What is Human Givens?

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 with permission from the Human Givens Journal)

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

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