Mindlife Balance

30/07/2024

I have retired now, so no longer offering therapy.

14/10/2023

What would you like to start? Let us know...

14/10/2023

Just for fun...

09/07/2023

11/10/2022

We all need to do this

30/09/2022

The new approach to emotional health and clear thinking by Joe Griffin and Ivan Tyrrell. This fresh edition of Human Givens contains a wealth of new material* that will enhance its already considerable reputation. The book answers countless questions. Deriving from the rapidly growing human givens a...

16/09/2022

The psychotherapists and counsellors listed on the HGI's official register are all Registered Members of the Institute who have successfully passed the Human Givens Diploma at practitioner level (HG.Dip.P.).

They are therefore trained in dealing effectively, and as quickly as possible, with all major forms of distress, including anxiety and anger disorders, depression, stress, phobias, addiction, post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and relationship problems.Professional Standards Authority Accredited Register

The register has been accredited in the UK by the Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care (PSA), which also accredits BACP, the National Counselling Society, UKCP. and others.

Find your human givens therapist: https://www.hgi.org.uk/find-therapist

08/08/2022

The ‘rewind’ technique...

The refinded version of the Rewind Technique* (as taught by HG College) is a non-intrusive, safe and highly effective psychological method for detraumatising people, which can also be used for removing phobias. It should be carried out by an experienced practitioner and is only performed once a person is in a state of deep relaxation.

When they are fully relaxed, they are encouraged to bring their anxiety to the surface and then are calmed down again by being guided to recall or imagine a place where they feel totally at ease.

Their relaxed state is then deepened and they are asked to imagine that, in their special safe place, they have a TV or screen with a remote control facility. They are asked to imagine floating to one side, out of body, and to watch themselves watching the screen, without actually seeing the picture (creating a double dissociation). They watch themselves watching a 'film' of the traumatic event that is still affecting them. The film begins at a point before the trauma occurred and ends at a point at which the trauma is over.

All this is repeated back and forth, at whatever speed feels comfortable, and as many times as needed, till the scenes evoke no emotion from the client.

If the feared circumstance is one that will be confronted again in the future — for instance, driving a car or using a lift — the person is asked, while still relaxed, to visualise themselves doing so confidently.

Besides being safe, quick and painless, the technique has the advantage of being non-voyeuristic. Intimate or painfully upsetting details do not have to be made public. This reduces the distress for the client, and also helps protect the therapist from the possibility of being vicariously traumatised themselves when detraumatising particularly disturbing events.

> https://www.hgi.org.uk/useful-information/treatment-dealing-ptsd-trauma-phobias/rewind-technique

05/08/2022

Main thing is it is so effective!

People often ask how the human givens approach differs from other therapeutic approaches. The Professional Standards Authority did too when they first assessed the HGI’s therapists register for accreditation. This is what we told them...

The human givens approach to psychotherapy and counselling is a brief, solution-focused approach, which helps people feel better and move on in their lives as quickly as possible – at its heart is the understanding that, when a human being’s essential emotional needs are met and their innate mental resources are being used correctly, they will be emotionally and mentally healthy.

"...it helps an unprecedented three out of four clients achieve significant improvement or cure, usually in between one and six session "

What makes the human givens approach different from other therapy approaches is that its therapists look to see what is missing, or being misused, in clients’ lives, with the aim of helping them find ways to better meet their needs.

Helping people to change unhelpful thinking styles (cognitive) will be just one part of a holistic process that also involves, usually all in one session, giving psycho-education (eg. explaining the experience of anxiety and depression in a way that normalises it and takes the fear out of it – this includes an understanding of the role of dreaming in depression); helping clients take a different perspective on their situation (through the use of reframing, metaphor and storytelling); problem solving (helping clients recognise times when they are not experiencing problems, what is different about those times, and how they can build on that); teaching whatever skills are required (for instance social skills, communication skills, assertiveness skills); and rehearsing making desired changes successfully (through guided imagery).

