There are many similarities between Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) techniques but also some key differences. The main difference is that CBT focuses on managing current thinking and behavioural patterns, whereas NLP taps into the unconscious mind. This helps to discover where a belief stems from and then eliminate it at its roots.
In this post, I discuss the techniques used in a course of CBT therapy, such as using worksheets, compared with an NLP Personal Breakthrough Journey. You’ll learn what to consider when deciding which type of psychotherapy is right for you.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy Techniques
CBT therapy is a type of talking psychotherapy that can help you manage mental health problems such as anxiety, post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and phobias. It helps change the way you think and behave by making you more consciously aware of your patterns of negative thinking and behaviour.
A CBT therapy session is carried out by a trained therapist, either in a 1-2-1 situation or within a group setting. Each session is around 30-60 minutes long, and a full course will last anywhere from 6-20 weeks, sometimes even up to 10 months, depending on your needs.
In CBT, problems are broken down into 5 main areas. These are:
• Emotions
• Thoughts
• Actions
• Physical feelings
• Situations
These areas of our life are all interconnected, so one affects the others, either positively or negatively.
CBT sessions help to manage mental and emotional disorders by:
• Focusing on the present situation and finding solutions to the current problem.
• Using exposure therapy for phobias.
• Setting achievable goals for you to work towards.
• Using worksheets and exercises to break down problems, helping you understand the way you perceive situations and then find solutions.
How a Course of CBT Works
A course of CBT will usually start with the therapist asking you about your life and the reasons why you’ve sought therapy, as well as any other background information. It may be held in a clinic, outdoors or in your own home depending on the specific fear or phobia. The first session is about making you feel comfortable, and your therapist will ask questions about how the problem is currently affecting your life.
After this first session, you will work with your therapist on a weekly or fortnightly basis to further understand the problems you’re experiencing. Your therapist will analyse your thoughts and feelings and then work with you to break down unhelpful thought patterns with a variety of techniques. This helps you to replace your current thoughts with more helpful ones. You will be given homework each week, and then will discuss how you’ve got on at the next session, before working on other techniques you can also try at home.
Cognitive Distortions – Techniques and Exercises
During the course of your CBT therapy, techniques will be applied to help resolve what therapists refer to as cognitive distortions. These are inaccurate thoughts that reinforce negative patterns and emotions. Inaccurate thoughts include things such as black and white thinking, jumping to conclusions or catastrophising.
Several different CBT tools can be used to break down cognitive distortions. These include exercises such as relaxed breathing techniques or body scans and muscle relaxation, to techniques where you reflect on the worst-case scenario. This technique in particular is designed for fear and anxiety and is used as a coping mechanism.
Journaling is also a tool that is regularly used, as well as exposure therapy for phobias.
Therapists will often use worksheets during a session to assist you with cognitive distortions as well as other exercises paper. Worksheets allow you to further examine your thoughts and break them down visually which can be incredibly helpful.
By the end of the CBT course, the aim is that you will have a good understanding of your unhelpful thought patterns, recognise them when they arise and have learnt techniques to cope. As you exercise these new, more helpful thoughts, you begin to challenge old beliefs and reinforce the understanding that the fear was irrational. Eventually you will build new habits and thought patterns that stop the unhelpful thoughts before they take hold.
NLP Personal Breakthrough Journey
CBT works with a client over a number of months, whereas NLP personal breakthrough is an intensive coaching program run over two consecutive days. It identifies the root cause and creates profound change within a number of hours.
The unconscious mind is incredibly powerful and there’s still much that science doesn’t understand about it. It holds programs which run in the background, instilled in us from early childhood events that we often can’t recall. A small innocent comment to much bigger trauma such as abuse and neglect can affect the decisions we make in life. Both positive and negative early events shape our lives.
When we tap into the unconscious mind, we discover exactly where a problem stems from, then bring that forward into the conscious mind and remove the negative emotion attached to that event. This reshapes our beliefs and the way we view ourselves and the world.
