NLP is considered to be Rapid Therapy. In such field, the client should not have to come for more than a few sessions to notice improvement or results of change work.

There are, however, other factors beyond the “tools”. The proficiency of the practitioner is a major factor, for example, and also the willingness of the client to go through the process fully. I have never had a session in which I didn’t encounter some conscious or unconscious resistances from a client. It is always there, and if you don’t see it – you’re missing something big.

The success of the session in Rapid Therapies, such as NLP and Hypnotherapy, is measurable. Simply ask the client – how do you do with this issue we worked on yesterday/last week/last month?

I cannot tell you how pure NLP works for clients since I have never used NLP alone, I always included hypnotherapy procedures and a whole lot of conversational hypnosis before and after a session.

Since during the years I had a private practice I also offered a full guarantee there would be no business without clients getting results. The pressure it puts you under is a good one – you are completely tuned in during a session and you try to use every opportunity to get your message across and shift a client’s perspective (or “frame”). That, plus the presupposition “if he offers a full guarantee it means he knows for sure that it will work” (client’s view) puts the client in a state of “waiting” for a change to happen, or POSITIVE ANTICIPATION, which is what every therapist on earth wants to see happening with any client.

From combining hypnotherapy and NLP I did not encounter failure with any client. I did have clients who wished to use the guarantee and stop sessions, for their own reasons, but they did not go through the whole therapeutic plan we put together in 1st session so they can’t be counted as failed procedures. Those who went through it noticed results, some moderate and some more impressive.

One last note – the CLIENT is the one that is making the change, NOT you. You are there to “nudge” in the right direction, you cannot be a facilitator or total change as some therapy schools try to imply. You’re not a mind control freak and certainly not a magician; the techniques you learn from respected and experienced trainers will serve your clients well, but it is up to them to be fully engaged in the process. It’s up to you to reduce errors and encourage progress.

Being a practitioner is only the beginning, you learn the cool stuff much later.