Author: david

What is NLP?

NLP is short for Neuro-Linguistic Programming. It is an approach to psychotherapy which treats the brain as a ‘bio-computer’.

If you have ever had difficulty with your computer at home or at work, you probably telephoned a help desk, and spoke to someone with some expertise about how the computer works; they guided you through some procedures to find out what was wrong, and then they guided you step by step to get it working again.

You probably followed their advice to the letter; you were the only one with access to your computer, and yet they were the ones with the knowledge and skills to put it right!

An NLP Psychotherapist (called a Neuro-Linguistic Psychotherapist or NLPsychotherapist by the UK Council for Psychotherapy) work very much like a computer help desk. First, a therapist will ask you about the problems, then help you to determine what you want. He or she will then guide you through mental processes which may include self hypnosis, guided visualisation, and many other methods of working, to effectively re-programme the part of your own brain which was causing the problem.

Like the expert on the computer help desk, the therapist has the detailed expertise about how the software functions in the ‘bio-computer’ – but only you have access to the controls, to make the changes you desire.

NLPsychotherapists are accredited, and regulated by the Neuro-Linguistic Psychotherapy and Counselling Association (NLPtCA). They and other psychotherapists are registered by the UK Council for Psychotherapy. Links to the websites of both these organisations are on the navigation bar on the left of this page.

How NLP Developed
During the 1970s and early 1980s, working at California University, were two men with a real potential for genius. They were Associate Professor Dr. John Grinder, a linguist, and Dr. Richard Bandler, a computer expert.

Both men had long been interested in psychotherapy, and they had noticed that, practicing every approach to therapy there were many satisfactory therapists, and a few outstandingly effective ones. And yet, these few did not know what they were doing differently – at least, not well enough to enable their students to become as effective as they.

Bandler and Grinder agreed to collaborate on a piece of research to examine closely the work of these few outstanding therapists, to discover, as they put it, “The difference that makes the difference!” Out of this research grew the body of detailed knowledge about the working of the human mind, and the detailed skills to enable the changes in thinking, emotions and behaviour, which today is called NLP.

Today, NLP is an approach to psychotherapy recognised by the UK Council for Psychotherapy, and it also has many other applications, including the use of NLP in education, executive coaching, personal development, life coaching, business, mediation, and indeed in any setting where truly effective communication between human beings is important.

Those using and applying NLP in these many different settings are represented in the membership of the Association for Neuro-Linguistic Programming (ANLP). A link to the website of the ANLP is in the navigation bar on the right of this page.

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What is Hypnosis?

Academics have tried to define hypnosis for the last hundred years or so – without success. The following is a useful way to think about hypnosis but is certainly not a precise definition.

If you take the symptoms of the fight/flight response and precisely reverse them, you have the state of those body systems in the altered state which we call hypnosis or trance. This makes hypnosis the most obvious method in the world to treat any disorder in which stress is a cause, or in which stress is a serious complicating secondary factor.

However, let’s deal with a couple or myths first. Despite the entertaining showmanship of certain stage hypnotists, the reality is that all hypnosis is self hypnosis. There is no other kind. I was certified in 1989, by the organisation which was then the British Council of Hypnotist Examiners as a master of the subject. The only person I can hypnotise is me. What I do for anyone else is to guide a person – who has to choose to be guided by me – into a pleasant, dreamy, deep self hypnotic state.

To refute the other common myth, it is important to say that this is an altered state of consciousness. Hypnosis is not a state of unconsciousness. The client is conscious throughout, albeit in an altered way. So throughout the experience, it is the client who is actually in control, and hypnosis is not about losing control – it is about learning to take control over your own mind and body, probably to a greater degree than ever before.

Trance is a naturally occurring state in which the focus of attention is narrowed, and directed to a person’s inner thought processes. In trance, it is possible to become aware of deeper aspects of thinking and to change these – which can lead to the changes in behaviour, feelings and abilities which you desire.

Do you remember being hypnotized?

The answer is a little confusing because you may well remember being placed in to an hypnotic state, and you may also remember the events that you experienced during the hypnosis session. However, you may not be fully aware of the compelling nature of any suggestions made to you during the session, or the reason why you take certain actions afterwards.

The brain can be considered as a protein computer – very much more complex than any built by humans. The problem is that most of the programming was done while the owner was a young child. So it is not surprising that the adult can improve on it now! Also, operators of complex computers are trained, whereas most human brains are used by operators untrained in how to get the excellent results which are perfectly possible.

Hypnosis is simply the methods used to lead a willing person into trance. The therapy part of hypnotherapy combines this with psychotherapy techniques. The therapist is a bit like the help desk you may phone when there are problems with your PC. The person you talk to has the knowledge and skills – but only you can make the changes, by choosing to follow their suggestions in the keystrokes you make on the computer keyboard, as they guide you step by step.

The techniques of NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) are used to effectively enable the client to reprogramme his/her own bio-computer or brain, to achieve the results he/she wants. This is usually achieved far more easily in trance, and the therapist is just a guide to enable you to achieve what can be a complex and somewhat technical task.

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