In Cognitive–Behavioral Therapy for Perfectionism Over Time, Dr. Martin M. Antony demonstrates his approach to working with clients wrestling with issues surrounding maladaptive perfectionism. Perfectionism can be defined as a tendency to set standards that are unreasonably high, and to measure an individual’s worth in terms of their ability to meet these standards. Typically, these perfectionistic standards are applied to oneself. Perfectionism is sometimes associated with anxiety or related disorders, and therefore resolving a client’s anxiety may result in a decrease in more debilitating manifestations of perfectionism.

In this series of six sessions, Dr. Antony works with a young woman who is completing a graduate degree in psychology. She strives for perfection in many areas, including her school work and her family life. She is overly concerned with organizing, planning, and succeeding at everything she does, and also has occasional panic attacks and issues concerning her body image. In these sessions, Dr. Antony helps her to challenge thoughts about not meeting her goals and to learn to deal with the resulting stress rather than giving in to her drive to be perfect.

What is HYPNOSIS – NLP?

Neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) is a technique used to provide clients with the tools to overcome certain life obstacles. NLP is in short, a way of helping people help themselves to reach a state of excellence, happiness and peace of mind.

NLP is a learning model devised by two American academics (Dr Richard Bandler and John Grinder) in the early 70s, who were fascinated by the relationship between language behaviour and excellence. They believed that by analysing the unconscious linguistic techniques used by successful people, they could produce ‘a recipe for excellence’ in which other people could consciously learn to apply said ‘successful techniques’.

What is NLP?

NLP stands for neuro-linguistic programming.

Neuro – All of our experience is gained from the neurological processes that govern our five senses: taste, touch, smell, sight and sound.

Linguistic – We make sense of these experiences through a set of filters, including language. The language we use can also affect the way we experience things.

Programming – This is a way of controlling the outcome of something. A person can use NLP to ‘predetermine excellence’ by adjusting the language we use.

To break it down, the science aspect is the process of extracting and learning the techniques. The art aspect is the act of applying the techniques to our own lives.

There are four ways NLP techniques are most commonly used:

to teach effective communication
to ensure continual personal development
to enhance learning
to encourage a greater enjoyment in life
NLP is used to teach us how changing our perception of the world can lead us to adjust and adapt our behaviours to live the life we want.

NLP and hypnotherapy

Hypnotherapists aim to induce a relaxed and receptive state (trance) in their clients in order to access the subconscious. Many of the obstacles that prohibit or limit a person’s experiences are deeply embedded in the subconscious, so by accessing the thought processes that usually remain hidden, hypnotherapists can work with clients to change the restrictive thought pattern and make room for positive development.

An NLP practitioner will look at your attitude, your language and how you use it, your understanding of relationships and your ability to build rapport, as well as the physical and emotional states that are best for accomplishing a task. Effective communication and perception of others and ourselves, will also be key focuses. All of these will be analysed and examined by the professional, so that a strategy for improving understanding, motivation, learning and memory can be formed.

Many hypnotherapists train in NLP to help improve their ability to communicate more effectively with their clients, as well as to help their clients communicate more effectively with themselves.