Continue reading > https://www.humangivens.com/human-givens/human-givens-therapy/hg-approach-difference/

26/06/2022

Many of us rely on things like drinking and smoking to make us feel better. What we're actually chasing though, is a chemical rush. 🧪

When we do certain things, our brain releases chemicals (neurotransmitters) that affect how we feel. Our feel-good chemicals include:

🧠 oxytocin - known as the love hormone that makes us feel warm and fuzzy
🧠 dopamine - the feel-good hormone that controls your mood
🧠 endorphins - the body's natural pain relievers
🧠 serotonin - the mood regulator that helps you feel emotionally stable and calm

Next time you're reaching for your vice, try one of these hacks to feel the rush instead. 🥰

ℹ Sources
Health Direct (2021). Dopamine | Serotonin | Oxytocin | Exercise and mental health
Queensland Health. Activities for a stronger mental wellbeing
CBHS Health (2021). Understanding the chemicals controlling your mood
S. Heijnen, B Hommel, A Kibele, LS Colzato (2016). Neuromodulation of aerobic exercise—a review
Healthline (2021). Why do we need endorphins?

07/06/2022

“Put a rat in a cage and give it 2 water bottles. One is just water and one is water laced with he**in or co***ne. The rat will almost always prefer the drugged water and almost always kill itself in a couple of weeks. That is our theory of addiction.

Bruce comes along in the ’70s and said, “Well, hang on. We’re putting the rat in an empty cage. It has nothing to do. Let’s try this a bit differently.” So he built Rat Park, and Rat Park is like heaven for rats. Everything a rat could want is in Rat Park. Lovely food. Lots of s*x. Other rats to befriend. Colored balls. Plus both water bottles, one with water and one with drugged water. But here’s what's fascinating: In Rat Park, they don’t like the drugged water. They hardly use it. None of them overdose. None of them use in a way that looks like compulsion or addiction. What Bruce did shows that both the right-wing and left-wing theories of addiction are wrong. The right-wing theory is that it’s a moral failing, you’re a hedonist, you party too hard. The left-wing theory is that it takes you over, your brain is hijacked. Bruce says it’s not your morality, it’s not your brain; it’s your cage. Addiction is largely an adaptation to your environment.

Now, we created a society where significant numbers of us can't bear to be present in our lives without being on something, drink, drugs, s*x, shopping... We’ve created a hyperconsumerist, hyperindividualist, isolated world that is, for many of us, more like the first cage than the bonded, connected cages we need.

The opposite of addiction is not sobriety. The opposite of addiction is connection. And our whole society, the engine of it, is geared toward making us connect with things not people. You are not a good consumer citizen if you spend your time bonding with the people around you and not stuff. In fact, we are trained from a young age to focus our hopes, dreams, and ambitions on things to buy and consume. Drug addiction is a subset of that."
Credit: Johann Hari

14/01/2022

Post-traumatic stress disorder is a treatable anxiety disorder that affects around 3 million Australians at some point in their lives. Learn more about PTSD and other health topics on the My Amazing Body podcast 🎧

05/01/2022

Every year in our family we have a tradition for New Year’s Day. We all sit around the table with a little gleam in our eyes as we look at each other, the anticipation building. A small cackle might slip out of my youngest sister as my mom’s face transforms with that giant smile of hers, getting set to kick us all off - our round-robin rendition of everyone’s “word of the year”.

Your word of the year is the thing you are looking to bring to life for yourself - a mantra of sorts. The one thing you really wish for in the year to come. The whole ritual always feels somewhat sacred - like we were all inviting in the thing we were looking to bring to life, with the people you love the most listening in and manifesting it right alongside you.

This year, I really had to think long and hard about what I wanted to wish for in 2022. There was a lot that came to mind, but in the same thread, it felt like the usual things that showed up ended up feeling insignificant. For me, it all kind of wrapped into one common theme - “peace”.

Peace in my heart.
Peace of mind.
Peace that comes in the ritual of moving through the day, knowing you are on the right path for what’s next.

I want to metaphorically invite all of you to our table this year. If there was one thing in one word that 2022 could bring to you, what would it be? I would love to hear!

I hope your “word” serves as a preview of life’s coming attractions for you this year.

19/12/2021

HG works incredibly well for curing PTSD. You don’t have to live with it!

In this article, Joe Griffin suggests that techniques which can yield immediate success, may share an underlying mechanism.