Just wondering if anyone has heard of or, even better, tried human givens therapy?? I bought this book called 'how to recover from depression...fast' and it's about human givens T. Basically, from what I can gather it's that humans have set needs (or 'givens') like feel safe, loved, attention, feel they have meaning in their life etc etc and that not getting these needs met causes problems like depression etc.

Sounds ok so far, but they are totally against talking about the past etc cos that prolongs the rumination and enhances the depressive state, and instead use guided imagery etc etc. I guess cos it goes against all the other ideas about emotional problems eg if you don't 'deal' with your past, you will keep repeating it etc etc, I'm a bit unsure.

I bought the book cos I need to get better quick to return to Uni. Obviously I know there's no quick fix and it will take me many yrs b4 my default position isn't 'Willow=bad', but I need to be functional to return to Uni and I only have a few months to do this. Anyway, in my usual long-winded way, Id like to know if:
- anyone has tried this type of T?
- was it useful and as quick as they say it is??

Many thanks for reading

*Willow*

[deliquesce]

i have never tried it myself, but it sounds like a theory that has grown out of Maslow's Hiercharchy of Needs (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslow'...archy_of_needs)? Basically, it says that you need to ensure the bottom levels of the hierarchy are stable (e.g., safety, food, physical attention etc) first before you can progress up the hierarchy towards things like self esteem. it is harder to maintain a stable sense of self esteem if, e.g., your home environment is not safe or you cannot secure stable employment.

Recent research in PTSD does suggest that it's not that useful to talk about the past in detail unless it's to provide 'corrective emotional responses'. so, e.g., i carry the core self-belief that i am a bad person partially (largely?) because i was abused growing up, whereas my sisters weren't. so i might talk about that with pdoc, and he will help me see it wasn't my fault but validate why i felt that way. but we don't go into things like "reliving" the trauma, or even describe any one event in any great detail. instead, i am dealing with a current belief ("i am bad") due to past experiences, but we are only addressing the current belief - not really dealing with the past in that whole imagery sort of way you sometimes read about.

to me it feels safe, because i dont like thinking about the past very much. i like having a set of goals i want to achieve now, and sometimes i need to mention things from the past, but they do not figure as a big part of my therapy. pdoc knows my history, but there have only been 3 sessions in the 4 years i have seen him where we have spoken about it in depth. if something flares up (e.g., recently i have been very concerned he will leave me), then he may point out that this is probably a worry based on my past experiences, but it is usually no more than a comment. we work towards me being able to trust him more and trust in my worth more also.

[sunrise]

WW, I think different types of therapy work for different types of people. There is not going to be a one size fits all. Some people find starting at the core issues from the past to be helpful, others don't. Have you done therapy that involved dealing with the past and not found it to be helpful? I think if the human givens therapy sounds appealing to you, then why not give it a try? Do you have a therapist in mind who does this type of therapy? If so, maybe you could go for a visit and ask him/her your questions about HG.

[FooZe]

Originally Posted by deliquesce

Basically, it says that you need to ensure the bottom levels of the hierarchy are stable (e.g., safety, food, physical attention etc) first before you can progress up the hierarchy towards things like self esteem. it is harder to maintain a stable sense of self esteem if, e.g., your home environment is not safe or you cannot secure stable employment.

At the risk of going a little off topic, please allow me to expand on that. What you've described there, deli, looks to me like one side of a dialectic. It's true enough, as far as it goes: without security there's no self-actualization, so you can't get there from here.

There's another side to it, though.

----- Leaving ordinary reality. Please watch your step. -----

When something is important enough to you, you can transcend the need for security to pursue it. Doing so seems to enhance (what would ordinarily be) your coping skills; you end up taking care of your "basic needs" efficiently enough that they don't get in the way of what you're doing. When at altitude this way, though, it's best not to look down too much. You might say, if you get distracted into feathering your nest -- providing for your security -- you can easily forget how to fly.

----- Re-entering ordinary reality. Please watch your step. -----

*blink* *blink* Did I just say something?

----------------------------------
See, for example, Alan Watts' The Wisdom of Insecurity.