What is Time Line TherapyTM?
Time Line TherapyTM is a technique that utilises both Neuro-Linguistic Programming and Eriksonian Hypnosis that was first developed in 1985 by Tad James. It is based on the premise that there is the past, now and the future, but in reality there is only the now. We hold an idea of the past and the future in our minds. That idea includes our memories, our decisions and our good/bad experiences. Because we hold this idea in our mind we can change that idea to have a profound and lasting impact on how we feel right now about things in the past or the future.
lasting changes to things that have happened in our past and our future.
Eliciting Your Time Line
Before any work can be done using Time Line TherapyTM your time line must be elicited. This process is usually quick and simple. Many people have never thought about it but we have a way or organising things that have happened in the past, and a way of organising things that we believe will happen in the future. Most people, when they think about it, can even point in the direction of their past, and the direction of their future. And they can notice that those two directions sort of form a line between their past and future. This process is best done formally by a Time Line Practitioner.
Releasing Negative Emotions
Time Line TherapyTM is a really good way to release negative emotions from the unconscious mind. Because the unconscious mind can only Generalise, Delete or Distort what happens to us we store emotions in the mind in a structure called a Gestalt. The Gestalt is a generalisation of each emotion and it has a First Event, the first time we felt that emotion, and then subsequent Significant Emotional Events that have been generalised to be like the first event. When using Time Line TherapyTM it normally only takes a release of the First Event for the entire Gestalt to begin to release, taking with it the negative emotions. The main negative emotions that Time Line TherapyTM is used with are:
- Anger
- Sadness
- Fear
- Guilt
Although these are the main four, it is possible to use Time Line TherapyTM with any emotion that the clients mind has a linguistic label for.
Releasing Anxiety
While most negative emotions appear in the past, Anxiety is an emotion that appears in the future. Time Line TherapyTM is a very useful way for resolving Anxiety with a client. In my personal experience Anxiety can be resolved using Time Line TherapyTM in as little as 2 to 5 minutes on most events. It is important for the Time Line TherapyTM Practitioner to clearly differentiate between Anxiety and Fear as Fear must be treated in the past although the presenting symptoms may be similar.
Releasing Limiting Decisions
Limiting Decisions are also sometimes called Limiting Beliefs. They are things that we have decided in the past, or currently believe about ourselves, that mean that we don’t reach our full potential. For example, if you believed you were stupid you would be less likely to expect good results from your studies. While, if the belief/decision that you were stupid was released then you would approach your studies differently. Time Line TherapyTM is much more effective than the traditional NLP Method of Submodality changes for making long lasting changes to limiting beliefs. While the submodality changes will change how you feel about the belief, Time Line TherapyTM will release the Gestalt with that belief in it.
What else?
This article only touches on the basics of what Time Line TherapyTM can do. The truth is that Time Line TherapyTM can also be used to place goals in your future, remove phobias, facilitate forgiveness of people in your life and much much more. People are increasingly recognising the role that emotions play in illness and disease – imagine the role that Time Line TherapyTM can play in health by releasing negative emotions.
Interested in Time Line TherapyTM?
If you are interested in Time Line TherapyTM then please get in touch. I am a Certified Time Line TherapyTM Practitioner and was taught by the creator, Tad James. I regularly conduct Time Line TherapyTM sessions both face-to-face and over the phone. If you have read this article and you are interested in finding out more or interested in experiencing the benefits for yourself then please get in touch. My Contact Details are available here.
Disclaimer…
WARNING: Time Line TherapyTM is extremely powerful and has the possibility of changing a person’s personality totally and completely in a very short period of time. It is therefore important, for your safety, that any therapeutic use of these techniques be done by someone trained in Time Line TherapyTM.
Further Reading
- Time Line TherapyTM and The Basis of Personality by Tad James and Wyatt Woodsmall
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3 Comments
Nathan Burke said:
2 May 2010
I think it should be noted that philosophers have long explored the origins of the concept of “time” and its relationship to human experience. The interest in “time” among NLP practitioners began in the early 1980’s when Leslie Cameron Bandler taught a workshop on Meta Programs and Belief Systems, in which she distinguished “in time” and “through time” meta programs. Other NLP trainers, such as Anne Linden and Frank Stass began to elicit representations of time, finding that people tend to represent time in a linear fashion. Steve and Connierae Andreas gave a presentation on Time Lines at the second NANLP conference in 1983. In 1988 James and Woodsmall published Time Line Therapy and the Basis of Personality.
(http://www.masteringstuttering.com/Books/Review.htm)
I agree though, whether you experience Time Line Therapy of Personal Timelining then ensure you are under the guidance of someone wh has been trained in this technique.
Nathan Burke said:
2 May 2010
Time Line Therapy **OR** Personal Timelining
Rachel said:
27 June 2010
Hey Lloyd, what about the (R)