“When therapists work intelligently from ‘the Human Givens’, progress is usually swift and inevitable.”  - THE EUROPEAN THERAPY STUDIES INSTITUTE

The Human Givens approach was developed by The European Therapy Studies Institute (ETSI).  ETSI writes:

“The Human Givens approach to therapy draws its power from observation, research, experience, the biological and psychological sciences and our heritage of wisdom gathered down the ages. To be effective as therapists we have to be aware not only of basic human needs, but of the ‘tools’ human beings have evolved to use for understanding and impacting their environment. Together these comprise the ‘Human Givens’. When used well, they can provide purpose, achievement and mental health; when used wrongly, they cause misery and mental illness. … When therapists work intelligently from the ‘Human Givens’, progress is usually swift and inevitable.

The ‘Human Givens’ standpoint also explains why different therapies work, and why there is a tendency for those therapies that incorporate only some Human Givens to become increasingly complex and less effective and, in some cases, even harmful.”

The Human Givens approach is an all-encompassing one. Therapists working with this approach will take account of what we know from observable evidence and repeatable studies about what a human being actually is, what they do and what they need. The Human Givens include nature’s genetic endowment to you, that is, those things that are ‘hard-wired’ from birth that make you recognisably human, and the expression of those genetic endowments which are the fulfilment of the basic emotional needs.

Your basic needs are hardwired into you and are what identify you as human. So you are hardwired to seek out security, company, meaning, intimacy, status and achievement, control over your life, stimulation etc. When your basic needs in life are met, you have the spare capacity to enjoy life and focus on what could be your real potential. We all share needs but some have greater appetites for those needs than others. Some people need more company, more security than others, for example, and this will vary from time to time according to your life circumstances. So if someone has just been made redundant they may be in need of greater attention at that time.

Some people spend whole life times striving to fulfil basic needs and therefore fail to develop the ‘spare capacity’ to focus on other things. When your basic needs are not met you will instinctively and sometimes unknowingly try to meet them in ways that may be damaging or unsustainable; such as through addiction and obsessively creating negative scenarios (often without realizing it).

Many psychological and physical problems result from unmet basic needs and, in turn, may actually block their satisfaction.

In many cases, you can recognize which of your basic needs are not being appropriately met, and knowing this, you can help yourself by finding more appropriate ways to have them met. Please read on and find out more about each of the basic needs.

The therapy I use works from a Human Givens Approach where appropriate. For a FREE! No obligations call or to book a confidential session with me, go to the Contact Me page.

The basic needs are explained below. You can obtain more information about the Human Givens and Basic Needs from the Human Givens Organization where you can also find details of the Human Givens Book or related courses.

You need to feel that your environment is basically secure and reasonably predictable. Financial security, physical safety, health, and the fulfillment of other basic needs all contribute to the completion of this need. As with all of the following needs you can take it too far and become obsessive about it.

Ask yourself: “Do I feel safe and secure in my life?”

You need enough sleep, exercise, rest and adequate nutrition in order to have the spare capacity to focus on anything ‘higher’ in life. Unless these basic elements are taken care of, the whole of your life can be devoted to nothing more than the instinctive search for rest, sleep and proper food. How you eat, sleep and exercise is directly related to your mental and emotional health and wellbeing.

Ask yourself: “Am I sleeping properly?”, “Am I getting enough exercise?”, “Am I eating healthily?”

It has been demonstrated that the circumstances you face in life are less important in predicting levels of anxiety or unhappiness than how much control you feel you have over your life (or the lack of it). For example, elderly people in homes tend to be healthier if they have at least the minimum of control, such as a choice of whether they receive visitors in a communal sitting room or in their own private room. Torture victims who survive the longest and who are the least traumatised after a period of imprisonment are the ones who felt at least some control in their appalling circumstances. Techniques such as inwardly counting to ten before screaming, or screaming ‘in their own way’, gave a small sense of control that made all the difference. Women experience less pain in childbirth if they have learned breathing or relaxation techniques as this lends them control. People often come for therapy because they feel unable to control aspects of their lives.

