Certificate of Applied Psychotherapy (Human Givens)
Unit One - Introduction to the Human Givens Approach
Recent discoveries and their implications:
- the role of environment in thinking
- spindle neurons
- mirror neurons
- the default network
- caetextia (context blindness)
- emotion before thought
- law of organic life - a 'given' from biology
- definition and explanation
- needs and resources
- principle one: all behaviour is needs driven
- principle two: the brain works through a pattern-matching process
- principle three: the higher the emotional arousal, the more primitive the pattern-matching
- principle four: needs met in a way that maintains a state or climate of high emotional arousal, will reduce the likelihood of other important needs being met
Assessment: Essay, practical exercise and multiple choice tests.
Unit Two - Understanding Emotions
Definition and application
- preparation for action
- expectation and anticipation
- action to meet need
- emotions and depression, anxiety, addiction, trauma
- emotion - feeling - mood: making the distinction
Emotional Well-being
- definitions of wellbeing
- Positive Psychology (Seligman) model
- NEF model
- The 'Six Steps' to emotional well-being
Assessment: practical exercise and multiple choice tests.
Unit Three - Dreaming (the function of REM sleep)
- definitions and application
- elimination of emotional arousal
- creation of storage and processing capacity
- preservation of innate patterns
- strategies for restorative sleep
Assessment: multiple choice test and short report.
Unit Four - Depression, new insights, fresh hope
What depression is, and isn't:
- definition and application
- insights from recent discoveries
- dispelling some myths
Breaking the cycle of Depression:
- using the RIGAAR therapeutic model
- how to build and maintain rapport
- gathering information in a therapeutic way
- getting positive achievable and needs-oriented goals
- highlighting adequate client resources
- getting agreement on strategies for change
- using guided imagery for lifting depression and anxiety
Assessment: multiple choice test, case notes and demonstration.
Unit Five - Dealing with Anxiety and Trauma
- a quick tour of the brain (the limbic system)
- the 're-wind' technique
- panic attacks - explanation and response
- post traumatic growth - identifying the factors
Assessment: multiple choice test and short report.
Unit Six - Therapeutic Storytelling
- why stories - an overview
- stories that heal - generic examples
- how stories define who we are - a personal metaphor
- finding the client's metaphor
- the essentials of creative storytelling - stimulating hope
- building and using mind maps
Assessment: practical exercise and individual mind map
Unit Seven - Addictions
- addictive behaviour - a new perspective needed
- new model of thinking and behaviour
- effective intervention
Assessment: missing word test
Examination
Part One - Multiple Choice/Missing Word online test (1 hour)
It is recommended that you attempt each of the 80 questions and if you have time remaining you may revisit answers you were unsure about. Only one submission is accepted and submission time is noted.
Part Two - Short Answer Questions (1.5 hour)
1.5 hour written examination made up of short answer questions. You will be given 6 questions from which you choose 4. Answers will be in essay format 250-400 words each. Questions will be similar to assignment tasks, and will focus on the HG ideas in practice.
Questions are of equal value (25%).
Certificates of Completion
Human Givens Australia will issue a Certificate of Applied Psychotherapy (Human Givens) to participants who successfully complete course requirements. Your practice details will also be provided on the HG Australia site.
The "human givens" explained
Why humans dream
The Mind - new insights
Depression - new insights
See Brief Video
Video Transcript - the Human Givens Overview
Free Resources
If you are interested in Therapeutic Storytelling, these videos and notes may be useful. Suitable for individual and group settings, with a particular focus on men who have lost their way.
NB: Only therapists and practitioners who have completed their training with the Human Givens College in the UK are eligible for Professional Membership of the Human Givens Institute based in the UK. Associate Membership is, however, available to anyone who is interested in, or keen to support and be part of, the development and spread of the human givens insights and approach.