Neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) is not mystical or magical; it is in fact based on the idea that with our senses we are only able to perceive a small part of the world.

Our view of the world is filtered by our experience, beliefs, values, assumptions, and biological sensory systems.

We act and feel based on our perception of the world, rather than the real world.

NLP teaches that language and behaviours (whether functional or dysfunctional) are highly structured, and that this structure can be ‘modelled’ or copied into a reproducible form.

Using NLP, a person can ‘model’ the more successful parts of their own behaviour in order to reproduce this in areas where they are less successful; or they can ‘model’ another person to create changes in their beliefs and behaviours and improve their functioning.

If someone excels at a particular activity, it can be learned how specifically they do it by closely observing certain important details of their behaviour, and if you can, also understanding their thought processes when preparing for, and undertaking, this activity. These patterns of thinking and behaving can then be replicated (‘modelled’) using NLP techniques to help you improve your own performance.  

NLP embodies several techniques, including hypnotic suggestion techniques, which proponents claim can affect changes in the way people think, learn and communicate. As a discipline, NLP is often described as a ‘toolbox’ of ideas which has borrowed heavily from other fields in collating its presuppositions and other mind programming techniques.

NLP calls each individual’s perception of the world their ‘map’, and teaches that our mind-body (neuro) and what we say (language) all interact together to form our perceptions of the world, or maps (programming).  NLP’s fundamental approach to personal development or personal therapy states that that people create their own internal ‘map’ or world.

Each person’s map of the world is unique and will determine their feelings and behaviours. It follows that negative, impoverished or unrealistic ‘maps’ create misunderstandings in and individual’s thinking that can restrict their choices and result in poor outcomes.

By recognizing an individual’s unhelpful or destructive patterns of thinking or any misunderstanding they may have based on poor or inadequate maps of their world, we can then, with permission, help them modify or replace these patterns with more useful or helpful ones.

NLP gives us a number of ways in which we can change internal representations or maps in order to increase authentic, rational behavioural flexibility – with the ultimate goal of creating a happier and more successful individual, in what ever it is they may strive to achieve.

I have found that, by applying the philosophy of Taoism, in combination with Traditional Chinese Medicine and modern techniques such as NLP, this gives my patient treatment plans a uniqueness which can be tailored to the requirements of each client, and provides a much greater success in reaching their balance and harmony.