Q - What are some of these key skills?

A – The key skill for a therapist to successfully build a therapeutic relationship is to be able to build rapport at a very deep level. Rapport is identified only when the person gives you unconscious agreement. This state of rapport must also be refined throughout the interaction. Such skills as being in the other persons shoes (2nd position as it is known in NLP), will also provide the necessary support techniques to deal with very demanding situations as will being able to identify subtle shifts in a persons physiology that will let you know how they are reacting to your treatment at an unconscious level (Calibration).

Q – What are Rapport, 2nd Position and Calibration?

A - Rapport is essential in any interaction to gain unconscious agreement. Rapport establishes trust in the client. Trust in both relationship and skill. Psychologists report that we only have three seconds within which a person makes up their mind about us. The ability to gain rapport at the unconscious level delivers those 3 seconds to the therapist.

2nd Position is a very refined state of rapport and provides the therapist with skilful and intuitive knowledge of the client’s state and problem which is normally outside their awareness. This allows the therapist to direct their treatment to areas where they probably would not have gone to if they only took the clients conscious understanding of their own problem. This ultimately results in a greater level of client satisfaction.

Calibration is the ability to identify through non-verbal posture and gestures a client’s state in a given context. We naturally do this with people with whom we are in constant or close contact with, such as work colleagues or loved ones. You know if your partner is upset even when another would say "they look happy". Your observational skills and ability to calibrate to the smallest changes in their physiology provide you at an unconscious level with that intuition. This is an important skill to cultivate for all therapists.

Q – How do you measure success?

A – Success can be measured in a number of ways. The first success is the client’s satisfaction in the progress of their reaction to the treatment or that the desired change has been reached. The second success and probably the most important one for the therapist is the recommendation. The recommendation comes in many forms, yet if the treated client is very happy with the treatment and change but unhappy with the relational aspects of the therapist they will unlikely recommend the therapist to others, yet will recommend the therapy.

It is therefore important that the therapist is both confident in their skills and has excellent relationship and communicational skills to work with demanding situations and people. This is the royal road to success and sets the therapist apart from their peers.

Q – Is learning NLP important for a therapist?

A - For someone who works in the healing profession, the practitioner can expect to gain significant improvement in many areas. Part of a therapist’s ability is to recognise through postural alignment and stance how a client's physiology is affecting their condition. Having the skill to know how to calibrate someone's physiology in relation to a particular ailment is a prerequisite skill in knowing what treatment to offer. Though some therapies teach these observational skills to advance to a highly skilled level of effectiveness can often take years of practice to develop. NLP provides to those in the healing profession with the skills that successful and highly skilled therapists use in their daily practice.

Q – What about questioning skills?

A - Unless you conduct your treatment in silence, at some point you are going to need to converse with your client. Your client will undoubtedly have an idea of where the pain is, how it got there and how to fix it. With the ability to research on the internet and self-diagnose, it is quite common for them to either misdiagnose or offer their own version of events. Rather than always accept the clients transformative version, it is essential for the therapist to gain an exquisite description of their ailment by having acute questioning techniques. Knowing how to question rapport-fully and obtain an accurate description is important to fully understand how your client experiences their situation.

A therapist who has the ability to obtain highly accurate information about their client’s condition and expectations will have the greatest chance of delivering the right treatment and be able to manage their expectations. NLP Provides therapists with the skills to ask questions that challenge our client’s conscious understanding of their situation.

Q - Is NLP for any particular therapy?

A - NLP works with the communicational and relational aspects of the therapeutic encounter. It also provides the therapist with tools and skills with which to deal with aspects that may be outside of their particular sphere of expertise yet fall into the scope of providing the client with a holistic approach to treatment and change.

Q - What will it do to my relationship with clients?

A - NLP will develop your ability to build strong relationships with your clients and prospects. Relationships are the key to the successful therapeutic encounter. How you relate to your clients will determine your degree of success. You will be able to build relationships with the most seemingly difficult clients you may encounter and develop their trust in your abilities and strengths.

Q - How would non-verbal communicational skills help me assess my client?

A - We all communicate non-verbally, we cannot not communicate. Your clients non-verbally communicate how they experience their situation. NLP provides you with the ability to assess and read your clients non-verbal cues and unconscious processes. You will find your abilities for assessing your clients state both before and after the treatment will make a significant difference in treating them and managing their expectations and well being.

Q - How will it help me personally?

A - The progression of your skills will empower your self-development as a natural bi-product of learning NLP. Not only will you become more aware of how you and others communicate, but you will also learn skills that are fundamentally important in any interaction with others. NLP delivers to you the skills to use in all walks of your life.

Q – Should NLP be included into the course content for therapies and health practitioners?

A – NLP offers the ability for a therapist to acquire fundamental skills in which to deal with a multitude of differing therapeutic encounters and situations thus delivering a true holistic therapy. In reference to this the inclusion of fundamental NLP techniques into therapeutic courses should be seen as a holistic approach to health care and development of the therapy the student is learning. This approach means that the student learns their chosen modality and uses NLP as a set of skills to enhance the therapeutic encounter. NLP fully integrates into any therapy or holistic service.

NLP empowers the therapist with primary skills to be the best they can in their field. It offers the therapist the chance to extend their capabilities and create the flexibility and behavioural choices to deliver a true holistic expression in their chosen field.

NLP provides the X-Factor in Today’s Therapist.

For more information on NLP training courses & seminars and how we can incorporate NLP modules into your courses contact Origyn NLP Training on 01252 861351.