Become a Member
IRNCH NLP CERTIFICATION STANDARDS
Below are the certifications standards recognised by the IRNCH to become a Certified member.
Introduction
The below standards are a starting point for us to check whether your training certificate meets our requirements for IRNCH registration and certification. Once we have notified you that your certification meets our requirements, if you wish you can then become an IRNCH accredited member which further enhances your credibility as a Professional and is a recognised trust mark for the public and businesses searching for a professional. To understand the requirements to become IRNCH registered, certified and accredited just click here.
Please note:
The IRNCH recognises Timeline processes as part of the field of NLP and not separate from it, therefore Timeline courses will be recognised as going towards your NLP certification and accreditation, at each of the recognised levels.
Hypnotherapy is a stand-alone subject, and courses will be considered on their own merits and will not count towards NLP qualifications.
Certified NLP Practitioner
All the below criteria are open to interpretation and will be assessed on an individual application basis. The emphasis for certification and accreditation is reliant on being a competent and effective NLP Practitioner rather than the course content alone. The NLP Practitioner is a foundation for further and more advanced NLP Training and therefore should contain several elements which are considered to be ‘traditional NLP’.
We also recognise that NLP Practitioner courses are taught in different contexts and for different purposes, such as, a personal development transformation for individuals or as an additional toolkit for coaches and businesspeople. We can contextualise our membership criteria to any field of application, and each will be considered on its own merits.
This certification must have a live training and evaluation element which is conducted by a IRNCH recognised NLP Trainer, Master Practitioner (under supervision of a recognised NLP Trainer) or IRNCH recognised Master Trainer and a minimum total programme learning time of 100 hrs. This can be obtained utilising a blended learning (link to Membership FAQ page ‘What is blended learning?’) approach and must have elements of live face to face training whether in person or via virtual learning. (link to Membership FAQ page ‘What is virtual learning?’)
The Practitioner must also demonstrate proficiency in the fundamental skills, techniques, patterns, concepts, and principles of NLP, and effectively applying them both independently and in interactions with others; observed by either a Certified Trainer or a Certified Practitioner or Master Practitioner under the guidance of a Certified Trainer.
There must be a formal knowledge check of the NLP Practitioner content either by open or closed book test.
NLP Practitioner content:
- Evidence understanding of and incorporation of the Presuppositions of NLP into your own behaviour e.g. the map is not the territory, respect other people’s model of the world, people are not their behaviours.
- Demonstrate the use of Sensory Acuity utilising sensory based observation.
- Demonstrate how to establish and maintain effective rapport and how to break rapport whilst maintain the relationship, utilisation of pacing and leading another’s verbal and non-verbal communication.
- Utilisation of setting frames for the communication process and reframing to access resources
- Knowledge of Representational Systems and Modalities (V, A, K, Ad), including use of predicate words, identification of preferred representational systems and utilisation of Overlapping Representational Systems.
- Demonstrate effective use of Submodalities and how they can be used to create change, flexibility of behaviour and increase resources including use of techniques such as Swish Patterns, Contrastive Analysis and Mapping Across, Association and Dissociation, Visual Kinaesthetic Dissociation, Submodality Belief Change.
- Demonstrate conscious use of language including use of the Meta Model, Milton Model, Hierarchy of ideas and Metaphors.
- Demonstrate understanding of the principles and utilisation of Anchoring techniques contextualised to your field of application, in Visual, Auditory and Kinaesthetic modalities. Techniques may include stacking anchors, collapsing anchors and chaining anchors.
- Show understanding and application of Strategy elicitation, utilisation, design, installation, and well-formedness; contextualised to your field of application.
- Show understanding of the elicitation and creation of well-formed outcomes that are ecological.
11. Evidence integration of flexibility of thinking and behaviour
*This content is for guidance only and may vary.
Certified NLP Master Practitioner
All the below criteria are open to interpretation and will be assessed on an individual application basis. The emphasis for certification and accreditation is reliant on being a competent and effective NLP Master Practitioner rather than the course content alone. The NLP Master Practitioner is an advanced NLP Training and therefore should contain several elements which increase critical thinking, flexibility of behaviour and the understanding of the concepts behind NLP.
We also recognise that NLP Master Practitioner courses are taught in different contexts and for different purposes, such as, a personal development transformation for individuals or as an additional toolkit for coaches and businesspeople. We can contextualise our membership criteria to any field of application, and each will be considered on its own merits.
This certification must have a live training and evaluation element which is conducted by a IRNCH recognised Certified NLP Trainer, Certified Master Practitioner (under supervision of a recognised Certified NLP Trainer) or IRNCH recognised Certified Master Trainer and a minimum total programme learning time of 100 hrs. This can be obtained utilising a blended learning (link to Membership FAQ page ‘What is blended learning?’) approach and must have elements of live face to face training whether in person or via virtual learning. (link to Membership FAQ page ‘What is virtual learning?’)
The Master Practitioner must also demonstrate proficiency in the fundamental skills, techniques, patterns, concepts, and principles of NLP Practitioner and Master Practitioner, effectively applying them both independently and in interactions with others; observed by either a Certified NLP Trainer or a Certified NLP Master Practitioner under the guidance of a trainer.
There must be a formal knowledge check of the NLP Practitioner content either by open or closed book test.
NLP Master Practitioner content:
- Demonstrate competence in all NLP Practitioner skills and knowledge.
- Understand the difference between Content, Structure and Process and their relationship to an individual’s experience.
- Understand the difference between remedial and generative change work and be able to create ecological interventions related to each.
- Understand the importance of establishing root cause, how to identify it and then how to release it.
