The Human Givens Institute Practice Research Network was created in 2007 to promote the use of outcome measurement and feedback in practice. This had the dual aims of promoting best practice while also building the evidence base for the effectiveness of the approach. The work of the HGIPRN was supported by rthe Human Givens Foundation.
The first HGIPRN project was the investigation of Human Givens Therapy (HG) in the treatment of clients referred by their General Medical Practitioner for treatment for common mental health issues, such as anxiety and depression. This study was funded by the Human Givens Foundation. Findings from this study, known as the Luton Study have been published.
Following this initial study HG practitioners working in a range of organisations across the UK, from private practice , NHS services, specialist trauma services, voluntary organisations and many more, participated in the gathering of evidence on an ongoing basis. This provided to opportunity to replicate the Luton Study but now on a much wider basis involving many more practitioners and clients. The findings from the gathering of 5 years data have been published.
The Human Givens Institute is the professional body for practitioners of human givens therapy. Its sister organisation, the Human Givens College, provides training in the human givens approach, both for professionals in other fields, and via a diploma to independent accreditation as a human givens therapist. The Institute is in the process of enrolling with the Professional Standards Authority as an accredited provider.
Human givens therapy is brief solution-focussed psychotherapy based on a strengths model. It draws from person-centred counselling, motivational interviewing, cognitive behavioural therapy, psychoeducational approaches, interpersonal therapy, imaginal exposure and hypnotherapy and is based on scientific evidence about what works and why. The organising philosophy is the premise that each client has the resources necessary to get their emotional needs met, and that mental wellness is achieved when they use these resources properly to meet these needs. Therapy is therefore focussed on understanding the problem, identifying resources and supporting the client to use their resources more effectively. This usually requires some reframing interventions – for example, in the case of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), imaginal exposure is required to reprocess the traumatic memory so that emotional intelligence can be used more effectively.
The Human Givens Foundation (HGF) is a charity registered in England and Wales, Charity No. 1108432. Its objectives are to promote research and public education into the 'givens' of human nature and their application into the treatment and care of those suffering from mental illness.
It intends to foster initiatives by those endeavouring to use up-to-date knowledge about the givens of human nature in practical ways, particularly in fields where the development of life skills is vital: education, psychotherapy, health, social work, industrial relations and diplomacy.