be used with care, understanding and integrity.
Practising ethically
The HGI Ethics and Complaints Committee considers some of the ethical challenges that human givens practitioners may face. Ian Thomson sets the scene.
The Emotional Needs Scale
Brett Culham describes the outcome of his research to validate the needs-based human givens approach to psychological health.
“How can you sleep at night?”
What does it take for lawyers to be able to defend the perpetrators of shocking or morally indefensible crimes? Denise Winn tried to find out.
Why psychiatrists should be more like plumbers
Dr Farouk Okhai opens his casebook to show how the human givens approach can best help severely distressed people.
Why people with schizophrenia so often use illicit drugs
USE of illicit drugs is common in schizophrenia, with a recent meta-analysis showing that as many as one in four patients had ‘cannabis use disorder’.
"I went away with so many ideas"
How one session of human givens therapy was enough to transform the life of Sarah, a depressed single mother.
Just what couples need
Véronique Chown explores the value of the human givens approach in successful couples therapy.
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The alarming hijacking of the BioPsychoSocial model
HG-trained lobbyist Marion Brown has spotted an alarming reversal in the use of the bio-psycho-social model for mental health and wellbeing within the medical world.
Date posted: 24/04/2019
HGI's Emotional Needs Audit used to conduct survey into mental health and wellbeing in Ireland
Amárach Research have just published the results of their recent survey of the mental health and wellbeing of 1,000 adults in Ireland, using the Human Givens Emotoinal Needs Audit
Date posted: 07/03/2019