What is NLP?

NLP influences a change in the structure of experience, that is, it does not focus on its content but on our thinking about it. NLP is a set of tools and exercises that, properly applied, change our perception of reality to one that is more moral, resourceful and developmental.

NLP, or (Neuro-Linguistic Programming), is a cognitive-behavioral model and set of specific skills and techniques developed by John Gringer and Richard Bandler in 1975. NLP is the study of the structure of subjective experience, which examines the patterns or “programs” resulting from the interactions between the brain (“neuro”), language (“linguistic”) and body that lead to both effective and ineffective behavior.

The goal of this analysis is to better understand the processes behind human excellence. Skills and techniques are reproduced based on observations of patterns of excellence in experts in various professional fields of communication, including psychotherapy, business, treatment and education.

Put another way, neurolinguistic programming is a practical knowledge of how the mind works and how language (verbal and non-verbal) shapes our reality.

How does NLP works?

NLP (neuro-linguistic programming) influences a change in the structure of experience, that is, it does not focus on its content but on our thinking about it. NLP is a set of tools and exercises that, properly applied, change the way we perceive reality, to a more moral, resourceful and developmental way. Through exercises, which in the first stage are based on working on images and language, the practitioner makes changes in the areas of experience, thinking, reacting that have been selected for him. Which results in increasing one’s personal resources with the help of NLP, without influencing the environment.
One of the elements that are worked on with the help of NLP exercises at the NLP Practitioner course is beliefs, i.e. strongly held generalizations about:

Causes (e.g., events, emotions, thoughts)
Meanings (what we assign to e.g. behaviors, people, events)
Boundaries in:

• the world around us
• our behavior
• our capabilities
• our identity

Beliefs operate at a different level than tangible reality and usually serve to control our impressions of reality and interpret them by linking them to our criteria or value systems. Beliefs are quite difficult to change using typical rules of logical or rational thought. Depending on the country of origin, it is possible to recognize certain systemic beliefs specific to the chosen culture, and so, for example, in Poland they often include: “money does not give happiness”, “a humble body, two mothers suck”, “better a sparrow in a hand than a pigeon on the roof”, etc.

Is NLP safe?

Can a set of communication techniques focused mainly on working with one’s own beliefs and thoughts be dangerous?

NLP is like any working tool, if used as intended it is completely safe and groundbreaking for those who use it. The basic principle is to apply NLP in the context of our own person, then only then can we fully experience and understand what it and our capabilities are in controlling our own thoughts, the resulting emotions, and consequently the effects in the form of chosen behavior and achieved results. NLP in the right coaching hands, is also a very moral tool, as it ultimately teaches people to take responsibility for every dimension of life starting with interpersonal relationships, through professional areas, and ending with the spiritual dimension.

The subject of nlp is often associated with manipulation, while it remains debatable what manipulation in the modern world is not. With every use of language we influence the recipient. Knowledge of linguistic structures makes us, being more conscious recipients of messages, precisely less susceptible to both linguistic and emotional manipulation. What’s more, the human mind organizes messages according to its assumptions, the so-called mental maps matching the collected data to certain patterns. Working out this mechanism and understanding why we interpret certain events in our lives the way we do, and not differently, makes us more moral and responsible for our actions. The method of discovering all these relationships is what we call NLP.

NLP is accused of lacking a scientific basis in sources such as Wikipedia, meanwhile, if you search at least in scientific databases you will find many studies confirming the effectiveness of both selected exercises and the method itself, just to name a few:

• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3473532/ – A study of the efficacy of NLP as a treatment for claustrophobia in patients who need MRI.
• https://www.psychiatria-danubina.com/UserDocsImages/pdf/dnb_vol27_no4/dnb_vol27_no4_355.pdf – a comprehensive metanalysis of NLP research.
• Japanese managers’ experiences of neuro-linguistic programming: a qualitative investigation; Yasuhiro Kotera, William Van Gordon; The Journal of Mental Health Training, Education and Practice; ISSN: 1755-6228 – NLP in management and work as a tool for improving mental health.
• NLP helps Metronet Rail maintenance employees to stay on track: Techniques prove their worth in a period of organizational upheaval; Human Resource Management International Digest; ISSN: 0967-0734; 2010 – NLP as a tool for change management and crisis prevention in organizations.
• A psycho-educational program for cricket players using neuro-linguistic programming. Doctoral dissertation; Dawn Elizabeth Saunders; 2010 – NLP in Sports.
• Does Neuro-Linguistic psychotherapy have effect?” Martina Genser-Medlitsch; Peter Schätz – effects of therapy using NLP.
• Lisa Wake, Richard M. Gray, Frank S. Bourke (2013) “The clinical effectiveness of NLP and NLPt – an analysis of research.” – A publishing item that is a complete review of the research and state of the art of NLP.

