NLP Certification Training Standards
There are three levels of NLP Certification Training:
Certified Practitioner of NLP
The traditional format is the full-syllabus and full-length programme of 120 hours of hands-on training in which a Certified Trainer of NLP is continuously in attendance. At the end of the course there is a two-day assessment process in the presence of two Certified NLP Trainers to determine that you have reached the appropriate level of skill for certification as a Practitioner of Neuro-Linguistic Programming.
Certified Master Practitioner
A Master Practitioner will have already been certified as aPractitioner and will have then taken part in an additional 120 hours’ training in the application of more advanced skills in their own lives and with others. Again, they will receive full certification when two Certified Trainers agree that they are able to behaviourally demonstrate that they have attained the requisite standard.
Certified Trainer in NLP
This person will first have been certified as a Practitioner and as a Master Practitioner and will then have attended an additional 120 hours training in how to train others in NLP at the first two levels.
Nowadays these standards are adhered to only by some training organisations.
Standards & NLP Certification
The quality of NLP training available in the UK and worldwide varies considerably – from being exemplary to being quite mediocre – and regrettably standards do continue to drop.
For example, you can obtain a piece of paper proclaiming that you are a Certified NLP Practitioner or NLP Master Practitioner by merely attending a course of just a few days and with minimal or no skills’ assessment at the end. You can even become an NLP ‘practitioner’ through distance learning.
So it is possible to go through all three levels of training and become a Certified NLP Trainer in a month or two!
But the actual piece of paper and the title of NLP Practitioner or NLP Master Practitioner carry little weight outside the world of NLP.
Why attend an NLP Certification Training?
Having a certificate announcing that you are a Practitioner or Master Practitioner of Neuro-Linguistic Programming has personal and professional benefits – providing that you can back up the title by demonstrating a significant level of NLP skill.
And those who have completed 120 hours of hands-on, coached and assessed training will have a quite different level of skill and proficiency in comparison to those who have spent a few days in a hotel room as part of an NLP audience.
It is likely that you will only attend one Practitioner Certification Training in your life.
It should be a great, eye-opening experience and one that you will always be glad you took part in. It should leave you convinced of your own value and your potential. You should be more impressed with yourself at the end of the training than with the organisation or the trainer.
My own attendance on the NLP Practitioner Training back in the 1980’s, which was run by the now-defunct NLP Training Program, was certainly a turning point in my life – one of the best investments of time and money I have made.
So make sure you select well – and find the very best training organisation. That extra bit of effort to investigate and shop around is worth it!
Conclusion…
Caveat Emptor – buyer beware. Carefully research your prospective training organisations and trainers.
In any case it is a good idea to ask the organisations on your short list some probing questions about the quality of their NLP Training.
The Pegasus NLP Newsletter
Most articles on this site originally appeared in The Pegasus NLP Newsletter – which has been published continuously since January 2001.
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