‘Neuro’ is to do with the brain. ‘Linguistic’ is to do with language.
Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) is an approach to communication, personal development, and psychotherapy that focuses on understanding and changing patterns of thought, language, and behaviour. Developed in the 1970s by Richard Bandler and John Grinder, NLP is based on the idea that people can improve the way they experience the world by altering how they process sensory information and communicate both internally (with themselves) and externally (with others).
This type of therapy relates to language, patterns and thoughts of behaviour which may have come to light through experience. The individual then uses these experiences to achieve their outcomes. All human action is seen as positive in this type of therapy. The importance being that if a plan fails it isn’t good or bad but it is just viewed as useful information.
Lester Morse, Director of Rehabs UK explains "I discovered NLP about 17 years ago! I became a practitioner because I truly believe that if you want to change your life, you must first change your mind. NLP is an incredibly effective system to help accomplish this, even when it seems difficult. Many people have anchored their thoughts in traumatic fears, resentments, or unhealthy beliefs about themselves, others, or the world for long periods of their lives. With NLP, you can often help re-anchor and re-frame these troublesome thoughts in a short amount of time. Using powerful tools, it becomes possible to reset these thoughts and beliefs, which automatically shifts a person’s feelings and enables them to respond to life with more informed, controlled decisions—hopefully rooted in higher ideals.
It’s truly amazing to witness people release old, damaging thoughts and emotions and make massive, positive changes in their lives! NLP is a highly effective approach to healing, especially for issues related to addiction and other dysfunctional behaviours."
If you are interested to explore how NLP may help you or a loved one with addiction contact our Treatment Advisors today for a free assessment.
Neuro-Linguistic Programming is used within addiction treatment as it stems from emotional strength. Addiction makes you feel helpless and NLP helps to build resilience to the emotional roller-coaster.
The NLP framework can be used and applied to almost any problem in life which is why it works for addiction treatment. It breaks down each behaviour into smaller pieces of information which make it easier for the individual to understand. It allows the person to address the root cause of their addiction and create a step-by-step plan to change.
Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) is sometimes used as a complementary approach to help people manage and overcome various types of addictions by reprogramming the thoughts, emotions, and behaviours associated with those addictions. The framework it uses can be applied to most problems in life. This means that it can be a useful tool when treating those with alcohol, substance and behavioural addictions.
