HG Newsletter - December 2018

In this issue:

• Children's Social Worker of the Year Award 2018
• Reigate Businesswomen learn about HG
• Calling all therapists – Pragmatic Tracker
• HG Christmas opening hours

"​​​​​​​Christmas is coming, the geese are getting fat
Please put a penny in the old man's hat
If you haven't got a penny, a ha'penny will do
If you haven't got a ha'penny, then God bless you!"​​​​​​​

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​As this old nursery rhyme says, during times of cultural festivity (whether that’s Christmas, Thanksgiving, Rosh Hashanah, Diwali, Hogmanay or any of our world celebrations) we’re encouraged to dial up our sense of community spirit, give generously, take notice of our neighbours and help provide food and shelter for the homeless. As the lyrics suggest, if we “haven’t got a ha’penny” then we ourselves must be the ones in need of help.

​​​​​​​This sentiment has always begged the question, to my mind, why just at special times? Shouldn’t we be conscious of our community all the time? One of our essential emotional needs is for community connection and we can’t be passive about that. And “haven’t got a ha’penny” need not only be alluding to lack of money, shelter or food, but perhaps to lack of community connection, the ability or opportunity to give and receive attention, the presence of a stable family, or the unconditional love of someone close. In other words, the lack of one or more of our vital human needs – without which we suffer.

Chris Dyas is one among us who is actively helping his community through his outstanding work with children. In recognition of this he has recently received a well-deserved gold standard social work award...

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Children's Social Worker of the Year Award 2018

HG trained NSPCC practitioner Chris Dyas was named 2018 UK Children’s Social Worker of the Year at the Social Work Awards' national ceremony earlier this month.

​​​​​​​Chris, who works in Stoke on Trent, has developed a training course, Single Opportunity Counselling (SOC), which he introduced to us in a lively talk at the HGI conference last May.

He explains his idea this way: “Just suppose you have just one opportunity to talk to a child, you don’t know what they want to talk about in advance, and you have no prior training or experience in counselling… what are the minimum skills and knowledge you would need to maximise the chances of being helpful? SOC is a way of learning these skills and knowledge in a one-day / one-off workshop, using vivid metaphors and stories that make it understandable, memorable, and usable straight away.

"SOC is deeply rooted in years of working with the HG approach. It consists of: an assessment tool for identifying current unmet emotional needs, a set of rapid calming techniques, and four conversation tools designed to address the most common reasons a troubled child will approach an adult for help.”

Chris put this idea to his Local Safeguarding Children Board who set up a pilot training day in February 2018. The workshop has proved so popular that 300 professionals from over 80 local agencies have now completed it. Further dates have been planned for 2019, including in-house days for the police, local authority family support staff and the city’s foster carers. There has also been interest from Keele University’s social work and teacher training departments about integrating it into their undergraduate courses.

Chris’s ambition is, by this time next year, for every child in the city to know at least one adult who can do SOC – and it’s cost next to nothing to achieve.

> Send us your questions for Chris...

​Early in 2019, Chris will be joining us for a Q&A podcast session – please send any questions you'd like us to ask him to [email protected]

 

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Reigate Businesswomen learn about HG

At her recent Reigate Businesswomen Workshop HG Practitioner < a href="https://www.hgi.org.uk/find-therapist/therapist/sally-nilsson">Sally Nilsson was host to 28 local women who were either starting a small business, already running one or looking to expand.  As mental health plays such an important role for these busy women, most of whom are working mums, it was a great opportunity to share the best techniques Human Givens has to offer.

​​​​​​​In between listening to 6 inspiring business journeys covering workplace bullying on the London stage, PTSD after a difficult birth, caring for a mother with mental illness and setting up a pole dancing studio against the odds, Sally enjoyed sharing the remarkable benefits of 7/11 breathing with a demonstration for all.

​​​​​​​A brief emotional needs audit went down a treat and certainly surprised the audience, as did the concept of focussing on needs not being met in balance by using their innate resources. Learning about spare capacity was also very helpful, ensuring that these women are not in danger of burnout, stress or depression symptoms and can enjoy a good work-life balance.

Sally’s audience went away with a full toolbox of fabulous Human Givens emotional wellbeing techniques and she was delighted to receive many excellent reviews of the highly successful workshop. ​​​​​​​As Sally says, “I used the Human Givens framework to show the audience that it is possible to succeed in business when you are using your innate resources to get your emotional needs met in balance.”

The Federation of Small Businesses are looking to sponsor Sally for another HG workshop in the New Year, in the meantime she continues her work as a Human Givens Practitioner from her therapy room in Brockham (between Reigate and Dorking).

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Calling all therapists - Pragmatic Tracker

All HG therapists, both trainees and those already qualified, can choose to use the Pragmatic Tracker outcome measures if they wish.

Pragmatic Tracker is a wonderful resource if you want to measure client progress using the latest technology and at no extra cost to you, if you are a Graduate or Registered MHGI member of the Human Givens Institute.

If you would like to know more, please contact Bill Andrews directly at [email protected]  He is happy to give tutorials to small groups using zoom or skype.

 

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Christmas Opening Hours

Like everyone else, the staff at the main HG Office need a bit of time to rest and recharge their batteries before the new year, so the Human Givens College, Publishing and Institute offices will be closed from 5.30pm on Friday 21st December until Wednesday 2nd January 2019.

​​​​​​​You can still purchase courses and publications online over the holidays, and should you or anyone you know need the help of a counsellor or therapist, please visit the HGI’s online register of HG therapists to find your nearest one.

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One last thought...

"There is no power for change greater than a ​​​​​​​community discovering ​​​what it cares about"

Meg Wheatley, American author on organisational behaviour

 

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