Joe once worked with a young man called Rick who has been depressed for many years and eventually ended up off work for several months because of depression. He had undergone six sessions of earlier counselling in which the counsellor had encouraged him to explore his past, and as a result, he had realised that his depression started at secondary school. Being a shy and sensitive boy, it had been an enormous culture shock for him to transfer to a large, all-boys’ secondary school where one had to be confident and preferably sporty to win respect.

Of course, simply realising this didn’t help Rick to deal with his depression. He remained unable to get out of bed in the mornings and spent most of his time alone, having stopped spending time with friends. He felt too humiliated to return to work, fearing all his colleagues would know why he had been away so long, and was unable to bring himself even to phone his boss. In his first session of human givens therapy, however, it quickly emerged that he felt unconfident in social situations generally, because of his experiences of being humilated by teachers and bullies at school, and that this had had the effect of gradually closing down his life. All he really needed was to learn how to handle such situations. In that first session of therapy, Rick learned how to relax and was taught a number of social skills, which he was able to apply with beneficial effect. This boosted his confidence further and quickly lifted him out of a depression that had driven him to attempt suicide.

<< Return to case histories