HG Newsletter - April 2019
In this issue:
This year Mental Health Awareness Week (13th–19th May) will focus on body image – how we think and feel about our bodies and how this can directly impact our mental health. To chime with this, we take a look at body image through the wide angle HG lens, we also examine the worrying hijack of the bio-psycho-social model of mental health and we highlight the trouble our teenagers are in, and how the HG approach can help. Please do get in touch with your thoughts on these crucial matters.
Body image and mental health
Why are we bothered about how we look? Some would say they don’t care, others are obsessed with appearance, many of us are in between. Within the catch-all of ‘body image’ is our physique – shape, size, fitness level – and also how we cover our bodies – clothes, make-up, hair, piercings and tattoos. Apart from the obvious need to wear clothes to keep warm, what’s it all about? Read more >
An alarming hijack
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. Here, she explains how the problem has arisen, the harm it is causing, and what needs to be done about it:
“Our Human Givens approach is grounded in the bio-psycho-social model: taking into account what could be going on for people physically/biologically, psychologically, and in their social lives and relationships. HG therapists use this framework to skilfully enable people to find ways to get their various bio/psycho/social needs met in balance. Within this is an appropriate appreciation of the ‘power of belief’ in terms of an understanding that what we focus our minds on is much more likely to happen, and thinking in positive, needs-oriented ways is conducive to emotional wellbeing.
“However, it has become alarmingly apparent that in the past decade or so the concept of the ’Power of Belief’ has been used to hijack the true bio-psycho-social model...” Read more >
Teenage mental health
In this BBC News item Children’s Commissioner for England Anne Longfield alerts the UK to the “extremely worrying state” of children’s mental health services, with reduced funding and resources in one third of the country creating a ‘postcode lottery’ for children requiring help. And yet, she feels, help could be simpler and more effective than we think:
"The children I speak to who are suffering from conditions like anxiety or depression aren't asking for intensive inpatient therapeutic treatment, they just want to be able to talk to a counsellor about their worries and to be offered advice on how to stop their problems turning into a crisis.”
The HG troubled teens course offers a wealth of information and education about the teenage brain, what’s going on for our youngsters, and how to give effective help in ways that suit teenagers and develop their innate resources.
You can enjoy 10% OFF the next course on Thursday 16th May in London. It's open to all – teenagers, parents, teachers, therapists and anyone else who would like to learn more about this crucial and often misunderstood stage in our lives.
New online Ethics course
Good Practice: ethics for the caring professions offers essential information, advice and insightful discussion around the ethical dilemmas and professional difficulties you may encounter when working with people suffering emotional distress. It is a rare opportunity to learn, in the comfort of your own home, from the vast experience of 4 of our tutors: Ivan Tyrrell, Sue Saunders, Ian Thomson and Denise Winn.
A required course for Part 1 of the HG diploma it is also a vital part of practicing therapists’ ongoing professional development – you can buy the ethics course here.
One last thought
"To me, beauty is about being comfortable in your own skin.
It's about knowing and accepting who you are"
Ellen Degeneres, comedian, USA
We hope you've enjoyed this update – do get in contact if you have any news or interesting case studies.
With best wishes,
Julia Welstead, Editor
Human Givens News
Explore our articles and interviews
Perceptions of wellbeing
Ivan Tyrrell talks with Paul Allin about the significance of the Government’s National Well-being Programme and the contribution of the human givens
The wrong write stuff?
Denise Winn looks at the research on whether writing about traumatic experiences enhances physical and psychological health.
VIP award for HG inspired work
Congratulations to Valerie Hillen, who has won an award for her invaluable work with job seekers.
Why we dream to forget (I don't dream)
Joe Griffin explains why dreaming, and forgetting our dreams, fulfils a vital human need.
The riddle of conditioned taste adversion
THE pain–pleasure recall principle also explains the well-known phenomenon of conditioned taste aversion, which has always presented a problem for classical conditioning.
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.
When good enough just isn’t enough...
The missing ingredient in a person’s life might not be obvious at first...
Unconscious bias
With debates raging around racism, cultural conditioning and freedom of speech, Carol Harper reflects on the problem of unconscious bias.
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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