- Be able to move between inductive and deductive thinking effortlessly.
- Techniques may include:
- Values (Criteria) – Elicitation, Utilisation, Hierarchy, Adaptation
- NLP Meta Programs – Elicitation, Utilisation, Application
- Elicitation, Installation and Utilisation of Strategies.Advanced SubModality techniques
- In depth understanding of the concepts connected with Parts Integration (Visual Squash)
- Use of advanced Language Patterns such as Sleight of Mouth.
- Application of Negotiation skills.
- Conduct a Modelling exercise.
*This content is for guidance only and may vary.
Certified NLP Trainer
All the below criteria are open to interpretation and will be assessed on an individual application basis. The emphasis for certification and accreditation is reliant on being a competent and effective NLP Trainer rather than the course content alone.
The NLP Trainers Training is an advanced NLP Training, and the candidate must show a comprehensive knowledge of both NLP Practitioner and Master Practitioner combined with critical thinking, problem solving, flexibility of behaviour and the understanding of the concepts behind NLP.
We also recognise that NLP Trainers Training courses are taught in different contexts and for different purposes, such as, a personal development transformation for individuals or as an additional toolkit for coaches and businesspeople. We can contextualise our membership criteria to any field of application, and each will be considered on its own merits.
This certification must have a live training and evaluation element which is conducted by a IRNCH recognised Certified NLP Master Trainer, Certified NLP Trainer (under supervision of a recognised Certified NLP Master Trainer) and a minimum total programme learning time of 100 hrs. This can be obtained utilising a blended learning (link to Membership FAQ page ‘What is blended learning?’) approach and must have elements of live face to face training whether in person or via virtual learning. (link to Membership FAQ page ‘What is virtual learning?’)
The NLP Trainer must demonstrate proficiency in the fundamental skills, techniques, patterns, concepts, and principles of NLP Practitioner and Master Practitioner, effectively applying them both independently and in interactions with others both overtly and covertly; observed by either a Certified NLP Master Trainer or a Certified NLP Trainer under the guidance of a Cerified NLP Master Trainer.
There must be a formal knowledge check of both of the NLP Practitioner and NLP Master Practitioner content by closed book test.
NLP Trainer content:
- Demonstrate the ability to teach utilising their own behaviour and debrief what has been experienced to create an enhanced learning experience for the student.
- Create a safe learning environment that caters for all leaners needs, respecting all models of the world while managing the environment in an ecological way.
- Demonstrate the ability to create and maintain group rapport utilising pacing and leading, KAV, and verbal and non-verbal communication to manage the group through the group forming process.
- Understand how to utilise the Training Cycle and to carry out training needs analysis, training design, training delivery and evaluation.
- Design effective training sessions that cater for all learning styles utilising a variety of delivery methods such as presentation, facilitation, metaphor, group exercises, knowledge checks.
- Carry out demonstration of NLP patterns
- Design group exercises that consolidate learning and create cumulative learning that leads to behavioural change including the use of appropriate and sensory based feedback.
- Be able to clearly explain group exercises so that the student can achieve the outcomes of the exercise.
- Utilise different feedback sources for student evaluation and re-evaluation.
- Facilitate student’s self-discovery by utilisation of questions, demonstration, or direct feedback.
- Be able to answer questions, assessing the purpose of the question, to give information that creates greater learning for the individual and the group.
- Understand how to create tasks that will give a definitive behavioural outcome for the student that increases their own resources.
- Demonstrate reflective practice and integration of feedback for own development.
*This content is for guidance only and may vary.
Certified Master Trainer
The Master Trainer qualification is the highest recognised qualification within NLP, Hypnotherapy and Coaching.
One of the obligations of a Master Trainer is to train the next generation of Trainers so they not only need to be excellent trainers, they need to also have an extensive knowledge of their subject and be seen as true experts.
There are training companies that just use the Master Trainer qualification as a business model to gain students at their own trainings which we believe is unethical and poor practice.
There are also many examples of Trainers being awarded the NLP Master Trainer qualification who have conducted very little or no formal NLP Trainings.
There are also examples of Trainers being awarded NLP Master Trainer certification after attending a short training course. These examples are not acceptable to the IRNCH as they go against the principle that a Master Trainer should be a true master of the art and science of NLP. This is also true in the fields of Hypnotherapy and Coaching.
Master Trainers need to evidence that they are the very best Trainers in the industry, be exemplary role models and show their contribution to furthering the field they operate within.
The IRNCH have created two levels of NLP Master Trainer: Certified Master Trainer, and Accredited Master Trainer.
A Certified Master Trainer will have undertaken a course of development and been issued a certificate by an IRNCH recognised Certified Master Trainer that they have met their criteria to be awarded the qualification. In the field of NLP, the IRNCH usually recognises Master Trainer certifications from Master Trainers affiliated to bodies such as ABNLP, INLPTA, ITA and the Professional Guild, amongst others. The IRNCH reserves the right to ask for further evidence if the certification does not meet our exacting requirements.
We see the Master Trainer certification is just the start of the Master Trainer journey and that the next step should be becoming an Accredited Master Trainer which calls for external evaluation by the IRNCH. We do not believe that achieving this highest level of qualification should be tied to things like the number of courses the Master Trainer has run or length of time they have been a Trainer but should be about the assessment of quality rather than quantity.
Those wishing to apply for IRNCH Accredited Master Trainer status, in their chosen field, will first need to be certified as an IRNCH Master Trainer and then contact the IRNCH to arrange a discussion regarding the accreditation process. Every individual application will be assessed on its own merits.