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Members News - Archive 2023

 

20th December 2023

Self-Compassion Research Project Survey

Ottoline Hart – a practising HG therapist based in Berlin and London – is looking for participants to take part in a short survey on her primary focus area, self-compassion, as part of a research study she is conducting for her MSc in Psychology, which has been approved by the College of Health, Medicine and Life Science Research Ethics Committee at Brunel.

Participation involves filling out a short 5 minute questionnaire on self-compassion, self-esteem and work outcomes.  Your participation in this research would be entirely voluntary, anonymous, and confidential, and would contribute to the growing body of evidence on the impacts of self-compassion.

The criteria for taking part are:

  • +18 years
  • be employed for +6 months
  • be working +24 hours per week
  • employed by an organisation with 5+ employees

The link to the questionnaire is https://brunellifesc.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6L7P12wDNYo0F82, and data collection will end by 27th December.

The researcher's contact email is [email protected] if you'd like to find out more.

25th November 2023

Members News Bulletin

End of an era....

What will sadly be the last issue of the Human Givens Journal is currently being artworked before going to print for publication in December – as ever, it's packed full of interesting articles, interviews and more.

Denise Winn has been a wonderful editor over the years and we’ve all benefited from her expertise and judgement, superb writing skills and professionalism, but, as many of you already know, she wishes to step down from the role. We have made considerable efforts over the last year to find a new editor or even a team to take on the journal. However, despite the much appreciated keenness of many who came forward to try to help, Denise’s particular combination of skills has proved impossible to replace. Rather than reduce the standard of the journal, therefore, we took the hard decision to cease publication altogether.

We still intend to publish interesting articles in the future or come up with an alternative form of reporting back on human givens ideas, progress and news, but for the moment this is where we stand.

Of course, we are aware that the journal has been a part of your entitlement as members of HGI. Although we are so very sorry to lose the journal, ceasing production does mean that we will not now have to increase membership fees next year, which would have been required otherwise to cover escalating costs, including those incurred by our important SCoPeD involvement, PSA accreditation and the new website which is being built. This has not in any way influenced our thinking, but being able to keep fees the same for the time being is one small positive we can draw from it.

Memberships outside the UK

Historically, members living outside the UK have always paid £8 more to reflect the additional postage costs of sending out the journal. This amount will now drop so that all members are charged the same.

So, if you have an overseas standing order set up (it will be either £68, £128 or £158) please amend it to deduct the extra £8 postage cost for the next time it comes up for renewal, bringing it down to either £60, £120 or £150.00, depending on your level of membership.

Thank you

We hope you will all join us in thanking both Denise, and Ivan, as editorial director and originator of the Journal, for their hard and inspiring work over the decades.

Back issues of the journal will remain on sale, and will continue to provide a valuable resource to anyone interested in what makes us tick or in helping others more effectively.

New Human Givens book 2024NEW 'Human Givens' book - Publication: January 2024

This revised and updated edition of Human Givens, which will be published in January, contains a wealth of new material and research findings that support the HG approach and its basic contentions. It also looks afresh at other areas, such as gender identity and neurodiversity.

As soon as it is available to order – we will let you know.

New Board Member and Membership Secretary

We were very pleased to welcome Elizabeth Nihan officially to the HGI Board in July. She brings a wealth of knowledge and experience with her: after completing a degree in psychology, she worked as a teacher and lecturer for over twenty-five years, gaining considerable experience of working with children, teenagers and adults. Elizabeth is an experienced human givens therapist, having spent many years in private practice and is also currently in the process of setting up a new school for young people with social, emotional and behavioural needs.

Natasha Theobald - HGI Membership SecretaryWe would also like to introduce Natasha Theobald, our new Membership Secretary, who some of you may have already spoken to. Although she has only been with us a few weeks, she's settled in to the role quickly and will be happy to answer any questions you may have about your membership.

New Membership Levels

As covered in our August bulletin the HGI Membership levels will be changing in February next year. Gareth Hughes gave a helpful Zoom presentation in October which explained exactly what's involved in applying for the new senior registered membership levels, which enable members to move from SCoPEd's Column A, to B or C should they wish to. Applications will open in February 2024.

If you haven't seen the webinar yet, you can watch it here: https://www.hgi.org.uk/scoped-project/scoped-qa-session

We will be running another Zoom session early in the new year ahead of opening for applications – and more information about the changes to membership titles will follow nearer the time in this Bulletin.

Support PTSDR - the BIG GIVE

PTSD Resolution relies on charitable donations to provide human givens therapy that is compassionate, effective and local free to veterans, reservists and affected family members via the HGI's network of HG therapists. Their new Impact report details the great work donations support.

