PRESS

First book on how the subconscious works with an excellent technique for exploring Ericksonian hypnosis, soon to be available in stores.

Vivre au Féminin Magazine, May 2005

Hidden behind the rather long name of Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) is an attractive and pragmatic approach that is simple and effective. NLP was created in the United States in the mid-1970s and is increasingly used by therapists. It consists, first of all, in defining a positive and realistic goal. "I'm fed up with being indecisive", thus becomes "I would like to learn to make decisions more easily." Hélène Blanchard, a NLP teacher at the French NLP Institute, explains that "One cannot strive towards something negative. The goal must also be specific so that the individual can visualise it and it must take account of the advantages and the drawbacks for the future", she continued. "What will you see, what will you hear, what will you feel when you reach the goal?", the therapists asks. It is by using these sensations that the therapist will then draw up specific strategies to attain the goal. NLP is not interested in the "why" of a problem, but rather in the means to obtain what the patient wants. The aim is not to spend long hours brooding over the patient's anguish, but rather to define the desired changes instead of trying to overcome psychological difficulties. "The problem with conventional analysis or psychology is that work is done almost exclusively on the origin of the problem, but identifying the cause is not enough in order to make progress," Myriam Roure, a NLP teacher, points out. NLP is a set of practical tools that provide a behavioural-mental response to the problems encountered by the individual. On average, only five to ten sessions are needed to set in motion a range of techniques that will help the patient feel better quickly.

Who is it for?

NLP is a communication methodology and support for change that may be used in therapy and in work situations. In the latter case, NLP is similar to coaching, in particular for athletes and business people. NLP helps to optimise the individual's resources and potential.

Hypnosis

Ericksonian hypnosis is a short therapy that, as in the case of NLP, focuses on behavioural response and specific strategies in order to attain a goal. However, in Ericksonian hypnosis NLP is not defined as the main therapy, it is hypnosis, which calls upon our subconscious. By taking the patient to a state of "modified consciousness", between wakefulness and sleep, the hypnotherapist can gain access to certain areas of the subconscious that have been hidden away because they are painful or bothersome. Based on these rediscovered sensations, the therapist asks the patient to find the appropriate responses by talking to his or her subconscious via suggestions. This is a technique that promotes change and that is why NLP is often used alongside hypnosis.

Think Positive about Life
See your life in a positive light thanks to NLP psychology!

"WHAT WE DO, basically, is to pay very little attention to what people say they do and a lot of attention to what they actually do," - Richard Bandler, founder of NLPwith the assistance of Hélène Blanchard, NLP teacher at the French NLP Institute, and an authority on NLP.

"In the field of therapy, NLP is very often used to improve human relationships, whether at work, in couples or with one's children", Myriam Roure explained. NLP can change inappropriate behaviour, such as aggressiveness or touchiness. It also deals with manifestations of a lack of self-confidence by focusing on the goal to be achieved. The areas where NLP is applied range from psychotherapy to human resources management. Many companies have used this technique. "People looking for work come to me with their CV and we hold mock job interviews", Myriam Roure added.

A Pragmatic Approach

NLP is truly founded on the study of behaviour and observation of the patient. "What we do, mainly, is pay very little attention to what people say they do and a lot of attention to what the actually do", explained Richard Bandler, founder of NLP in the 1970s.

"Sometimes, I don't even need to ask a patient what the problem is, because I see it in his or her behaviour. Other times, people explain why they come to see me but I see something else in their attitude", declared Myriam Roure. The therapist uses everything that is apparent from the outside; it may be muscle tension in the face, a nervous twitch, an attitude or a way of expressing him or herself. The therapy must be adapted to each individual's means of communication. Some means are auditory, others are visual or physical. "When I receive a patient, I observe how he or she communicates and I use this channel as a basis for work with the patient, Myriam Roure points out. For example, a child who is failing in school because he does poorly in spelling, is likely to think orally as opposed to visually." Thanks to NLP, the therapist will pursue the child's channel to help him understand what he has difficulty grasping. NLP is more a set of tools than a method in its own right and is complementary with many techniques. It is often used, for example with therapeutic hypnosis.

A Real Toolbox

"I meet a lot of people who experience communication difficulties with people around them. To remedy the situation, I often use role games. That enables us to see how the individual really reacts in a given situation", asserted Myriam Roure. "We try to make their situation and relationships with other people evolve so that the individual opens up their mind to see other ways of dealing with things." Hélène Blanchard adds that, "The idea of NLP is always to expand one's viewpoints. If I am dealing with a manager who has relationship problems with a colleague, I'll invite him for a session and have him play the role of the colleague so that he feels things more objectively." Another frequently used tool in NLP, in particular for overcoming a lack of self-confidence, is anchoring. "I bring about a pleasant feeling in the mind of the person, who becomes totally immersed in it. Together we detail the sensations that the patient feels in the scenario and we anchor a gesture or a word that will be the stimulus that will trigger the feeling of wellbeing whenever necessary", Myriam Roure explained. That stimulus may be a small discrete gesture, a sound (snapping of fingers), music or a feeling. Bringing about the image of wellbeing helps the patient to overcome his or her anguish in daily life.

Thinking Positively

Myriam Roure also uses the "switch" technique, consisting of neutralising a negative image and replacing it with a positive sensation. All these little tools are easy to learn and can be used at home. "My aim is to make my clients independent", concluded Myriam Roure on a positive note.

"I tested the NLP because I had doubts about my vocational guidance and in particular on a project in which I did not dare to launch me. That enabled me to be consolidated in my choices, to find all the resources me to concretize this project. What I appreciated much, it is the fact of working not on what does not go but on "how that could go". The NLP, it is really as if the light were lit, one says oneself: "but of course, it is that!". This approach learns how to know oneself and to lay down an objective which corresponds to us. All appears practical and light. In what relates to me, the horizon was cleared up at the end of four meetings. I carried out my professional project and I am charmed by it. Now that I succeeded in achieving my goal, I have the impression that I will be able to launch me much of other challenges ".

"I made an analysis which was really painful for me because I arose from the meetings completely depressed and I had the impression not to advance. With the NLP, I constituted myself a tool case filled with small techniques which enable me to face the stresses of the daily newspaper while being independent of my therapeutist. During the meetings, one approaches cases practise and I see immediately what does not go at home, but in a positive way, I do not feel guilty since immediately, with the therapeutist, we set up concrete means to cure these problems of communication or anguishes. It poses many questions to me, sees things which I do not see. What I like, it is the fact of working concretely by making the small ones."