NLP and Hypnotherapy: Unscrambling The Link

NLP and Hypnotherapy are very closely related and could be considered to come from the same ‘family’ of therapeutic approaches. In fact, if you are considering having hypnotherapy and are currently searching for a therapist, you will probably find that many hypnotherapists now-days, practice NLP to some level and conversely that most NLP practitioners who have completed certified training courses, will also be familiar with using hypnotic techniques during therapy sessions.

How are these therapies similar? -Hypnotherapy utilises hypnotic techniques in order to bring about

therapeutic change. Hypnotherapy enables a person to solve personal problems by bringing about a deeply relaxing state of mind. When the person is deeply relaxed this allows the unconscious part of the mind to use its resources to find solutions. It also allows the person to focus their attention completely on the therapists voice in order to follow the positive suggestions and guidance the therapist is making. In hypnotherapy this relaxed state is called trance. All people experience trance states on a daily basis. Trance simply refers to the experience of being really relaxed. It also involves focusing your attention so that it is highly selective. Reading a really good book and being completely absorbed in it, is an example.

Have you had the experience of being totally immersed in the characters of the book, being able to vividly imagine what they are like, whilst at the same time being able to ignore other noises and distractions going on around you? If so, you have experienced trance. Using your imagination and day-dreaming are other examples. Any time that you ‘go inside’ your own head you are in a light trance. If you’ve ever had the experience of having a problem that is constantly with you, so that it feels like all you have or all you are, is this problem, then you will know what it is like to experience a bad trance.


Richard Bandler (a computer scientist) and John Grinder (an associate professor in linguistics) developed NLP in the 1970’s. NLP was created after they spent time studying and modelling therapists who were considered to be extremely effective at getting good results. One of these therapist’s, was the Psychiatrist Milton Erickson. He was also an extremely talented hypnotherapist. Eriksson’s style of indirect hypnotic suggestion and skilled use of ambiguous and vague language patterns, has become known as Ericksonian hypnosis. Since NLP was developed after modelling Erickson, many NLP techniques involve Ericksonian hypnotic approaches.