Frequently Asked Questions

Q: I have a nlp-practitioner certficate that is not sealed with a seal of IANLP. May I enter a nlp-mastertraining with IANLP certfication?

A: The completion of an IANLP certification level can only take place when the IANLP certificates for the preceding level are present.

Thus, while each Fellow Member Trainer (FMT) can set his or her admission criteria, upon the completion of such training, certification can only take place when you (as a student) can produce a IANLP certificate for the preceding certification level.

Please ask your FMT IANLP for post-certification of your nlp-practitioner certificate. These guidelines apply.

Attendance in training

Q: I’ve seen that practitioner curriculum asks for a minimum of 18 days and 130 hours of teaching. What about missing hours? When I was doing NLP practitioner we were allowed to miss two days in totall. How is this in IANLP?

A: IANLP knows that in education many schools and educational authorities are asking a certain percentage (e.g. 80%) attendance only.

From the curricula IANLP it is clear that it is 100% attendance except, breaks <30 minutes. The curriculum reads: “Breaks exceeding 30 minutes that are taken in the course of the daily training can not be counted towards the fulfillment of the 130 training hours. “

If a school would like to offer less than 100% attendance then of course this has to be taken into consideration when designing the training. Example: A school wants to offer 80% attendance, than the training has to be designed with 22.5 days and 162.5 hours duration. Thus making sure that if a student misses 20% of the training, still the minimum requirements of 18 days and 130 hours are fully met.

Personally I (Ueli) see only disadvantages in offering a certain percentage of not being in the training. Participants walk in late and out early. Thus making an intense training setting more difficult. And, as we have learned from other schools in Switzerland, students ‘take’ the 20% off the most challenging parts of the training (like group dynamics). But from a educational perspective, often these (stress-charged) training days might be exactly the training contents this specific student might have gained the most for his/her personal growth.

Attestation of attendance, what is this?

Q: My trainer says that she will give me an attestation of attendance but no IANLP certificate. What is the difference?

A: We understand that this is not an easy situation to be in. Neither for you, nor for your trainer. You have taken part in a training with the aim of gaining new skills and to obtain a recognized certificate in the field of nlp neuro-linguistic programming. You have invested time, effort and money. Now, at the end of the training, of course you would like to see all this effort rewarded.

Apparently, the problem is that your trainer was not able to recognize those new competencies in your behavior and/or mental and/or emotional abilities yet. Consequently, he/she is not willing to issue a certificate to you.

Indeed, IANLP certificates are not merely an attestation of 'having been in class' but are certificates of competency. If a student does not reach that competency, we require that our Fellow Member Trainers do not issue a certficate! This is why certificates with our seals enjoy a high reputation worldwide.

In this situation, we suggest that our FMT require additional work, offer additional training, stop training, or find whatever solution is appropriate for this particular student.

By handling such situations in a satisfactory fashion, Fellow Member Trainer IANLP demonstrate that they care about the quality of training and the true growth of students, and are not motivated by financial considerations alone.

So we do hope and we are confident that you, together with your Fellow Member Trainer, will find ways on how you can fulfill your training and accomplish the necessary additional requirements.

If not, we are nevertheless positive that having trained in nlp you will certainly have gained substantially from the training itself. Even in the case that you will not obtain certification, you will have grown by the experience and you will have aquired new tools in communication that you will find beneficial to you personally and to those around you.

Complaint procedure

Q: If I have a complaint about my training and/or my trainer. How do I proceed?

A: Check with IANLP website member section to see whether your trainer is a registered Fellow Member Trainer IANLP.

If she/he is NOT registered with us, we unfortunately cannot assist you any further.

If the trainer in question is a Fellow Member Trainer IANLP, you are welcome to submit your grievance to IANLP. Grievances shall be submitted in writing. The adress of the member whose conduct you find objectionable has to be included. Grievances have to be specific. IANLP can only adress grievances if:

a) a FMT is involved, and
ba) a IANLP-curriculum training is involved, or
bb) IANLP-Code of Ethics is involved

Anonymity: You will have the option as to whether you would prefer to have your name disclosed towards the FMT and other persons outside the IANLP office, or to remain anonymous. IANLP office will respect your preference.

Curricula: Master - 5 coaching sessions

Q: Master curriculum: The five coaching sessions with the same client. Is this to be outside the classroom? Using NLP often means that coaching is finished in 2 or 3 (sometimes even 1) session.