Each year PTSD Resolution take part in the BIG GIVE which doubles any donations they receive – this year it's taking place between Tuesday 28th November and Tuesday 5th December. Please spread the word and help if you can – find out more here >

23rd September 2023

Members News Bulletin

Webinar for HGI Members - Update on New Membership Levels

Following on from our last update in August's bulletin detailing the latest SCoPEd news and upcoming changes to HGI Membership levels, Gareth Hughes will be giving a Zoom presentation on Friday 13th October at 10.30am.

In this next session Gareth will explain exactly what's involved in applying for the new senior registered membership levels, which enable members to move from SCoPEd's Column A, to B or C should they wish to.

As well as talking you through the changes and the application process, there will be plenty of opportunities for questions – if you have some already, please enter them when you register for your place using the button below. There will also be a recording for anyone who is unable to attend on the day.

Applications will open in February 2024 – and we will host an additional webinar in January 2024, to answer any further questions members may have at that point.

> Register here

Supervisors' CPD – and Course

The next biennial in-person CPD day for HG Supervisors is taking place on Saturday 7th October 2023, at Woodland Grange in Leamington Spa (9am–5:30pm).

This CPD day is mandatory for all supervisors to attend, offering as it does:

  • A vital opportunity to maintain the standards of HG therapy by keeping abreast of HG training developments and any current HGI issues
  • A valuable chance for supervisors to discuss aspects of the supervision role with their peers.

Topics to be covered include: a teaching update: key techniques; SCoPEd – supporting your supervisees through the application process; working with people – the role of culture, background and identity. There will also be working groups to discuss and shape the future of some important aspects of the HG community.

We recognise that for a very few supervisors, exceptional circumstances may prevent attendance. However, the day does form a key part of ensuring that our supervisory body are appropriately trained and engaging with CPD, in order to meet the standards expected for both continued PSA accreditation and engagement with the SCoPEd framework (the latter of which will ultimately provide equivalency with BACP registration for HG therapists). For this reason, if you are a supervisor who is unable to attend the day in person, then a requirement of continued registration as a supervisor will be to provide the registration and standards committee with a personal CPD plan, shared with your own supervisor, to address the areas covered during the day.

If you are a supervisor and you haven't yet confirmed your place, please contact the office on 01323 811690 – many thanks to those of you who have already done so.

Would you like to become an HG Supervisor?

Following the success of the recent HG Supervisor Training Course and the increase in HG trainees HG College are looking to run another HG Supervisor training course in Spring 2025 – if you might like to attend, you can register your interest here >

More details will follow nearer the time.

NEW recommended CPD for HG Therapists

Jo Baker's new live online webinar covers a problem more and more people are having to deal with – Understanding Eating Difficulties gives you greater insight into the ways eating difficulties present, why anyone can experience difficulties around food, the importance of early intervention, how best to communicate with someone who is struggling and much more. Running on Thursday 5th October, the webinar is an essential introduction to her Working with Eating Difficulties workshop designed specifically for HG Therapists, which is taking place in London in April next year.

Another new live online course, suitable for new or experienced HG therapists: The Missing Links – Affect Bridge, Molar Memories and Sub-threshold Trauma is also filling up fast – delivered by Ros Townsend, it will help you gain confidence in working safely and ethically with affect bridges to discover if an unhelpful pattern, in the form of a molar memory or sub-threshold trauma is at the root of their experience, and what to do next...  The course is running on Tues 17th October and we envisage it being repeated once a year.

Rupinder Mahil's new Dealing with Conflict workshop is to become a Diploma-linked workshop in 2024 as it covers a wealth of essential information and techniques that are applicable not only to personal relationships, but all areas of human interaction, and also looks at the positives that can be gained from conflict if it is managed well. It is also recommended by the HGI as valuable CPD for existing HG therapists.

2024 Conference

As per our recent conference bulletin, plans are steaming ahead for next year's exciting in-person conference which will be on the theme of 'Seeing how to see' and take place in Leamington Spa on Saturday 20th – Sunday 21st April 2024 – we hope you can join us – please save the date!

If you missed that bulletin, you can read it here on the members area, it gives details of the developing programme as well as information about how to submit ideas for talks around the conference's theme – find out more >

HG Journal Collection - 10 years' worth for free!

As the HG Journal sadly comes to the end of its life in its current printed form, we've received a very generous offer from a long-standing fan of HG. He has a complete printed set of the last 10 years of the Journal which he would like to offer to anyone who would benefit from them, for the price of postage.

If you are interested in taking up this generous offer – please contact the HG Office asap, so we can put you in contact with him. The first person to contact us will be the lucky recipient!

14th September 2023

HGI Conference 2024

Latest News – and call for speakers

We are delighted to confirm that the next HGI conference will be held in Leamington Spa on Saturday 20th and Sunday 21st April 2024 – please save the date!

