Effective Therapy Centre

Although we are all unique individuals, we all come into the world with the same physical and emotional needs: physical needs such as air, sustenance, shelter and warmth and emotional ones, such as for security, attention, being emotionally connected to others, feeling in control, having status and the sense that life is meaningful, which comes from being healthily stretched in our lives.

It is a law of Nature that, if we are getting our innate needs met in a balanced way, we cannot become stressed or develop mental illness.

Nature also gives us a range of innate resources to help us meet these needs. These include: memory, imagination, problem-solving abilities, self-awareness and a range of different thinking styles to use in various changing situations. These needs and resources are built into our biology and make up the 'givens' of human nature.

Therapists, counsellors and psychiatrists trained in the human givens approach focus on finding out what exactly is preventing a distressed person from getting their innate needs met and helping them do something about it by using their innate resources creatively in new ways.

To do this we use a variety of up-to-date psychological methods and techniques focused on problem-solving and developing new life skills.

The human givens approach draws on the latest findings from psychology and neurobiology about how people really function and what we need to lead fulfilling lives. It also takes into account international research studies that have established which psychotherapeutic techniques are the most effective for relieving a wide range of emotional distress and behavioural difficulties.

Human givens therapists do not just endlessly listen to you or attempt to dredge up real or imagined miserable memories from the past, since research shows this tends to confuse and upset people when they are vulnerable and can actually make depression and anxiety worse. Neither do we deal in time-wasting and prolonged so-called voyages of 'self-discovery'. Instead, we offer practical help in the here and now, based on a sound body of scientific knowledge and skills that have been proven to be effective.

The human givens approach is supported by Primary Care Mental Health Education (Primhe) affiliated with the Royal College of General Practitioners, and as a member of our accrediting professional body, the Human Givens Institute (HGI) I abide by their professional conduct and ethics policies.

The treatment starts out with me finding out about you and your life and the difficulties you are experiencing. More often than not, right from the first session we will also being using relaxation methods, together with a wide range of other techniques. These exercises work to activate your own natural resources and are key to providing you with immediate relief from psychological stress.

We will also work out some achievable and realistic goals to focus on, starting with small manageable steps and continuing at a pace which suits you. We will work together to set goals that are clear and meaningful to you.

From here on we activate your natural resources to help you to feel better and take back control of your life. At each session we check out what effects the treatment is having for you and, if necessary, work through any unanticipated difficulties. Treatment ends when you're happy that you've made enough progress to continue living a healthy life without regular assistance from me. (Human Givens therapists do not encourage people to become dependent on therapy).

Everyone's situation is different, but we aim to take as few sessions as possible and you can fully expect improvements to begin from the first session. People rarely need more than six sessions to make significant progress and lasting improvements, often as few as three or four are necessary.