A: One of the overall outcomes of an NLP-Master training is to enable the student to work with individual clients on their personal growth issues. The aim of this specification is to support the students to work with 'real clients' outside of their training peer group to complete a series of sessions. For many students this might be the first time that they have had the opportunity of working with a 'real' client. These coaching sessions provide many new experiences:

organising the sessions,
setting up a coaching contract (written or verbal),
asking for payment (even if it is not money),
helping the client to focus his/her personal growth issues over an extended period of time,
going along with changing needs of the client

So, yes, these 5 coaching sessions should be outside the classroom. How these sessions are to be documented is up to the FMT. Some FMT ask their students to write a reflection on each session and/or discuss these sessions during supervision.

Curricula: Master - Supervision

Q: Supervision: Does the supervision have to be inside or outside the classroom? Do I, the Fellow Member Trainer IANLP have to do the supervision or could that be done by someone else?

A: The 5 hours of supervision have to be in addition to the required 130 hours of live training. They can be done by the FMT and/or outside qualified supervisors. Supervision can be done in groups and/or individually.

Curricula: Out of school training

Q: In the curricula it says: "In addition, individual out of school training of at least 10 full hours of training." Could you give me an example of this please?

A: In addition to the minimum 130 'trainer contact' hours students are expected to undertake 10 hours learning focused on nlp outside the training room. So 'individual out of school training' in IANLP curricula means that the students might meet outside the training course in peer groups to practice their skills. Individual nlp coaching sessions (student being coach or coachee) can also be counted towards these hours. They might also consist of formal training hours or training hours supervised by a nlp-trainer or even the Fellow Member Trainer IANLP herself/himself. - By the way: academic adult continuous training distinguishes between in-school training hours and out-of-school training hours.These added together make up the 'total learning time' which is often stated on certificates. This takes into consideration that learning is happening both inside and outside the classroom as well as in between formal training sessions.

Curricula: Total training hours

Q: Can you tell me if the following meets IANLP Criteria:
My nlp-master students undertake:

5 coaching session with the same client
5 hours of supervision

Will doing these activities meet the curriculum requirements for:

"In addition, individual out of school training of at least 10 full hours of training."
"5 coaching sessions with the same client. "
"5 hours of supervision."

A: The curriculum NLP-Master IANLP is quite clear: quote> In addition, individual out of school training of at least 10 full hours of training, and at least 5 coaching-sessions with the same client are requried. Furthermore, at least 5 hours of supervision are required. <unquote.

So it says 'in addition' and 'and' and 'futhermore'. Added up together it will be

130 hours of live training, plus
10 hours of out of school training, plus
5 hours of coaching with the same client, plus
5 hours of supervision

totaling 150 hours learning time.

Therefore the answer is a 'no': The 5 coaching sessions and the 5 supervision sessions cannot be counted towards the fulfillment of the 10 hours of out of school training.

Diploma for short term trainings

Q: In my country, NLP trainers offer many specialized seminars that culminate in granting NLP diplomas. These seminars typically include 30 hours of training which are comprised of basic NLP skills, such as the NLP communication model, submodalities, VAKOG, anchoring, feedback model, PRLL, and basics about goal setting. These seminars are also the basis for continuing with the NLP Practitioner training. What do you think about this approach? Does the IANLP also offer such options?

A: a) The IANLP understands the (marketing) need for offering basic nlp-seminars. In some countries these are called 'Introductory Days', in other countries they are referred to as 'NLP-Basics'. Other designations that are equally acceptable by the market place are also in use. The goal is to facilitate the initial step of getting in touch and exploring nlp.

b) From IANLP's point of view, these seminars can be called anything that seems to be appropriate in the market place and does not violate IANLP’s code of ethics.

c) A certificate for any one of these seminars may include the following wording: "This seminar is a part of the nlp-practitioner training according to IANLP curriculum (http://www.ia-nlp.org)". However, it is important to be aware that such certificates may not contain the official sticker seal of the IANLP.

d) In Switzerland, the word 'diploma' is reserved for advanced studies in adult continuing education. To grant diplomas on the basis of a training that only lasts a few days would be considered highly questionable. Hence, looking at the issue from our perspective here in Switzerland, we would certainly highly recommend a designation other than the title 'diploma'. Possibly, in your country 'diploma' stands for some kind of attestation of attendance, in which case it could be used without raising any eyebrows. However, to be on safe ground, we recommend the usage of the designation ‘certificate’ instead of ‘diploma’, as this seems more appropriate in this situation.

Does NLP-training constitute a state or federal license for counseling?

Q: Can an NLP Master Practitioner treat emotional issues or illness without a license in social work, counseling or psychology with the required course work and national exams?
Can an NLP Master Practitioner do work with couples and families for a fee without a license in the mental health area?

