Human Givens

Domain VI · Brief, integrative, trauma, hypnosis & coaching · Joe Griffin, Ivan Tyrrell · 2001 · UK

What it is

Human givens is an integrative framework (its authors call it an organising idea) rather than a single manualised therapy. It holds that people come with innate physical and emotional needs (security; giving and receiving attention; autonomy and control; emotional intimacy; belonging to a wider…

Format

• HG has no fixed phase manual. The working structure the HG literature uses is RIGAAR, applied both across a course of therapy and within each session:
• Session count and format. Individual, face to face (also online). HGI states that improvement usually comes in one to six sessions and that HG therapists aim to use as few sessions as possible; much of the work (psychoeducation, reframing, problem solving, skills, rehearsal) is often done in a…

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Does it involve any substance, plant preparation, remedy or supplement? Has your doctor or prescriber been told, especially about any medication you take?
• Does it involve intense or unusual breathing? Have you been told about the medical conditions for which that is not advised?
• Does it involve fasting, a special diet or 'detox'? Have you discussed this with your doctor?
• Is it a group, retreat or community? How do they respond if someone wants to leave or raises a concern?
• Who runs it, and what training or registration do they hold?
• What actually happens in a session or meeting, and how often?
• What does it cost, and is there pressure to commit to more?
• How do you feel afterwards, in the hours and days that follow?
• Does it fit with, or clash with, the work we do here?

What practitioners of it watch for

• Ratings falling across repeated exposures.
• Advice rejected with "yes, but"; switch to eliciting the client's ideas.
• A clear felt preference emerging; if none does, do not push for a decision in the session.
• Ratings falling with repetition; if a step produces overwhelming distress, drop back a step.
• Any sign of feeling mocked; repair immediately (see section 5). Avoid with acutely suicidal clients.

When to involve someone else

• New or worsening physical symptoms, or advice to stop or change prescribed medication: involve the client's doctor or prescriber.
• Signs of coercion, isolation from family and friends, escalating costs or secrecy: discuss openly and consider safeguarding.
• A crisis or thoughts of suicide: follow your crisis protocol. In the US, call or text 988; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans on 116 123.

Drawn automatically from the guide's own sections. Stay curious: neither endorse nor dismiss what the client values, and check anything that matters against the full guide and its sources. Not medical advice.