Instead of a mix of presentations based loosely around a theme, for next year's conference we are planning a highly interactive CPD event which will tackle some professionally and personally challenging questions, with the aim of building knowledge and understanding together as the weekend progresses.

The theme is “Seeing how to see”.

How we see the world shapes the way that we experience it. Equally, the patterns and experiences that form us change the way we see the world.

Those of our clients can determine what they focus on and what they notice, so we must first establish rapport with our clients by entering their models of reality. But this poses a challenge because our own patterns and experiences can prevent us from seeing them clearly. We may be impacted by, among other things:

  • our professional view – how we view mental health can determine what problems we see and what solutions are available. Seeing the cause of mental illness as biological, social, environmental or due to past experiences will affect how we approach our clients and what we think they need
  • our cultural view – the culture(s) we experience shape how we see and understand the world and this can affect the way we perceive the stories our clients tell us
  • our personal view – we all have our own history and experiences that shape our perceptions.

We have sourced presentations already that will address:

  • how perception changes the way we view mental health
  • whether diagnostic labels sharpen our focus or limit our perceptions
  • ways we can better train ourselves to look through our clients’ eyes
  • how we can prevent patterns from becoming ingrained, so that we can keep learning
  • how we can use the human givens organising ideas as a lens to better understand mental health, our clients and the world.

To give attendees the opportunity to share their own thoughts, plenty of time for discussion will be built into the programme.

It should be a fascinating conference, with much of practical, professional use to take away. So please save the dates in your diary now. Bookings will open later in the year.

Call for speakers

We have a small number of speaking slots available for sessions that closely fit the theme. We are particularly keen to see proposals that explore how different backgrounds and experiences can shape the way we view mental health and therapy (e.g. how cultural influences, faith, sexuality or the roles we occupy in society can change how we see).

If you wish to submit a suggestion, please complete the online form via the link below by Friday 20th October 2023.

> Submit your talk proposal

Thank you. We hope to see you in April!

9th August 2023

Members News Bulletin

SCoPEd – update on progress

All six organisations involved in SCoPEd have been working closely over the last few months to provide clear routes for their counselling and psychotherapy members to be able to transition between the 3 columns of the SCoPEd Framework. The detailed requirements and application processes for each organisation needed to be agreed by all of the others, which has now happened.

As a result, the HGI is planning to make some changes to its membership levels, as Dr Gareth Hughes originally sketched out in his presentation on the benefits to HG of SCoPEd, which you can watch here >

We will be sending out full details of the new membership levels, related requirements and application processes in the autumn, but in brief they will involve:

  • a change of name for Trainee Membership (from Graduate Membership to Trainee Membership, which will be clearer for the general public)
  • no change to the current Registered Membership level, which equates to Column A in the framework
  • the addition of 2 further membership levels: Accredited Member and Senior Accredited Member, which will equate to Columns B and C of the framework respectively
  • there will be a one-off fee for applying for Accredited or Senior Accredited membership, which is to cover the related admin and assessment of an application, but membership fees should remain consistent whatever fully
  • qualified level members are at.

Gareth, along with Malcolm Hanson, has worked hard to ensure that the process and requirements of the new membership levels align with the HG approach and do not entail anything contrary to it. Upgrading to a more senior membership level will be kept as simple and straightforward as possible, so that members wishing to change their membership will be able to evidence that they meet the necessary requirements as easily as possible. We will be providing support and guidance to help members do this and will separately brief supervisors, so they are in a position to support their supervisees.

We will host a further webinar for members in October, which is when we intend to release the application paperwork, so members can begin to review it and prepare their applications. The webinar will talk members through the application and answer any question you may have. We will host an additional webinar in January 2024, to answer any additional questions members may have at that point.

We will open for applications in February 2024.

NEW CPD for HG Therapists

HG College has just launched a new live online course, suitable for new or experienced HG therapists: The Missing Links – Affect Bridge, Molar Memories and Sub-threshold Trauma. Delivered by Ros Townsend, it will help you gain confidence in working safely and ethically with affect bridges to discover if an unhelpful pattern, in the form of a molar memory or sub-threshold trauma is at the root of their experience, and what to do next... The course is running on Tues 17th October and we envisage it being repeated once a year.

Additional recommended CPD

The new Dealing with Conflict workshop, run by Rupinder Mahil, is to become a Diploma-linked workshop in 2024 as it covers a wealth of essential information and techniques that are applicable not only to personal relationships, but all areas of human interaction, and also looks at the positives that can be gained from conflict if it is managed well. It is also recommended by the HGI as valuable CPD for existing HG therapists.

