What is Human Givens?

"Not another branch of Psychology - but its missing trunk".

 A "Human Given" is something we are born with - a given of human nature - something that all humans have in common.

What is written here is our own summary and interpretation of some of the ideas presented in the Human Givens book and training provided by Mindfields College. For a full description please refer to the book "Human Givens: a new approach to emotional health and clear thinking" by Joe Griffen and Ivan Tyrell. See our list of Human Givens books for more information.

Human Givens is a set of ideas which simplify our understanding of how humans behave and interact. It provides a new way of looking at behaviour and mental health and is not only being successfully applied to the counselling of distressed people but is also influencing fields as diverse as parenting, politics, education, work, law, psychology, philosophy and communication - wherever, in fact, there is a need to understand and nurture people or make best use of valuable human resources.

Every one of us has "needs" such as food, shelter, the need for attention and a sense of purpose to our lives. We also all have "resources" such as memory, imagination and self awareness. When the needs of an individual are being met and his or her resources are being used correctly then that person will lead a balanced and fruitful life. It is only when these needs are not being met or we are misusing our natural resources that we begin to develop disorders such as addictions and depression.

Imagine that looking at the world from a Human Givens perspective is like trying on a special pair of reading glasses. Everything is still easily recognisable but some things become instantly clearer. While wearing these "Human Givens reading glasses" it becomes clear why aspects of other therapies and branches of psychology work. Equally, it becomes clear why some practices (such as encouraging people to "act out their inner anger") can sometimes be unnecessary or even dangerous. It makes sense of why addictions, depression and other mental health issues happen to people and offers practical solutions for the vast majority of problems caused by your brain not working to your best advantage. This includes all of the issues for which you might choose to visit a psychotherapist or counsellor. You don't have to change your beliefs to try on these "Human Givens reading glasses" and you can take them off whenever you want to. The ideas are based on scientific research and common sense. Try them out for yourself.

All humans beings have certain things in common. Whether you were born in the remotest part of Tibet or the heart of Surrey you share a set of attributes with all other human beings on this planet. The phrase "Human Givens" refers to those things which are a "given" of human nature - what we are born with. The field of human givens recognises that in order to live a balanced and healthy life we need to have our basic human needs fulfilled. When all our real needs are fully met we do not develop behaviours such as addiction, obsessive behaviour, anxiety etc.

The_Human Givens Journal explores the relevance of the very latest knowledge about human psychology to the way we live today.

The needs and resources that are built into our biology make up what we term the human givens. These basic emotional needs - such as for security, control, connection to other people, attention, intimacy, status, and to be stretched in what we do - have to be met in balance if we are to be mentally and socially healthy. Our innate resources - including memory, imagination, problem solving abilities, self-awareness, dreaming and a range of complementary thinking styles to employ in different situations - are designed to help us do this.

Ensuring that people's emotional needs are better met, and that they are using their innate resources effectively, is now known as the human givens approach. This way of looking at behaviour and mental health is not only being successfully applied to the counselling of distressed people but is also influencing fields as diverse as parenting, politics, education, work, law, psychology, philosophy and communication - wherever, in fact, there is a need to understand and nurture people or make best use of valuable human resources.

(Reproduced from the Human Givens Journal)

We cannot be mentally ill when we are using all our resources to ensure that our needs are met. Another "human given" is that we are fundamentally pattern matching beings. See the APET model and pattern matching for an explanation.

How is this applied in therapy?

The field of human givens combines the concepts above with new understandings about why we have evolved to dream. It provides a new organising idea which gives new insights into human behaviour. As a therapy it is a "talking therapy" similar in some ways to CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) but with some crucial differences - the primary one being the APET model of human behaviour which acknowledges that we often act in response to emotions without "thinking" at all. An useful tool for lowering emotional arousal is 7/11 breathing. This is frequently taught and used in therapy. In Human Givens therapy we try to identify which basic human needs (if any) are not being met by your present lifestyle. We then look for ways to use your own experiences, skills and resources to satisfy any unmet needs. In this sense it presents a holistic approach to mental health, it addresses the whole person in the context of their own life. The therapist is actively involved in seeking practical solutions but does not impose his or her own views on the client's world beyond trying to identify realistic ways they might meet their basic needs as human beings.

We also acknowledge that understanding issues can be valuable but may be quite separate from fixing the problem. We often use metaphor to address the right brain directly and sometimes seek to bypass the logical, sequential and rational left brain. To give an analogy: If you go to a doctor with a broken arm you would not expect him or her to spend most of the session investigating under exactly what specific circumstances the break occurred - you might expect the doctor to be more concerned with setting the broken bones. If you want a sick plant to thrive you look to meeting its present needs rather than repeatedly digging up the roots. You don't usually need to fix a plant - just give it the right amount of water, sunlight, soil, nutrition and it will thrive. Just as it is in the nature of plants to thrive, so it is with all animals - humans included - when their real needs are properly met.

We often need to know about past experiences, but do not dwell on digging up and re-living the painful episodes. Knowing why you are depressed does not necessarily help you to recover. Sometimes "in life - understanding is the booby prize". To take the plant analogy further - human givens practitioners are more like skilled gardeners than botanists - we are practical and interested in helping you to thrive. We are less interested in classifications. Check out the list of Frequently Asked Questions for further information.

Human Givens therapists are also trained in a number of specific techniques such as the Fast Phobia Cure which is extremely effective for curing phobias and resolving post traumatic stress.

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Last updated Thursday 6 December 2007