How will training in NLP or Integrated Thinking add value in my life?
The way we think influences everything we do. When you train in NLP or integrated thinking, you will pay new attention to how you think when you are happiest and most effective. You will learn about what you want, how you know what you want, and how you can tell when your actions are in line with your purpose for your life. You will pay attention to how you connect with other people, and how those connections make you more satisfied or more productive. You will learn to be aware of using more different parts of your brain in any given situation(proven by neuroscience to be an effective way of nurturing and protecting the brain).
NLP or Integrated Thinking will not give you more control - it will give you more choice about when and how to use different skills, strategies and information.
How is your training different from other NLP trainings?
Our training combines classic code and New Code NLP with our own practices in integrated thinking. It is based on our study of NLP and Ericksonian hypnosis, Linda's studies of metaphor, literature, business communication and culture, and on developments in psychology, business, neuroscience and the arts. We provide context for our training and support it with ongoing programs and new courses.
NLP is an unregulated field; there are no governing bodies or absolute standards. We encourage all potential clients to understand the credentials, promises and appropriate contexts for any training they consider.
We have worked successfully with business people, sales professionals, policing professionals, teachers and trainers, therapists and artists.
WHERE IS THE TRAINING AND WHERE CAN I PARK?
Most trainings are held in the Toronto School of Theology building, a beautiful Victorian mansion across from Queen's Park. We often train in the Board Room overlooking the park.
The address is 47 Queen's Park Cres. E., at the corner of St. Joseph St. and Queen's Park. That's south on Queen's Park from the Museum subway stop or north from the Queen's Park stop. You can also use the Yonge Line, and walk west then north from the Wellesley stop.
Parking is available behind the building (enter off St. Joseph street) for evening events. Parking is always available in the St. Michael's parking lot at the cathedral on the northwest corner of Bay St. and St. Joseph St. There is a lot on the southwest corner that is much more expensive.
Parking is permitted on St. Joseph St. on Sunday until 6:00 p.m.
WILL I HAVE TO DIVULGE PERSONAL INFORMATION DURING A CLASS?
Training in integrated thinking is a personal experience that is process-based. That means that you can expect to do work on issues of personal significance without ever being required to share personal information with trainers or class members. If it is hard for you to understand how this is possible, take a moment to think about a time when you were confused at first, and then you understood. Notice that we can now work on your perceptions of confusion and your ability to move through confusion to understanding. Yet you have not had to tell me what confused you or how you came to understand.
You may choose to share personal information. You will never be required to share personal information except for the purposes of giving an example. In those cases, we will ask you to "choose an experience you are comfortable talking about. It does not have to be a significant experience. This is only an example."
Why don't you require reading, goals or other prerequisites before a certification begins?
- We provide a wide range of materials and resources through our website and blog and encourage clients to become familiar with them before beginning a course.
- We offer many evening and weekend events that allow a client to become familiar with our stye and process and to meet people who have trained with us and are applying their training in a variety of fields.
- We spend time and attention as a course begins to allow clients to get at multiple levels of purpose, goals and outcomes. This is more effective than having people make long 'wish lists' before they have had a chance to experience.
What's it like to participate in a course?
Training in nlp and integrated thinking will probably be very different than most of your classroom experiences. This is thinking for people who want to take action, not thinking for people who just want to think. It will not feel like most classroom learning. It will give you a sense of how gifted thinkers process information.
It is frequently funny, confusing, energizing, and non-linear. You will hear explanations, forget them, and hear them again. Parts of the day might temporarily disappear from memory as you use new parts of your brain to process old information. All of this is normal. We provide very thorough training manuals and lots of follow up opportunities so that you can take multiple journeys through the material.
Think of it less like classroom learning and more like training camp. You'll be stretching mental muscles you might not have used for awhile. You will be forming connections and laughing and telling stories. You will be relaxed and energized at the same time. At the end of every day, you will be able to do some things more reliably than you could do them before, you will be able to do some things differently because you have changed the way you think about them, and you will be able to do a few things you have not been aware of doing before. Most of what you do will be to improve or make more consistent the things that have made you successful in the past.
You will be dressed comfortably; you will probably be asked to do some of the exercises outside; you will be offered snacks (fresh fruit and a variety of baked goods and other snack foods), bottled water, coffee and tea (both with and without caffeine).
HOW DOES THE TEAM TRAINING WORK?
All trainings in NLP and Integrated Thinking are taught by at least one of the Senior Partners, Linda Ferguson and Chris Keeler. Certification trainings are always taught by both partners. This gives our clients a unique opportunity to watch rapport and connection techniques as they are modeled, to experience interwoven strengths, to benefit from examples drawn from different life experiences and to experience trainers of both genders.
Training in Ericksonian Hypnosis is provided by Mike Mandel, Canada's pre-eminent stage hypnotist, hypnotherapist and teach of hypnosis.
Both partners and Mike Mandel often have assistance from a training team that consists of master practitioners. These practitioners are professionals in a variety of fields who apply the training in their professional and personal lives. They are expert in the exercises and a resource for clients who want to know more about how to apply their new skills & insights in their working lives.
There is a link on the brochures page in the resourc, and another link hereto the price list for all our regular course offerings. The prices for special events (sometimes by donation to a charity) are alwyas publicized with the event. There has been a small increase in the price for the Ericksonian Practitioner certification. There has been a significant decrease in the cost of the NLP Practitioner certification: this is because the course has been cut from 63 hours to 54 hours. The new Integrated Thinking Certification is about the same price as the old NLP Certification. We are also offering a pay-as-you-go option for the first time: take any certification unit for which you are qualified for $750/weekend. There are many reasons for variations in an unregulated field. Our NLP Practitioner certification is six long days of weekend training plus one evening. It is based on NLP New Code, which tends to use time more effectively than the NLP Classic Code (certifications in classic code are based largely on the repetition of particular kinds of exercises and require more rote learning of formulaic information). We do not include Ericksonian Hypnosis in this training: we offer that as a separate 5 day course. We do not offer Time Line training because we have not found it to be necessary or effective, and because the exploration of past lives is not part of our personal belief systems. Our training is therefore longer than some programs and shorter than others. It represents our experience of how quickly high-performing people learn what they need to develop their own thinking and behaviour to meet their goals. Our clients value precision and intensity; their time is often limited. Our new Integrated Thinking certification adds a further two day course to the program. This represents the combination of traditional NLP classic and new codes with current understanding of how the mind works in individuals and groups. Many people return to repeat training. They do this for the same reason that athletes return to training every season: they want to increase their level of "fitness" so that they can reach a higher level of performance or satisfaction. They do this for the same reason that people will watch a favourite movie more than once, or reread a particularly good book: they notice different things the second or third time around. Each repetition offers a different combination of people and new insights. They do this for the same reason you eat a favourite food or enjoy a favourite drink more than once. It's a pleasure that is worth repeating. Training is not about learning something new and being finished. Training is about starting a new process of engagement with your own ability to think, connect and improve.
Where do I find the prices for your courses?
Why do practitioner trainings vary so much in length?
Why do people take the training more than once?