HG Newsletter - January 2021

In this issue:

• Mapping the mind
• Why context is important
• Early bird offer ending soon
• All in the Mind Awards 2021
• 3 Diploma Workshops – live online
• How to reduce suicide risk
• More creativity!
• Food for thought
   

 

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Mapping the mind

Amongst increasing warnings of a mental health crisis, it’s been reported that over 6m people in England were prescribed anti-depressants in the three months to September alone. Lockdown, bereavement, uncertainty and the loss of freedom and control against the background of the wider impact of the pandemic on a global scale have created high levels of anxiety in a population that was promised different outcomes and feels ill-equipped to cope with the lives they are living now. The same is happening in many other countries around the world.

In recent years, the emergence of mental health difficulties from behind the screen of stigma has been hailed as progress – as indeed it is. Many thousands have been grateful for a diagnosis to help explain the darkness and distress they experience… [Read article]

 

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Why context is important

“It is impossible to overrate the importance of context because nothing at all exists in isolation. It only ever exists in relation to other things... Both as a society and in the individual psyche, we’re beginning to lose the overall importance that you can never deal with something out of context. What we believe is that by breaking things down into component parts we really understand them. But it’s just as true that you only understand the parts if you know the whole that they’re composing, because in that context they’re different.”  

Iain McGilchrist

 

You’ve still got time to grab one of the last remaining places on next week’s Context is Everything live online event from The Conciliators Guild. Covering working and living more in context, this half-day course uses three main examples: diplomacy, the media and bureaucracy, to illustrate key points and is taking place via Zoom on Wednesday  27th January (1.30–4.30pm GMT).

You can find out more here – and book your place here.

 

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Early Bird Offer ending soon

Last month we shared news of our first international online summit – The Lifting Depression Summit, which will be hosted on Saturday 27th February by the HGI.

This event is for anyone working with depression, experiencing depression or looking to help someone else who is depressed.  Expert speakers will explain – and demonstrate – how depression can be lifted quickly and effectively, will answer your questions about depression and signpost you to where you can find help or learn the methods covered.

Tickets are selling quickly at the early bird rate – which has been extended – so you can still benefit if you haven’t yet booked your place.  To find out more and book your tickets, please visit: www.liftdepressionsummit.com/

 

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All in the Mind Awards 2021

Have you experienced mental health difficulties now or in the past? Is there a person or group that has made a huge difference to you? Claudia Hammond and BBC Radio 4 want to recognise the people and organisations that have gone above and beyond the call of duty to help you with your mental health.

If you’ve been helped by a human givens therapist or organisation like PTSD Resolution, perhaps you might like to nominate them for an award? There are 3 categories: Individual, Professional and Project. The closing date for nominations is 31st January 2021.  You can find out more here.

 

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HG Diploma Part 1 courses – live online

As a result of the latest UK lockdown, HG College has postponed some of its attended workshops in Leamington Spa – the rescheduled dates are available on the website – and has also decided to run 3 of its Part 1 Diploma-linked workshops live online for the first time.

Not all of the Diploma training is suitable for delivering online, but we hope that this step will enable more people to attend these particular courses (How to tell stories that heal, How to control Chronic Anxiety and How to lift depression) from further afield. Places are limited so it’s recommended you book soon if you’d like to attend.

You can view all live online courses here.

 

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How to reduce suicide risk

Sadly, with the increased pressures from the impact of Covid-19, the number of people feeling suicidal is increasing. Knowing exactly what you need to do if you're faced with someone who is so distressed they're considering taking their own life – or you suspect that they might – is therefore essential.

To help with this situation, HG College is running a NEW live online training day on Wednesday 3rd February, How to reduce suicide risk – the practical steps you need.  Expert tutor, Malcolm Hanson has a wealth of experience in this area and will cover the skills and information you need to work confidently and respectfully with people who are struggling to find reasons to stay alive.

To find out more or book your place please call 01323 811690 or click here

 

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More creativity in lockdown!

As well as the links and references given in my article which may inspire you or encourage you to think differently, I was amused to hear of some others recently which are pure entertainment.  A simple web search will find links to, for example, virtual travel tours and how to call strangers (in a safe way), as well as other suggestions given last month.

Our own Judith Desbonne has told me that her choir has been meeting on Zoom, not so much to sing but to socialise: they have played charades and had their own version of Desert Island Discs.  A variation on the theme could be Dessert Island Discs, where all selections have to be pudding or sweet related. Tutti Frutti anyone?

Amongst other therapists, Debbie Banks has learned to paint with acrylics via YouTube (the result is amazing!); Lucy Carpenter Perkin is doing the ‘Couch to 5k’ challenge, and as for yours truly, I’m supporting January Daily Dip in aid of Crisis at Christmas and swimming locally throughout the winter to complete the Polar Bear Challenge. 

When faced with adversity it’s amazing how creative the human spirit can be.

 

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Food for thought

“We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time”

T.S.Eliot - The Four Quartets: Little Gidding (V)

 

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