It cannot be reported that the scientific community does not recognize nlp, the scientific community is in the process of further developing research on the effectiveness of NLP, which is driven by a valid assumption about the possibilities that these techniques bring.

What are the effects of NLP?

NLP is best started with an introductory course in its issues under the supervision of an experienced trainer who has the appropriate credentials, certified by e.g.: The Society of Neurolinguistic Programming. Basic NLP courses has a systematized name in all training organizations in this area and is called “NLP Practitioner”, the effects that a well guided NLP Practitioner brings are:

Effects* of NLP

• NLP increases efficiency at work and gives a heightened sense of self-worth.
• Developed curiosity and creativity in thinking, makes both personal and professional life more interesting.
• By changing internal reality, the perception of external reality changes.
• Participants gain a sense of meaning, purpose and high regard for their lives and the lives of others.
• They build a sense of independence and autonomy, lack of susceptibility to emotional and linguistic manipulation, among other things.
• They gain a sense of self-acceptance and self-understanding, as well as responsibility for their thoughts, habits, behavior and emotions.
• A sense of agency and inner strength to act.

Since everyone puts their own unique personality and their own inherent potential into NLP training, so the benefits will be different for different people, and what you get depends mainly on what you want to get. It is therefore very important to be clear about your personal goals at the very beginning of the NLP Practitioner course. What is your goal?

What is an NLP Practitioner course? NLP Training

NLP Practitioner is an introductory course in exercises in NLP techniques after the first module of which participants notice a clear change and results. At Infinity Power International, this course consists of 80% exercises and 20% theory. Why?

Because no one can be taught to swim, without getting into the water and… exercising. Meanwhile, NLP is specific techniques, through the application of which we are the ones who begin to steer the ship that is our life and thus cease to be “littered” by random gusts of waves and wind, becoming the authors of their fully authored life story.

NLP practitioner – is the name used for a basic NLP course that introduces and teaches the principles and exercises of neurolinguistics, it is a universal name used by all NLP trainers

Mistrz NLP/Master NLP – this is the second stage of the training, where the knowledge and practical application of neurolinguistic programming is deepened.

The quality of training is evidenced not only by the experience and education of the trainers, but also by the results in the graduates. The nlp techniques can be mastered only in practice, to do it effectively and correctly you should be in the first stage of learning under the guidance of an experienced trainer. When choosing an nlp training course, it is worth first determining what kind of result it is supposed to bring for you and verify with the presenter whether, for example, “NLP Practitioner” is the right workshop for this. Certification of the presenters is also important.

History of NLP

The creation of NLP began with a discovery made by Richard Bandler in the 1970s. He observed the very high effectiveness of therapy sessions conducted by renowned psychologist Fritz Persel, and in order to understand what their uniqueness consisted of, he conducted an analysis of transcripts. Bandler discovered that Fritz’s patients accepted his suggestions when he used specific words and phrases. Richard Bandler got linguist John Grinder interested in this discovery, with whom they created a model to describe these relationships. They tested their discovery in collaboration with Virginia Satir, in sessions conducted by her.

The results of this experiment, which was a great success, were described by Richard Bandler and John Gringer in their book The Structure of Magic in 1975, which was initially intended only to support the work of therapists, but in the meantime became a worldwide bestseller.

Another milestone in the development of NLP, was the interest in neurolinguistic programming of British anthropologist Gregory Bateson, who invited an American psychiatrist known for his unconventional approach to therapy – Milton Ericson – to work with him on the development of NLP, and developed his own Ericson Therapy on this basis.

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