Likewise, Dr Andrew Morrice's Mind-Body Connection workshops – which are running as One-off special events this September in Bristol – are highly recommended to all HG therapists as they provide rich, detailed knowledge and new insights from the latest mind-body research which will give you new practical ways to help both you and your clients improve mental and physical health – and much more. You can currently Save 15% on both days when booking them together. View the courses here >

In addition, Jo Baker is currently preparing a live online webinar about Understanding eating difficulties which will be run this autumn and a new date for her occasional workshop on practical skills for Working with Eating Difficulties using the human givens approach has just been announced – it will be in London on Tuesday 16th April.

2024 in-person Conference

Plans are already underway for our next in-person conference which is provisionally going to be on the weekend of 20th–21st April, depending on venue availability.  More details will follow as soon as we have them.

The Lifting Depression Summit – replay available

In response to several requests, we have made the replay of our popular first online conference: The Lifting Depression Summit available to purchase here > If you attended the original event and don't have a copy in your online portal account, but would like it, please email [email protected]

The replay of the Overcoming Addiction Summit is also still available for anyone who missed it – you can buy it here >

Both replays provide much-needed funds to support the work of the HGI – so please spread the word to anyone else you think would find them interesting!

New HGI Website

After a pause last year, the project to design and build a new website for the HGI is now fully underway – thank you to everyone who gave us their feedback and thoughts on the current website, these have been fed into the brief for the new one. A main focus of the new design will be to improve the navigation and functionality of the Therapists' register and members' area, the latter will also have a separate search facility to help members find what they need. For the first time, there will also be a simple register of Trainee therapists to help reassure the public of the individual's qualification level, ethical practice etc. We will keep you updated with progress via these bulletins.

PTSD Resolution Conference

Early Bird Tickets

All HG Therapists are invited to the PTSD Resolution Conference on October 14, 2023, at the Victory Services Club, 63-79 Seymour Street, London W2 2HF. This one-day event, organised by the team at PTSD Resolution, brings together HG therapists from across the UK to explore the latest in PTSD treatment and research. Lunch is provided in the ticket price and the event counts as CPD. The conference offers a unique opportunity to network, share insights, and deepen your understanding of therapy for forces’ veterans and their families. Please see PTSD Resolution's new Impact Report. The range of topics led by experienced fellow professionals includes:

  • Project 100 latest
  • NICE Guidelines on Real-World Evidence
  • Neurodivergence
  • Complexity
  • Pragmatic Tracker
  • and more...

The event promises to be both informative and inspiring and is a significant gathering to help make a difference in the lives of those who've served their country. Early bird tickets here >

28th July 2023

Change to NICE guidelines on risk and safety planning

The Professional Standards Authority recently wrote to its accredited registers, asking them to ensure that their members are both aware of and comply with the October 2022 changes to NICE guidelines on risk assessment specifically in relation to the use of assessment tools, below is the relevant extract:

1.6 – Risk assessment tools and scales
1.6.1 – Do not use risk assessment tools and scales to predict future suicide or repetition of self-harm.
1.6.2 – Do not use risk assessment tools and scales to determine who should and should not be offered treatment or who should be discharged.
1.6.3 – Do not use global risk stratification into low, medium or high risk to predict future suicide or repetition of self-harm.
1.6.4 – Do not use global risk stratification into low, medium or high risk to determine who should be offered treatment or who should be discharged.
1.6.5 – Focus the assessment (see the section on principles for assessment and care by healthcare professionals and social care practitioners) on the person's needs and how to support their immediate and long-term psychological and physical safety. 
1.6.6 – Mental health professionals should undertake a risk formulation as part of every psychosocial assessment.
 
Please Note: Human Givens has never advocated the use of predictive tools, nor their use as a deciding factor in eligibility for treatment. (To clarify, the risk questions in the outcome measures and the Cole-King continuum are methods for ‘risk formulation’ so that the therapist and client can discuss the client’s situation in the present moment as part of routine treatment.)

It is important, however, that we are now even more explicit about this and communicate these updates. The HGI's risk assessment policy has been updated to draw attention to this, and Malcolm Hanson's How to reduce suicide risk training is also being updated to emphasise this further.

Please take some time to read through the guidelines in the link above as well as the letter from the Chief Coroner, which was sent out to all coronorers in the summer of 2022. This puts coronors on notice that the use of suicide risk assessments which stratify risk and seek to predict suicide is unacceptable practice and may lead to the issuance of Prevention of Future Death reports.

31st May 2023

AGM 2023 - Replay now available

Thank you to everyone who attended this year's AGM and for all your questions. The replay is now available to view in the HGI members area here.

