Put simply, NLP is a collection of techniques aimed at realising visionary goals by harnessing the most dynamic and positive beliefs and behaviour we can muster. NLP can be carried out whilst you are in a trance state, but more commonly the therapist will guide you through a series of actions, thoughts and imagery whilst you simply sit in a chair with your eyes closed. NLP stands for 'Neuro Linguistic Programming'. The technique was developed and refined by two people in the USA called Richard Bandler and John Grinder in the mid 1970’s. They were looking to understand the language patterns used in hypnotic trance induction and other therapeutic methods. The name NLP comes from the fact that we use our brains to process information, literally every second of every day, (That's the Neuro bit). We use language and therefore words and sentences to communicate every day. But just as importantly we use words and language to make sense and order of our own thoughts, feelings and memories. Perhaps you can hear your own voice inside your head right now as you read these words? (That’s the linguistic bit) And finally programming. This is not as sinister as it sounds, because just like a hypnotic trance state, the therapist cannot programme you to do something that you don't want to do just by using NLP. The therapist will work closely with you to re-programme an event or situation that might have happened in the past, or be happening to you right now. It might be blocking or preventing you from doing something that you would really like to do, such as boarding a plane to go on a holiday of a lifetime. Or it might be a limiting belief, driven from a past experience, which manifests itself with the words, " I could never..." or " I will never be able to....". NLP can enable you to change this mindset and open up possibilities and options. We call this reframing. To give you a very real example, not very many years ago running a marathon was considered to be the domain of only the sporting elite. Yet nowadays, every year tens’ of thousands of amateur and club standard runners complete this gruelling event at locations all over the world. Some even manage it in fancy dress! This has not been possible be adopting an “I would never be able to run a marathon” attitude. These people have asked themselves “What would I need to do to compete in this physically demanding event”. As a consequence they have come up with a strategy, a plan and a course of action. All aimed at achieving a goal. Hopefully you can see they have reframed the event from a negative to a positive and in broad terms the therapist will help you to achieve your goals by a similar process. NLP is particularly effective for treating fears and phobias and they are usually dealt with in one session of NLP and one session of hypnotherapy. It is also effective for goal setting and personal development.