Another chapter in our interview series ‘NLP in the world’ that I am delighted to reveal today as Scott Alchemy Hardie presents how he has been integrating NLP with Speech-Language Pathology. Scott can be contacted on Facebook, also at www.coachingmbs.com, and LinkedIn. You can also review Coaching Mind Body Soul Facebook page.
Talking4good (T4g): How did you come into contact with NLP?
Scott: I enrolled into the three day Hypnosis course to compliment my work at the time and discovered there NLP and Time Line Therapy®. No hesitation, I decided to complete all levels possible to become a Trainer.
T4g: What NLP qualification do you have?
Scott: I am a Master Coach & Trainer of NLP; NLP Coaching; Hypnosis and Time Line Therapy® .
T4g: Which NLP association would your qualifications be accredited by?
Scott: The American board of NLP, the American board of Hypnotherapy and the Time Line Therapy® Association.
T4g: Have you joined an NLP association? (If yes which one?)
Scott: Yes I am a member at the Trainer Level of the American Board of Hypnotherapy; American Board of NLP; NLP Coaching and the Time Line Therapy® Association.
T4g: What do you expect from those various NLP associations?
Scott: I expect they be there as required for their specific purpose. I am a member of the National Speech Pathology Association and their role is to inform us and support us as an association body.
T4g: What do you like best in NLP?
Scott: I love how NLP, Time Line Therapy® and Hypnosis melt together so nicely. Each aspect performs a specific function within a breakthrough session or series of coaching sessions. NLP is a work practice out on the edge, opening people’s minds to infinite possibility. As a Speech Pathologist and Autism & Behavioural Consultant, I have always worked on the edge, pushing the boundaries, because it is on the edge that new discoveries are made.
T4g: So tell us about integrating NLP with Speech-Language Pathology?
Scott: Such an amazing interconnection between these two fields of work. Speech-Language Pathology is about the FORM, CONTENT and USE of LANGUAGE and all its parts, and NLP is about the UTILISATION of LANGUAGE. NLP is so powerful in my work in Education, coaching all levels from school leaders, teachers, school staff, parents and students. It maximises the potential of the learning environment, and the potential of the people within it, creating possibilities for student own potential. Currently, I am one of the very few Speech Pathologists that have received training in Mental Health as well, and utilising the Accelerated Release Techniques in Time Line Therapy®, and Learning Techniques in NLP supports transformation within students. I also worked a lot supporting school leaders, teachers, school staff and parents to become masters of observation and language; it is a key to creating behavioural change in students of today.
T4g: Why do you think NLP works so well with Autism and Asperger Spectrum Disorder?
Scott: NLP provides a framework for the understanding of language without clearly defining it. Society has defined language and social structure so tightly, and this repels children with Autism Spectrum Disorder to be motivated to connect to these structures. NLP supports people to clear out the past in order to connect to themselves deeply into their neuro-emotional system. This work is so important for individuals on the Autism Spectrum, as ‘being disconnected’ is an unconscious pattern, almost a way of life. NLP provides individuals with strategies to clear and transform and change their patterns with ease. I work with many Non-Verbal Children with ASD, and in order to support them to be connected, you firstly need to motivate them to do so. As well, working with the parents, teachers and school staff plays a vital role when breaking down the old paradigms of reference, so that the child can flourish in an environment where boundaries are not limited by previous perceptions.
T4g: Any other aspect of your work where you will be using NLP?
Scott : The combination of NLP, NLP Coaching, Time Line Therapy® and Hypnosis have integrated so nicely with my Speech Pathology, Mental Health, and Complimentary Health work, that it has provided me with a framework to launch a Coaching and Training Series of Workshops for schools, districts and regions. Particularly, the workshops, ‘Coaching Autism Spectrum Disorder’ and ‘Move Beyond Bullying’, are of great interest for teachers and schools, both topics being currently ‘hot topics’ in schools and social media, as well as in our societies. The initial Coaching in the Classroom program, called ‘Mindful Relationships’, has now evolved into a workshop Series, which spans over the four age groupings of schools: Reception – 2; Years 3-6; Years 7-9 and Years 10-12. As for the Years 10-12 Students, they have the opportunity to prepare for their formative years of school, and for exams with the workshop ‘Beyond Potential’, which provides students with tools and application to open their mind to their potential, clearing negative anchors of the past and connecting them to the infinite potential of their unconscious mind using the Accelerated Learning Techniques taught in NLP. These are samples… I could talk more <Laughs>.
T4g: How is NLP present in your country?
Scott: NLP is a growing industry in Australia. It is definitely stronger in the business sector, as it is right across the world. Education and Health should be the next market. When you see the impact the NLP based accelerated framework can have to support students, every school should want that, and if they do, my details are on my website <Laughs>. We are talking here about some kids’ future, kids that often have been marginalized until now in the traditional education system.
T4g: What opportunity do you have to meet with other NLP practitioners?
Scott: A few. There are NLP Groups in most capital cities of Australia, and I attend the group in my home state. I also often see other practitioners through my work travels into other states of Australia.
T4g: What about NLP and research?
Scott: This is an interesting topic for me. I love reading research and information, though I prefer application rather than theory. Completing evidenced based studies is highly supportive in my area of work, though can detract from the passion of it. The Education and Health sectors are driven by evidenced based practice, and require that ‘piece of paper’ which outlines the evidence. Both systems are at a pivotal point I believe, as is evidenced by the amount of parents searching for results for their children and adolescents, and by the amount of phone calls and emails I am receiving from here and the USA.
T4g: Any specific NLP research you would like to be involved with?
Scott: Oh yes, and I am currently conducting a study into working with Students with Autism / Asperger’s Syndrome, and their parents. The research will be formalised at some point next year but the early indications of this study are overwhelmingly positive, and creating a wave of interest in the states of Australia where I currently work. Note also that an evaluation of our program ‘Mindful Relationships’ was conducted recently, with results indicating a significant increase in self-esteem, self-confidence and working togetherness in children aged 5-7 years. The feedback from the teachers and school leaders within the evaluation indicated that the program would be better served as a workshop for teachers to utilise the skills in their own way, within their own classroom, and this is what we are doing now. This work will be published next year at www.coachingmbs.com.
T4g: What would be your next step with NLP?
Scott: To continue expanding my workshops and work throughout Australia and into the USA, more to be announced soon.
T4g: A last comment to conclude?
Scott: Thank you for providing NLP a face within social media. It is fantastic to read so many diverse testimonies.
© 2011 Florence Dambricourt – talking4good.com/
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