> View the AGM Replay

26th April 2023

Members News Bulletin

Next AGM – Thursday 25th May

You are invited to attend our AGM which will be held online via Zoom on Thursday 25th May from 3pm–5pm.

 The purpose of the AGM is to update HGI members with the work that has been carried out over the last year and enable you to give the HGI board feedback and ask questions.  The full agenda, reports and joining instructions will be emailed out to all members shortly.

Reserve your place >

Here is a link to last year's meeting. We will be recording the meeting again this year. > View the previous AGM (January 2022)

Your SCoPEd questions answered – recording available

Following the HGI's adoption of the SCoPEd framework in February, Dr Gareth Hughes ran an illuminating Zoom session about its benefits for HG and how it will affect HG therapists, and HG therapy's profile in general. The event was well attended and gave Gareth the chance to set quite a few people's minds at rest.

If you missed it, you can view the session here >

Your opinions needed – memory beliefs of health professionals

Pamela Radcliffe has contacted the HGI as she is carrying out research for her PhD into the memory beliefs held by therapeutic and mental health professionals within the United Kingdom. She would like as many Human Givens Therapists as possible to complete the survey as she considers the views of HG therapeutic professionals to comprise an important part of her study.  More details are below:

About this study
Clinicians and therapeutic mental health professionals often require patients to relate personal experiences that occurred a long time ago. Professionals’ views about memory function and reliability play a pivotal role in determining what questions are asked and how answers are evaluated.  A scientifically informed understanding of memory function is important to optimise best practice and health outcomes. This voluntary study aims to capture new information on UK mental health professionals’ memory beliefs. Collected data will assist future professional education. 
About the survey
Any recognised therapeutic or mental health professional is eligible to take part. The survey is anonymous, confidential and quick (about 12 mins). It is completed at the participant’s private location on any e-device. It is accessed via an e-link to a secure password-protected online survey-platform 'Qualtrics'. A Participant Information Sheet (PIS) outlines the study and explains how study data will be utilised and stored. Express consent is required. Initial demographic questions on age, sex, ethnicity and country location are followed by the memory survey. Participants respond by agreeing or disagreeing with a given statement, or giving a number, or one word. No personal data is sought. Participants may skip questions or quit the survey at any time. This is all explained in the PIS.
This study has been approved by the University of Portsmouth's Science and Health Ethics Committee and is funded by the ESRC and South Coast Doctoral Training Pathway and will form part of the researcher’s PhD dissertation.

Take the survey here >

Overcoming Addiction Summit – replay now available

Our latest summit took place online in March and was a great success, with 100s of people attending from around the world.  Our sincere thanks go to all of the Speakers and the conference working group for making it such an interesting and useful day – and to Jane Tyrrell for stepping in at the last minute to chair after Sue Gray lost her voice! 

If you missed the event, or know someone who would be interested in it – you can now buy the replay here >

For more information visit: www.addiction-summit.com

HG Journal – could you help produce this valuable resource?

As you may be aware, after 26 years as editor of the Human Givens Journal, Denise Winn will be stepping down at the end of 2023. Despite advertising for a successor last year, we have been unable to find any one person who could fulfil the role currently carried out by Denise, who is admittedly leaving rather big boots to fill!

So we are thinking afresh and considering setting up a group comprising individuals with the interest and ability to take on/learn individual aspects of producing the journal – for instance:

  • finding books to review and commissioning/writing reviews
  • finding relevant research to summarise, which supports our approach or provides new scientific knowledge that can inform practice
  • sourcing/writing articles on agreed topics
  • editing articles
  • identifying worthy interview subjects and carrying out, transcribing and editing interviews.

Each of these roles will be paid according to an agreed maximum for time spent. The ability to be self-motivating and keep to deadlines is essential. Denise would be willing to help the new team in an informal advisory role initially.

If you are interested in becoming part of a team to help ensure the valuable work of the HG Journal continues, we would love to hear from you – please email details of your relevant experience (including HG knowledge) to [email protected] by 31st May.

Also under discussion is how we might publish the journal content in the future – ie not necessarily in a physical format. If you have experience in this area, we’d also like to hear from you.

Supervisor training

As many of you will be aware HG College recently launched a new supervisor-tutor training course. Julian Penton, Ros Townsend and Jo Baker have been in Leeds with a group of very experienced practitioners who are on the first half of the course. The participants are being trained to support trainee HG therapists through Part 3 and beyond, as well as to take on qualified and experienced HG therapists as supervisees, once they have successfully passed the course. 

PTSD Resolution's 2023 Conference

It has just been announced that this year's PTSD Resolution conference will be held on Saturday 14th October  in central London – venue TBD.  Their bi-annual conference is aimed at, and for, Human Givens Therapists as both a showcase of their brilliant work (as reflected by the results of Project 100) and by providing useful presentations on a wide range of relevant subjects, including NICE guidelines for Real World Evidence, neurodivergence, Complexity and Pragmatic Tracker.

