So you’ve decided to study NLP. Congratulations! We wish you well in your studies.

•  Did you know that not all NLP Practitioner courses are the same?
•  And what exactly does it mean to be an NLP Practitioner anyway?
•  Will the training I undertake mean I can be an NLP therapist?

These are the types of questions we get asked frequently on our ABNLP 1300 helpline from people just like you who want to choose an NLP training that is reputable and professional.

People choose to study NLP for all sorts of reasons. Some people want to be therapists, others want to use NLP in business and sales, in teaching and some want to apply it to themselves for personal development. Because the ABNLP is passionate about seeing NLP made available widely in the Australian community we feel it’s time to suggest some guidelines to assist you in your choice. Unfortunately some trainers have chosen to lower the standards of NLP Training which makes it difficult for NLP to be taken seriously.

 So….where to begin?  Here are some points and questions you may find useful.

• Does your NLP Trainer have a recognised NLP Trainers Certification? Who trained them?

• Do they have professional indemnity and public liability insurance to work as a NLP Trainer?

• How long has the trainer been training in NLP? Specifically, how long have they trained NLP Certification courses?

• How much experience does the trainer have, not just as a Trainer but also as a clinical Practitioner of NLP?  Did you know that some NLP Trainers have never seen a client-yet they claim to be able to teach others to do so?

• How large are the training groups they train? If you are training with them to learn NLP to apply it professionally, you may wish to ask the trainer or school how they can support you to do this. This may not always be possible in a large training group where individual needs are not catered to.

• Can you speak to the main trainer(s) directly before starting the training?

• Can you talk with one of their past students to get a training testimonial?

• How long are the courses? The ABNLP Inc recommends that NLP Practitioner training be a minimum duration of 7 classroom days and Master Practitioner training be a minimum of 9 days. Some courses span up to 21 days.

• Is the training organisation claiming that you can become wealthy from their course or otherwise drastically change your life as a result of taking their course? NLP is not a 'get rich quick scheme' nor is it a 'quick fix' tool. If the training organsation is claiming these things, ask more questions - if its too good to be real, it might be.

• Is the NLP Trainer a member of an organisation in Australia such as the Australian Board of NLP and what level of membership do they hold? If not, why not?

• What are company policies on course payments, refunds etc.

• What exactly do you receive as a result of your training? Make sure that any offers are made in writing and that you keep a copy of documents.

• Is the trainer qualified to issue you with a certificate in hypnotherapy? We add this point because many NLP trainers provide certifications in hypnotherapy when they are not trained to do so. You cannot teach someone to be a hypnotherapist in one day (which is what is claimed in some cases). Graduates are disappointed when they find that their certificate means nothing and they have to pay more money to get a recognised diploma or certificate. For more information about recognised hypnotherapy training visit The Australian Hypnotherapists Association - www.ahahypnotherapy.org.au  

• Will you receive support once the training is over? Is there someone you can direct questions to? What after course support is avalaible?

• What are the complaints procedures - who can you complain to if you are not happy with the training?

• If the trainer utilises NLP assistants in the training course then how are they chosen? Do they know what they are doing or are they just tagging along for free training themselves?