Note: You might feel an event is uncontrollable, and therefore stressful, and then you need to distinguish between an event or situation versus your own reaction to it. focus on your own emotional reactions to it, as this is where you still have control.

Ask yourself: “How do I react to thoughts and external events/situations? Do I feel I don’t have any control over them?”

It is important that you feel that there is at least one person with whom you have a ‘special relationship’. Someone who can second guess your feelings, who ‘understands you’ and who cares especially for you and someone for whom you can especially care.

A need for intimacy may become diverted if your special relationship is with alcohol, or obsessive, compulsive behaviours. When this happens any real relationship will inevitably suffer as a result.

When you attempt to satisfy a need in inappropriate ways, problems are likely to develop. For example, stalkers notoriously feel they have an intimate connection with someone when in fact they do not.

The need for attention in everyday interaction with others is central to fulfilling your basic needs. Think of it as an appetite that varies in intensity and which, if unmet, can be met inappropriately and may therefore disrupt work situations and relationships. When you experience difficulties it may be because you receive too little attention or too much inappropriate attention. By clarifying this in your mind you can begin to make effective changes. When your need for giving and receiving attention is met appropriately then you can have ‘spare capacity’ to truly work or learn without these needs compromising your effectiveness.

The recognition that ‘people need people’ was born out of research that showed people who live with a strong sense of community are healthier both physically and emotionally.

When you become depressed you tend to cut off support and social contacts causing a sense of isolation and creating a ‘vicious circle’.

It is also important to feel you ‘give’ as well as ‘take’ in life. Contributing to the wider community seems to help you as well as those you are contributing to. It seems as if human beings have a natural instinct to help others and to be a contributing part of a wider group. When this “instinct” is not fulfilled, it seems that problems can arise. This need also feeds in to the need for status.

It’s important to feel important. You probably know some people for whom this need is too important! However, if you feel recognized for being a grandmother or parent or good son or daughter, this may be enough. Young people finding their feet can have improved self-esteem if they feel they have attained a position of trust and recognition. Young boys in Birmingham who were at risk of exclusion because of behavioural problems were trained as mentors and paid for helping younger kids who were also at risk of exclusion. Not only did the mentors’ own behaviour improve, they also reported greater levels of happiness, contentment and self-esteem. Much disruptive, problematic behaviour may be a misapplied attempt to meet this need for recognition.

The human brain, just like the body, is there to be exercised and developed. You can feel incomplete and dissatisfied and even depressed when you stop stretching yourself and reaching beyond what you thought you were capable of. Self esteem and confidence is partly a recognition of your own attributes and strengths – seeing what is already there – and also developing new ones by being stretched. The TV show (from a few years back) Faking It, where contestants have a month to become expert in a particular field to the extent they can fake it to real experts is a perfect example of what normal human beings are capable of achieving in a short time when they are stretched. The resultant changes in confidence, self-respect and enjoyment of life are amazing to see!

A sense of meaning and purpose comes from having your other needs adequately met. For example, your life may feel more meaningful when you have at least one intimate relationship, feel connected to a wider group, feel stretched and challenged, etc. A sense of meaning and purpose can also derive from an active religious/political or other ideological belief system. When life feels devoid of meaning, you can quickly lose motivation. A strong sense of purpose and meaning provides great resilience to you, as all kinds of effort and even hardship become ‘worth it’ when undertaken in the service of the greater meaning.

To book a FREE! initial no obligations call, or a full session with me, go to the Contact Me page

I normally work from my home office in Wansford, just outside Peterborough in the Cambridgeshire region. I also practice from the Barns at Wansford Surgery.

I am accessible from Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire and places like Peterborough, Cambridge, Oundle, Stamford, Rutland, Wisbech, Oakham, Market Deeping, Huntingdon, March, Bourne, Corby, Whittlesey, Ramsey, Spalding