If you have a suggestion for topics to be included, or would like to know more about how to attend, please email

[email protected]

21st April 2023

Save the date - Annual General Meeting - Thurs 25th May 2023

You are invited to our next Online HGI AGM on Thursday 25th May from 3pm – 5pm (BST). The purpose of the AGM is to update HGI members with the work that has been carried out over the last year and enable you to give the HGI board feedback and ask questions. We also hope to have one or two short presentations to stimulate discussion and pass on information.

The live event is limited to 100 people so please use the button below to book your place.

> Book your place now

Please send any questions you may have ahead of the meeting to the HGI Board via [email protected]

The full agenda, reports and joining instructions will follow soon.

Here is a link to last year's meeting. We will be recording the meeting again this year.

> View the previous AGM (January 2022)

We look forward to seeing as many of you as possible.

15th March 2023

HGI SCoPEd Zoom Session (3rd March 23) - Replay now available

Thank you to everyone who was able to attend our live SCoPEd Zoom Session on Friday 3rd March. The replay is now available and can be viewed in the HGI members area here: https://www.hgi.org.uk/scoped-project/scoped-qa-session

> Watch the replay now

22nd February 2023

Members News Bulletin

HGI's online Overcoming Addiction Summit - Saturday 11th March

We hope you can join us for what is going to be another fascinating and informative day, with a wide range of inspiring talks and speakers (including Joe Griffin, Mandy Cooper and Aric Sigman) –please also spread the word to anyone else you know who might be interested, as it's a fantastic way to promote HG in general. Don't worry if you can't make the whole day – there will be a recording, and a CPD certificate.

SPECIAL OFFER - for HGI Members

Tickets are currently on special offer at £59 - but as an HGI member you can get an extra £10 off with the code 'SUMMIT10' - offer ends Tuesday 28th February

> Book your place

For more information visit: www.addiction-summit.com

Do you have any questions about SCoPEd?

Zoom Session for HGI Members

On Friday 3rd March at 10.30am, Gareth Hughes and Sue Gray will be hosting a Zoom session about the SCoPEd framework, its benefits for HG and how it will affect HG therapists. This session is an opportunity for you to hear more about the proposals – which are still not set in stone – and answer any questions you might have.  If you can't make the session, a recording will be made available afterwards on the Members' Area of the website. To join us, click the link to reserve your place.

> Sign up here

If you didn't see the recent HGI bulletin about the adoption of the SCoPEd framework, you can read it in the members' area of the website here >

And you can read the formal communication from the whole SCoPEd Partnership that went out on Wed 8th February 2023 announcing the adoption of the Framework by the 6 members of the partnership here >

Are you clear on your supervision requirements?

Supervision Policy: Just a reminder for all members to review the revised criteria for supervision which can be found on the HGI website.

> View the updated Supervision Policy

Supervisor Absences – and more

HGI and HG College administrative staff have recently received calls from numerous therapists about clinical issues which should have been directed towards their supervisors. Please remember that your supervisor is your first port of call for anything you do not understand or for situations where you need guidance over protocol, ethics, safeguarding and so on (please also don’t forget that some issues may simply require you to speak with your insurance provider).

If a supervisor is due to be unavailable for an extended period, such as being on holiday, then an arrangement should be made for temporary cover with another supervisor: a ‘buddy’ system where supervisors arrange to cover for each other as needed.

There may be circumstances when an issue requires someone who specialises in a particular area; many people in HG come from a variety of backgrounds and have a wide range of knowledge to draw on.  On the HGI Members' area of the website you'll find a list of supervisors who are willing to assist on certain topics (see link below) – please note this list is not exhaustive. If you are a supervisor who is not on this list then please consider what area of knowledge you may wish to contribute to.

> Specialist Areas of HG Supervisors

Any supervision queries do email Malcolm Hanson
[email protected]

Important changes to Code of Ethics & Conduct

– amendment to Point 20, Section B of Code of Conduct

Please be aware of the new update to the HGI's 'Code of Ethics & Conduct – Standards of Competence', which can be viewed in full via the following link:  > Standards of Competence

It is important that you familiarise yourself with the changes – following is the new section which has been added (point 20–21):

20. Beware of conflicts of interest arising between clients, particularly in couple therapy, where they may have to choose between clients if they break up during therapy. Think whether it would be best to stop seeing either party and advise that each gets another therapist. If a conflict of interest arises, notify those concerned in writing;

21. Do not undertake one-to-one therapy with more than one person from a close family group at the same time as working with another person from the same family group. This is because it is important to work from an individual client’s unique model of reality. It is not possible to work thus when also holding information about them of which they may be unaware. To do so places on a therapist unreasonable and difficult to manage pressures of compartmentalising information that will likely impede effective therapy.

