There are 4 levels of NLP Certification. Each certifying company has their own course hours and how they determine what constitutes course hours. For example, one company may take the 130-hour requirement literally and teach a 15-18 day practitioner course (depending on the time allowed for breaks and lunch). Another company may include pre-reading time, class work, and homework time as part of the 130-hours, and therefore only having courses of 5-8 days in length. The best course is the one that works best for your overall outcomes. Click here for some things to think about before choosing a course provider
NLP Practitioner:
This is the first level of NLP Certification. According to the International NLP Association, practitioner courses are 130 hours in length. Successful completion means that the practitioner has a behavioural integration of the following skills:
* Presuppositions of NLP
* Rapport; establishment, maintenance of
* Pacing and leading
* Calibration
* Representational systems
* Meta-model
* Milton-model
* Elicitation of well-formed outcomes
* Overlap and transition
* Metaphor creation
* Frames, contrast, relevancy, as if, and backtrack
* Anchoring (VAK)
* Anchoring techniques
* Shift from internal to external consciousness, as needed
* Dissociation and association
* Chunking
* Submodalities
* Accessing and building resources
* Reframing
* Strategies; detection, elicitation, utilisation, and installation
* Demonstration of behaviour flexibility
* Verbal and non-verbal elicitation of responses
This is the second level of NLP Certification. According to the International NLP Association, Master Practitioner courses are 130 hours in length plus 15 hours of direct trainer supervision (some companies do not require their students to complete this 15 hours of training). Successful completion means that the Master Practitioner has all the Practitioner level skills plus:
* Meta program sorts
* Values & criteria ladder
* Identification & utilisation
* Sleight of mouth
* Elicitation of complex equivalents and adjustment
* Installation & utilisation of strategies
* Refined use of submodalities
* Deliberate multi-level communication
* Negotiation
* Presentation skills
* Modeling
* Utilisation & transformation of beliefs and presuppositions
* Design individualised interventions
* Ecological change work
* Shifting from content to form & experience and label
This is the third level of NLP Certification. According to the International NLP Association, Trainer courses are 130-hours in length as well as Practitioner Trainer Endorsement minimum of 130-hours teaching or assisting in Practitioner certification training to be endorsed to do Practitioner Training, Master Practitioner Trainer Endorsement with a minimum additional 130-hours teaching or assisting in MP training to be endorsed to do MP training, minimum of 12-hours supervision by two Fellows from two different NLP organisations and the ability to demonstrate behavioural integration of the following:
* Behavioural competence in all Master Practitioner level skills
* Use of deep and shallow metaphor
* Shift between content and form, experience and labelling
* Demonstrate what one is teaching and to teach what one is doing – and to label it linguistically (Model Self)
* Demonstration of presentation and teaching skills
* Demonstration of personal styles and artistry
* Pacing and leading
* Respect for audience
* Ability to answer questions
* Design of presentation
* Design and exercises
* Behaviourally without the use of notes or printed aids
* Utilisation of multilevel feedback; ongoing re-evaluation and incorporation of overt and covert information from individuals and group
* Graceful intervention of groups; at the least maintaining rapport and giving specific sensory grounded feedback
* Tasking; creating of a task that presupposes that a person behaves in a different way that expands his/her model of the world;
* Ability to do demonstrations
It is important to note that not all companies abide by such a strict standard of certification for this level.
NLP Master Trainer:
This is the fourth level of NLP Certification. To become a Master Trainer one must have 3-years of experience being the lead trainer of both Practitioner and Master Practitioner courses. In addition a master trainer needs:
* 60 hours of direct training with a Master Practitioner
* Completion of at least 5 Practitioner and 5 Master Practitioner trainings
* Immediate and flawless recall and teaching of any NLP subject without notes
* Being able to think and discuss on at least two logical levels above the content of the trainer’s NLP level
* Certificate level must be approved by two Master Trainers from two different organisations