A: As an international organization, IANLP sets standards for superior training offered by NLP Fellow Members worldwide. However, whether a person based on this training is entitled to offer professional services to clients is regulated by the laws of the country in which the professional performs his or her services.

In most countries NLP training by itself does not constitute and does not prepare for a professional state or federal license. Many countries have no laws at all regulating counseling and/or psychology.
It is especially in these countries, that obtaining training from a IANLP Fellow Member distinguishes the acceptance of a NLP-professional. It also assists the public to differentiate between the high quality of a IANLP certified trainer and the graduates of their training from individuals obtaining substandard training.

To sumarize: It is essential to check with the proper local authorities to find out whether and what kind of prerequisites have to be met for a given professional acitiviy. This is not only the case in the field of counseling psychology but is also required before engaging in any other professional activity.

Entry into next level training

Q: A FMT IANLP does not accept me into the next level training. Doesn't my practitioner certificate entitle me to start with nlp-master training?

A: As a matter of principle a IANLP level certification (such as NLP-Practitioner IANLP) is a requirement to start next level certification training. This does not mean that a level certification stipulates any right to enter next level certification training. Sometimes a certain person is a good nlp-practitioner but in the view of a Fellow Member Trainer not ready yet to enter next level certification training.

There can be various reasons why a fellow member trainer IANLP might not want to accept a certain trainee into his/her trainings. As each fellow member trainer works as a fully independent enterpreneur, IANLP has no right and does not want to interfere into the business proceedings of it's Fellow Member Trainers. Each Fellow Member Trainer IANLP is completey free to conduct his/her business in the way she/he want's to subject to the terms of the Code of Ethics.

History of IANLP

Founded in the 1980's IANLP soon became the worlds biggest nlp-network with over 1300 members in it's peak time... (Download: 12 Kb)

How to become a Member of IANLP?

There is no membership at IANLP. If you fulfill the criteria of recognition you are most welcome to join the network of Fellow Member Trainers IANLP. Only Fellow Member Trainer are entiteled to certify their nlp-trainings with the seal of IANLP. Please refer to page curricula for information on how to apply and contact us. Welcome!

How to find a good nlp-training

Some general information on IANLP and NLP and tips on how to select a good nlp-training (Download: 26 Kb)

May I teach NLP?

Q: I have a nlp-trainer certification. May I teach nlp ?

A: IANLP wants to make a clear distinction between ‘NLP-Trainer IANLP’ and ‘Fellow Member Trainer IANLP’.

A ‘NLP-Trainer IANLP’ is a person who has successfully passed the nlp-trainer training as described in the curriculum. A nlp-trainer training is an excellent preparation for utilizing nlp-tools when working with groups.

Passing on nlp-methodology to groups (= Fellow Member Trainer IANLP or NLP-teaching trainer) requires various additional competencies, primarily extensive experience of teaching nlp.

This has been taken in account by setting the following additional minimum requirements: Assistance of at least one practitioner training and one master-training is required. Furthermore, at least 300 hours of live teaching experience in adult education are also required.

Training design

Q: May I incorporate an nlp-practitioner training into my own training design?

A: When issuing certificates, Fellow Member Trainers IANLP are required to assure that the receiving parties have fully met all the requirements of the respective curriculum. However, we also want to emphasize that within the established framework of the curricula, FMT are encouraged to creatively design trainings that fit their particular frame of reference and their particular area of expertise.

One of our FMT exemplifies this tailor-made approach. This particular FMT offers a 3 year post-graduate university program in leadership. In the course of the training all contents of the nlp practitioner curriculum are covered. At the conclusion of the program, students are offered the opportunity to participate in the written and oral practitioner testing, and if they pass, students receive their IANLP certificates. This certificate is in addition to the post-graduate degree that successful students obtain and is perceived as a valuable bonus in addition to the academic degree. When quizzed, many students report that the opportunity to obtain both the IANLP certificate and the academic degree within one integrated course of study was crucial in their decision making process to enroll in this particular course of training.

What can I do with a NLP-Practitioner certificate?

Q: Please tell me what can I do with a NLP Practitioner Certificate

A: Since we are neither familiar with your personal education nor with your personal professional background, we are not in the positon to advice you in which private and professional field a training in neuro-linguistic programming will help you realize the most pronounced benefits.

People who learn nlp report that the quality of their daily communication increases dramatically. This is the case both in business and in their personal lives.

Thus it might be that somebody will use nlp in counseling. But many more people utilize the power of neuro-linguistic programming in general business areas, such as management, human resources, sales, marketing and consulting. In addition, we would like to point out that nlp has become an important tool in education as well, where professional trainers and teachers design their presentations with the aid of nlp and consultants and parents enhance their relationships with their children and students.