First Fast Phobia Cure

by Nicole on July 29, 2010 · 5 comments

The first fast phobia cure outside of a training room is always the most scary one, for the NLP Practitioner or coach. Perhaps also for the client.

Global NLP Training takes an active approach following up with past students over Facebook, both via the Global NLP Training Fan Page, as well as our trainers connecting to students from their personal pages. Incredibly helpful tool, to answer questions, and support students.

Today I noticed a status update from a very excited student, doing her first fast phobia cure outside of the class room, less than 4 weeks after her training.

Let me introduce you to Barbara, Language Coach. I (Nikkie) wanted to leave her comments unedited, so I didn’t, minus some typo’s.

Global NLP Training: Hi Barbara, it was great to receive your news. So you just completed your first fast phobia cure. Congratulations! How do you feel?

Barbara: I’m overwhelmed. I can’t even find the right words … I feel great! And somehow relieved that I managed to get through it!

Global NLP Training: How does your client feel?

Barbara: Happy! She said she felt relieved and light. She couldn’t stop smiling. And hugged me A LOT!

Global NLP Training: Do you know what the phobia was, or did you do the technique without knowing?

Barbara: I didn’t know what it was. And it was okay. I really felt like I didn’t have to know. She told me afterwards though.

Global NLP Training: Doing this outside a training environment, did you feel confident? Was it hard to do?

Barbara: I was a little bit nervous about it, because I felt like having my NLP training manual on my lap, which wouldn’t be appropriate even though I really wanted it to be there as a back-up. But since I didn’t want to seem insecure about what I was doing, I just told myself that I knew it all and that I could do it without the manual. So I did.

Global NLP Training: How long did it take? Please don’t say an hour.

Barbara: An hour and a half ;-) LOL. No … it took no more than 15 minutes.

Global NLP Training: How did the client experience the process itself?

Barbara: She went through the first “rewind of the movie” too slow, even though I had given her the instructions very clearly (with the sound and so on), therefore it seemed to be a little painful for her. So I had to go thru the instructions again and clarified that it should only take a second to rewind the movie. When she did it again, I could see from the movement of her eyes that she went thru it a lot faster and she was fine this time. Her only comment in the end was “wow”.

Global: Was it a text book fast phobia cure, or did you have to be creative to get the job done?

Barbara: I think it was a text book fast phobia cure … I didn’t have to change anything. It worked just fine

Global NLP Training: What did you do to prepare? Read the manual, put yourself in a good state of confidence? Did you do NLP on yourself before you did it? Or did you just go for it.

Barbara: I didn’t look at the manual beforehand – for a lack of time. That’s why I was a little nervous when she said she wanted to do the “fast-phobia-cure”. I took some time to focus before I started, went thru the entire process in my head once, took a few deep breaths with her and then did it. (Oh and I’d stepped into my circle of excellence in the morning already, so I felt like I was still in it)

Global NLP Training: Was it easy to use good verbal and non-verbal communication patterns? I mean you took the course in English, which is not your first language.

Barbara: It was less difficult than I thought. This could be, because I’ve been reading a NLP book in German the past few days to find out if the communication patterns just translate or if I really had to learn the “German patterns”, so I felt confident about it. I do have difficulties to identify the representational systems and predicates in the language though. That’s a little tricky in German, but it’s doable.

Global NLP Training: Do you feel there are areas you could improve on for the next one?

Barbara: There is always room for improvement! I always say. Maybe not so much when it comes to “fast-phobia-cure”, because I really think I nailed that today ;-) … I realized that I do need some more tools when my client started talking about events from her past that somehow still have an effect on the present. So I guess I really have to take that Master Practitioner class, don’t I?!

Global NLP Training: What would you advise a new Global NLP Training graduate for their first fast phobia cure outside of the class room?

Barbara: Make sure that there are no budgies in the room! That can be very irritating … well, it was for me. Apart from that: keep a wary eye on your client and trust yourself. Your unconscious mind will know what to do!

Global NLP Training: In class did your partner have a phobia? Or did you work on a fear? Or were you unlucky and get a fearless client.

Barbara: I got THE MOST fearless student in our entire group … However (!) I knew I would get my chance some day!

Global NLP Training:  Did you have a phobia? If yes, how is that going?

Barbara: I was THE other fearless student in our group.

Global NLP Training:  When I did the fast phobia demo, it was intense, yet successful. Your class mate not only had a phobia, it was a trauma all wrapped in to one. Since his early childhood. What did you think when you saw the demo?

Barbara: I thought “THIS IS BIG. I want to do that too!” And then I thought: “WOW THAT’S BIG. Could I actually do that?!” And then I thought “great! I know a few people with a phobia … I’ll try and see myself”

Global NLP Training:  How do you think about it now?

Barbara: I need to call my other “victims” – I want to do that again!!! And I’m still impressed with what you did for my class mate! It’s such a powerful tool.

Global NLP Training: Did you think it was hard to learn the fast phobia cure? Or did you feel that the demo, the explanation, and the class room practice was enough?

Barbara: I’ve always trusted the process. I never had the feeling I needed more input. And Practice is an important part of the learning process too!

Global NLP Training: Anything else that you would like to say to the readers?

Barbara: (To her fellow class mates) Each one of you has learned so much during our training – it would be such a pity if you let that knowledge and the skills slip away with time. It’s so important that you start using it ASAP! Don’t wait too long. … this is something that I tell my students over and over again. It’s simple, but true: “Use it or lose it.”
It doesn’t mean you’ll forget everything, but it gets harder to remember. So maybe you want to make it your intention to use the “fast-phobia-cure” or any other NLP-technique within the next two weeks – or not. I miss you guys!

Global NLP Training:  That’s it. You are AWESOME. I am so proud of you. On to your next Fast Phobia Cure I hope.

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It may a negative thing to say about my clients that they are lazy! In fact, we all are inherently lazy. Lazy is for all of us a natural state of mind.

What do I mean with that?

The mind will always take the easiest and quickest route, to achieve its positive intention. (And yes, even the bad stuff we do  has a positive intention.) And the brain learns very fast. That’s why we found ourselves day dreaming and doing other things with our minds during our time in elementary, high school or even college. When the brain isn’t engaged enough, it’s starts doing something else. This is why learning should not only be fast, it should also be fun. That’s the only way the brain can learn.

In order to get a client to do something, you have to shift their focus away from something else and onto the task at hand. The brain will by default not pay attention. That’s what  I mean with lazy. It is your job as an NLP Practitioner and coach, to keep having your client focus on the task in order to achieve their goals.

In a way, that’s your most important job as a coach. You help the client determine a goal, the most effective tools to use for this is setting a  ”Well Formed Outcome.”  Which is something taught in a quality NLP Practitioner training or coaching course. There are however other good goal setting tools available (most common, though not most effective one, being setting SMART goals.) Then you lay out the tasks. And your job is to re-focus the client continuously on completing tasks. And help them define tasks that are required in order to achieve the goal.

Knowing that “lazy” is natural state a mind, will keep you on your toes to keep focusing the client as to where there attention needs to go. And where attention goes, energy flows!

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