Exceptions to this general rule would be:

  • Couples work – where the work is contracted with a couple and any individual sessions with either individual in the relationship are mutually agreed as necessary within the context of the couple therapy. However, if it becomes clear during such a one-to-one session that extensive work is required outside of the couple therapy then a different therapist should be sought to undertake that additional one-to-one work.
  • Family therapy – as above.
  • A partner/family member of a client attending a one-to-one session either with the client or independently to understand how best the partner/family member can support the individual engaged in the therapy. This should occur only with the client’s consent.
  • In cases of serious mental illness – where establishing a route of communication between the therapist and a key support individual in the life of the client is strongly advisable. This should occur only with the client’s consent.

Consider carefully, when agreeing to see a second individual from a family group after having concluded work with a first, whether a conflict of interests would occur if:

  • The first individual were to request further support at a later time – a not uncommon occurrence.
  • The issues being dealt with in therapy with the second person related very closely to the first individual with whom therapy took place.

Job Opportunity for HG Therapists

Leeds Beckett University are recruiting for counsellors and are actively keen on applications from HG therapists.

They are currently advertising for the position of Counselling Team Manager (Part-time, 30 hours) in their Student Wellbeing department, based in Leeds.

You can view the full job description and details on the HGI Members' Area of the website here – and on the University's own website - view job description >

Closing date for applications is: Thurs 9th March '23.

HG Supervisors training

Could you become an HG supervisor?  As the numbers of HG therapists continue to expand, there is an increasing demand for supervisors.  Reminder – for those that meet the course criteria – applications for the next Supervisors Training course must be sent in by midnight on Tuesday 28th February. 

> View details

Opt in to the HGI's Emotional Needs Audit of HG Therapists

If you haven't yet opted in for this annual opportunity to gauge your own wellbeing, you still have a couple of days to do so – it's open to all HGI Registered (MHGI) and Trainee HG Therapists (GHGI).  For the second year, the HGI has been offered free use of an online system that Suffolk Mind developed using the HG organising ideas and Emotional Needs Audit. (See the article by their head of Research and evaluation on page 19 of your current HG Journal on how they use this with different organisations.)

To take part, you need to opt in to give permission for your email to go to the research team at Suffolk Mind who manage the process.  If you Opt in you will be sent an online ENA to complete anonymously in March.

The results will be gathered together and presented to the HGI at an online workshop in April, facilitated by an HG Therapist from Suffolk Mind. There are 14 places available and the date of the workshop will be confirmed shortly. It will include a presentation of the results and a discussion about the data. Plus action planning (concrete and specific) for the year ahead to address how people might be encouraged to better meet those needs that the data shows are being less well met. The workshop will be recorded for people who complete the questionnaire but can't attend. The anonymous results/data will be available to all who took part.

Take Action: If you would like to be involved we require your permission to pass on your email address to Suffolk Mind. We have a GDPR compliant agreement in place with Suffolk Mind to look after your data safely. Your email address will only be used for the purpose of sending you information to participate in the HGI ENA Project.

Also please indicate if you would like a place on the Results and Action Planning Workshop in April. The 14 places will be allocated on a first come first served basis, with a waiting list. NB: If you book a place and then can not come please let us know so that someone else can have your place – thanks. If you have any questions please email [email protected].

> Opt in here - to take part

You have only another few days to opt in.

It’s Safe Not to Hide – New Novel by Pamela Woodford

Many of you will know of Pamela's creativity with stories from her online workshop. She has recently published her first novel for young adults. It’s Safe Not To Hide is a story of hope, heartache and resilience, addressing important issues such as gender fluidity, leukaemia, sexual exploitation, computer addiction, autism, bereavement and parent-child domestic abuse.

This fictional account of a group of teenagers who seek the services of a therapist is a gripping and life-affirming read. It’s written by an author with first-hand experience of working with teenagers; and the difficult themes that are tackled in the book are done so with great sensitivity and care. I would thoroughly recommend this book for readers of YA and adults who have a curiosity about how modern teenagers live their lives, the relationships they form and the challenges they may face.

> View the full details

> Or visit the HGI Closed FB page to find out more

14th February 2023

OPT IN – if you'd like to be included in an Emotional Needs Audit of HG Therapists

You are invited to opt into this annual opportunity to gauge your own wellbeing and see whether you're meeting your emotional and physical needs well enough, in balance and healthily.

This opportunity is on offer to all HGI Registered (MHGI) and Trainee (GHGI) HG Therapists.

