Aims and Objectives

The holistic and unifying strength of the Institute is the shared perception among its members that the human givens approach endeavours to incorporate all current knowledge about the brain and body which has relevance for mental health and the wider society in which we all live. Thus the human givens approach is a continually evolving one, bringing in new knowledge and insights as they become available.

Our aims are:

• to raise general awareness of the givens of human nature – the needs which must be fulfilled and the innate resources that help us meet them in order to mentally healthy and fulfilled lives – which provides us with the framework for improving all forms of human endeavour and interaction
• to raise awareness of what constitutes effective therapy, such as that offered by the human givens approach
• to improve access to human givens therapy, including via GPs and the NHS
• to extend the use of the human givens approach in other fields, such as education, social care, business and diplomacy
• to improve the way children are educated
• to improve services for mentally and emotionally disturbed people
• to enhance community life, helping make it more humane and tolerant
• to show why human life is intrinsically meaningful.

In addition, the HGI oversees reviews of related scientific studies and relates them to the broad information base from which the human givens concept derives.

It monitors examination standards at the Human Givens College, sets standards of professional practice in this area, and organises local, national and international meetings to advance knowledge of the human givens perspective.

It speaks for all its members, which include psychotherapists, counsellors, teachers, social workers and others in the medical/caring professions, who use this approach and the therapeutic and educational techniques that underpin it.