NLP – Neuro-Linguistic Programming

WHAT IS NLP?

NLP is a very gentle form of therapy. It is based on the belief that there is a very strong connection between our minds and our bodies. NLP helps people alter old, negative patterns that affect them, either in an emotional or physical way, and keeps them from being productive or from accomplishing their goals. NLP is useful in enabling people to create change in their lives and is used to help them overcome many different barriers. Through NLP a person can lose weight, stop smoking, or work on physical problems such as hair loss or allergies. It is also useful when one wants to work on emotional issues including relationship work, situations of abuse or phobias. The approach is relatively new, having been developed in the 1970's and is very powerful. NLP helps people tap into their own inner power and inner strength to create change in their lives.

NLP therapy is usually short-term. People will see change almost immediately, from the very first session, but the work is long lasting and is not a quick fix. Because NLP gives people the tools they can use to create change within their own lives, they are the ones creating the change. The therapist's role is to teach the patient techniques that will work, and to guide the patient in the direction that enables change to happen.

NLP is based on the belief that our well being is powerfully affected by the link between our emotional and biochemical responses. The words you speak and thoughts you think, create either a positive or negative response. What's more, our Mind/Body connection attitudes have a powerful effect on the immune system. Learning how to completely relax your mind and body allows you to open yourself to the healing process

Relaxation techniques are basic tools that Gail Petrowsky uses in her work. Once an individual is relaxed, healing can take place and change can happen. From her work with patients, she has developed a series of CDs for stress reduction, weight loss, and to help people stop smoking. Her work has been recognized by chiropractors and physicians who use her stress reduction CD as an integral part of their healing work. Once the patient is relaxed muscles can be aligned more easily and a chiropractor's work is more effective. Relaxation techniques have also proven to be useful with heart patients. What's more, these techniques have become part of the treatment used with many cancer patients who incorporate relaxation, visualization and other lifestyle changes as part of their therapy.

Neuro-Linguistic Programming is based on the work of Milton Erickson who looked beyond the conscious content of an individual's responses into the deeper unconscious mind. For example, if you asked a person what was going on in their mind when they did a given activity like brushing their teeth, they would say, "I don't know, it just happened." NLP is a way of analyzing the creative process.

The field of NLP developed out of the modeling of human thinking skills. The NLP modeling process involves finding out how the brain (neuro) operates by analyzing language patterns (linguistic) and non-verbal communication. The result of this analysis is then put into a step by step strategy or program that supports people in overcoming what ever it is that they have set as their goal.

Gail Petrowsky, a counselor and the former director and founder of Insight in Connecticut, discovered NLP when she was confronted with some serious physical problems. She started looking for alternative methods of healing and discovered NLP. Once she learned the techniques, Gail started incorporating them into her own life.

"NLP worked for me" explains Petrowsky. "I found these techniques so helpful that I became certified in NLP and internationally certified in Ericksonian therapy and started using these techniques in my work. Each person who comes through my door is unique and I treat each person using a variety of skills. But, to date, I haven't found one person who hasn't been helped by NLP."

"I like NLP because it is an innovative, thorough and productive way for people to enhance their lives without feeling immobilized while they are in therapy" comments Petrowsky. "They experience movement from the very first session. It puts the ownership back on the individual, which is very empowering. The client gains the realization and confidence of knowing that they are creating their own destiny and their own path."

Gail combines NLP therapy with Ericksonian techniques. Through NLP an individual can learn to reprogram their behavior to initiate change into their lives. This is then reinforced through Ericksonian work which acts like the cement that makes the change long lasting. Gail has worked for over twenty years with hundreds of clients through seminars, individual and group work to help them break though the barriers that are blocking their development, enabling them to reach their full potential.