For the second year the Human Givens Institute has been offered, and accepted, the use of a system that Suffolk Mind have developed using the HG organising ideas and Emotional Needs Audit. They are offering this to the HGI free of charge. They use this approach with many types of organisations across the UK. (For more information, see the article by their head of Research and Evaluation on page 19 of your current HG Journal.)

To be involved you need to opt in (click here) to give permission for your email address to go to the research team at Suffolk Mind who manage the process.

If you Opt in you will be sent an online ENA to complete anonymously in March. You have 7 days to opt-in.

The results will then be gathered together and presented to the HGI at an online workshop in April. This will be facilitated by an HG Therapist from Suffolk Mind. There are 14 places available on this and the date of the workshop will be confirmed shortly. The workshop will include a presentation of the results, a discussion about the data, plus action planning (concrete and specific) for the year to address how people might be encouraged to better meet needs that the data shows are less well met.

As we know, to offer effective HG therapy we need to have capacity – and by maintaining good wellbeing (getting our needs well enough met) we ensure we have spare capacity to assist others.

The 'Results and Action Planning Workshop' will be recorded for people who completed the questionnaire but could not attend the workshop. The anonymous results/data will be available to all who took part.

Take Action: If you would like to be involved we require your permission to pass on your email address to Suffolk Mind. We have a GDPR compliant agreement in place with Suffolk Mind to look after your data safely. Your email address will only be used for the purpose of sending you information to participate in the HGI ENA Project.

Also please indicate if you would like a place on the Results and Action Planning Workshop in April. The 14 places will be allocated on a first come first served basis, with a waiting list. NB: If you book a place and then cannot come please let us know so that someone else can have your place – thanks.

For any questions please email [email protected].

8th February 2023

Update on the SCOPED Framework

HGI agrees to adopt the SCoPEd Framework

The HGI Board has agreed to formally adopt the SCoPEd Framework.

We, and HG College, will be using the framework in the ongoing development of HG training, the development of CPD and to align our members with those of the partner organisations. 

SCoPEd brings significant benefits for HG and for HGI members. It enables us to be part of a nationally recognised framework of Counselling and Psychotherapy alongside all the other PSA Registers. Our training will be clearly and properly recognised nationally and will help HGI members with employment opportunities that may have not been available to us previously. 

The framework brings clarity and credibility to the counselling and psychotherapy profession and in time will hopefully help clients/patients and services to better identify properly trained and qualified practitioners.
As you may be aware Gareth Hughes, Head of Educational at HG College, has been updating the Diploma and preparing for the reaccreditation of the diploma for an academic qualification. This development work aligns with the SCoPEd Framework development, which is also still a work in progress.

Like all the SCoPEd Partners we will now be working on how our therapists will align with and move between the columns of the framework.

For now, there is nothing you need to do. Your status remains as it is and we will communicate any changes to you as this work develops. Our intention is to develop mechanisms that allow our members to transition between the columns of the framework and we will explain how that will happen in due course.

Some of the names of the various levels of HGI registration & membership will change slightly. Externally, as part of adopting the framework, this will make it simpler for the public to use the framework to select an appropriate therapist by aligning the names in every modality. Internally, we will be reviewing all our various membership categories.

As the work progresses, we will keep you informed via the HGI Bulletins and also using occasional zoom calls to enable fuller explanation and discussion with you all.

If you have any queries going forward, please get in touch with the HGI Administrator on [email protected]

Explore our articles and interviews

Search our archive

  • A very different kind of coaching

    Frances Masters describes what led her to set up a charity to deliver free psychotherapeutic coaching, based on the human givens.

  • The Social Brain

    Denise Winn talks with Professor John Ratey about the brain as a social organ, and the need to be alert early to inept social skills.

  • HG in Practice

    Primary school teaching assistant and HG Diploma graduate, Kashfi Khan describes how she has applied the HG ideas in very practical ways, to the benefit of pupils, parents and teachers alike.

  • The human givens: in our own words

    A set of stand-alone articles on Stress, Anxiety, Phobias, Panic attacks, PTSD, Depression, Addiciton, Anger and OCD that human givens practitioners can use to promote both the approach and their own practice.

  • Great Expectations

    Joe Griffin goes back to basics to arrive at some powerful new insights into the givens of human nature.

Latest News:

HG practitioner participates in global congress

HG practitioner Felicity Jaffrey, who lives and works in Egypt, received the extraordinary honour of being invited to speak at Egypt’s hugely prestigious Global Congress on Population, Health and Human Development (PHDC24) in Cairo in October.

SCoPEd - latest update

The six SCoPEd partners have published their latest update on the important work currently underway with regards to the SCoPEd framework implementation, governance and impact assessment.

Date posted: 14/02/2024