Counselling & Psychotherapy
Roberta Hutchins BSc (Hons) MCPP MHGI
Registered Human Givens Psychotherapist
Do you want to feel better?
Psychotherapy from the human givens approach combines proven therapeutic techniques with the most up-to-date psychological knowledge to relieve emotional distress and help you move on with your life as quickly as possible.
Why choose human givens therapy?
- Facilitates long-lasting improvements
- Takes as few sessions as possible
- Involves minimal dwelling on the past
- Explores your individual needs and resources
- Finds practical solutions to your problems
“Roberta, using the Human Givens approach, offered a simple, quick and effective treatment using the ‘best’ of a variety of approaches. I left empowered with the tools for self-management. Highly recommended.”
Effective, fast and practical help for anyone suffering from:
- Anxiety and stress
- Panic attacks
- Depression
- Phobias
- Low self-esteem
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- Poor concentration
- Relationship problems
- Self-harming
- Anger problems
- Addiction (all kinds)
- Obsession
- Poor sleep
Feel better today…
Why is this approach so effective?
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.
“My experience of Human Givens psychotherapy was very positive.
It focuses on the present, not dwelling on the past and has helped me develop strategies that I could realistically use to make life better.”
It recognises ingrained negative patterns with a view to changing them. I found it a practical down to earth approach.
Roberta was an excellent therapist, she has a calming and non-judgmental approach. She has made a huge difference to me personally and I am so pleased I met her.
Appointments available in comfortable clinics in central Exeter and Chudleigh.
Appointments last 75 minutes and cost £65.00
What does the treatment involve?
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 begin 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.)
How long will it take?
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.
Keeping track of how you’re doing
When you book your appointment you will be emailed some forms to complete before your first appointment. You can fill them in when you arrive if you can’t do it beforehand.
There will be some forms to complete at each of your each sessions so we can assess your progress and make sure things are moving in the right direction.
As a human givens therapist I can help…
- Reduce anxiety – which might take the form of continually feeling stressed, panic attacks, fears, phobias, lack of confidence or overwhelming stress and pressure
- Break the cycle of depression – however low you feel now, you can soon start to wake up refreshed with a sense that life is meaningful again
- Resolve trauma – human givens therapists can treat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), however severe, effectively and quickly
- Manage anger – anger disorders damage health, increase the likelihood of an early death and cause enormous misery among relatives, colleagues and innocent bystanders. If you suffer from unreasonable anger, we can do something about it
- Stop addictive behaviour – all forms of addiction can be overcome (alcohol, drugs, gambling, sex, TV, computer games, shopping, eating disorders) providing the person sincerely wants to stop the behaviour
- Relieve medical conditions – many conditions such as psoriasis, eczema, asthma, irritable bowel syndrome, chronic pain and migraine, have an emotional component. Stressful events often trigger an outbreak because emotions affect health – and vice versa
- Harmonise relationships – relationship difficulties are often self-perpetuating because our beliefs and reactions to one another trigger patterns of behaviour that stop us solving them. When couples or families want to stay together but are having problems, the human givens approach can help.
Find out more about the Human Givens approach on the HGI website.
What are the Human Givens?
Although we are all unique individuals we all come into the world with the same basic physical and emotional needs: physical needs such as for 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, proven psychological methods and techniques focused on problem solving and developing new life skills.
I worked with Roberta for a total of 5 sessions, who made me feel extremely relaxed, I have always been sceptical about therapy, and my time here has positively impacted my life and given me the necessary tools for further healing and I was able to move forward from past trauma that I have been unable to for a significant period of my teenage and adult years. Highly recommend.