NLP personal breakthrough coaching is extremely deep and powerful work. It will help you discover exactly what is that’s holding you back and sets measurable goals to put you on the road to success. No matter what area of your life you’re struggling with, NLP breakthrough can help.
How Neuro Linguistic Programming Works
NLP Personal Breakthrough is a transformational journey run over two consecutive days. Every therapist has their own unique way of working and therapy is tailored to the client’s needs.
Initial assessment – Before the two day intensive breakthrough, there is an initial assessment where a very detailed personal history is taken. Not all therapists work exactly the same way, but you will likely be asked many questions relating to your life and this can take several hours. After an initial assessment with me, I provide an optional reiki session which I find is very beneficial for my clients, as I find it can often be taxing on you both mentally and emotionally.
Day 1 – On the first day we run through your personal history again. I find that often I can gain more insight or things can change so it’s always good to revisit.
Time Line Therapy
Time Line therapy is a revolutionary model of therapy creating effective and long lasting results. According to Tad James, M.S., Ph.D. “Time Line Therapy Your ‘Time Line’ is how you unconsciously store your memories or how you unconsciously know the difference between a memory from the past and a projection of the future. Behavioural change in an individual takes place at an unconscious level. People don’t change consciously. The Time Line Therapy® process allows you to work at the unconscious level and release the effects of past negative experiences and change ‘inappropriate’ programming in minutes rather than days, months or years.”
All our present-day behaviours were learnt in our past. These negative past experiences can affect our lives by causing challenges that are created unconsciously.
Negative emotions are attached to past experiences, and Time Line Therapy techniques that are applied, help to release these emotions that are attached to that event.
Limiting beliefs are our unconscious beliefs that drive our decisions. Without us knowing it, throughout our lives, we unconsciously make decisions based on beliefs that are often completely untrue. Time Line Therapy techniques release these beliefs into the past to allow you to move forward with freedom and empowered choice.
Day 2 – If it’s required, Time Line Therapy will continue. Once it’s complete, other NLP techniques such as anchoring are used where needed, and then measurable goals are set based on your values. This is a great opportunity for you to understand your purpose, learn more about yourself and reflect on what it is you want moving forward.
To round off the day, we do a hypnotherapy session to embed further all the positive aspects of last two days.
Integration
In order for you to realise the changes that have taken place, you need to be exposed to situations that would have once challenged or triggered you. This is where you see exactly how the therapy has made a difference in your life. We discuss this at our weekly sessions.
Weekly Sessions
Included in the NLP Breakthrough are weekly sessions. The whole process can take anywhere up to 3 months and we work together until you have achieve the results you’re looking for.
Which Therapy is Right for You?
With both CBT and NLP breakthrough, you need to want to make a change in your life. Neither will work if you’re not fully invested.
CBT therapy requires you to talk at length about your problem, and practice consistently to create a new habit. Whereas an NLP breakthrough is focused on fixing the unconscious problem. NLP is deep work and requires you to be open minded, but once the Time Line therapy is applied, and you find yourself in situations that challenge your old beliefs, you become consciously aware of the changes that the therapy has made in your life. In other words you witness the changes that have taken place on a deep level, rather than consciously practicing techniques repeatedly.
As well as the above, CBT therapy has been focused on gaining scientific evidence of its success, and because science understands a great deal about the conscious mind, they have been able to show that with consistency, CBT can be very successful. This is one reason why it’s so popular today. If you are someone who relies heavily on published scientific research, you may feel more comfortable trying a method such as CBT first.
However, if you have tried CBT in the past and had only limited success, or you’re looking for results quickly, then an NLP breakthrough may be the right therapy for you.
Although we’re starting to understand more about the unconscious mind, we still have a great deal to learn.
As with anything if you get to the root cause of a problem, you cut off supply from the source. NLP is described as taking a folder, turning it upside down and shaking out the papers, then putting it back in its place, without the old programs. Both CBT and NLP are highly successful therapies with countless success stories. I hope this post has given you some insight into the similarities and differences between the two therapies. Whatever you decide is right for you, an investment in your wellbeing is the best investment you can ever make.