NLP and hypnosis are often sold together, and “NLP hypnotherapy” is a common course title. The link is real, but the two are not the same thing.
The Erickson connection
When Bandler and Grinder looked for brilliant communicators to model, one of the three was the psychiatrist Milton Erickson (see hypnosis series, part 30). Erickson used stories, indirect suggestion and permissive wording, and he often seemed to produce hypnosis in ordinary conversation.
Bandler and Grinder analysed recordings and transcripts of his work and published Patterns of the Hypnotic Techniques of Milton H. Erickson, M.D. in the mid-1970s. The language they catalogued became the Milton Model.
The Milton Model
It is a set of deliberately flexible language patterns. For example:
- Vague wording: “You may begin to notice something interesting.”
- Presuppositions: “As you become more comfortable…” assumes you will.
- Truisms: “Everyone has had the experience of relaxing.”
- Embedded commands: a suggestion hidden inside a longer sentence.
- Stories and metaphors: indirect ways to make a point.
The reasoning is that vague language lets the listener fill in their own meaning, which can feel more natural than direct instruction.
The Meta Model
The “mirror image” of the Milton Model. Taken from the work of Perls and Satir, it is a set of questions that make vague statements more specific. “I can’t speak up” becomes “What stops you?” or “What would happen if you did?” Where the Milton Model is deliberately vague, the Meta Model asks for precision.
How they differ
| Hypnosis | NLP | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A state and a set of methods, studied since the 1800s | A collection of techniques and a model of communication |
| Research | Decades of controlled research, strongest for pain and IBS | Little supporting evidence |
| Regulation | Registers exist, such as CNHC in the UK | None |
| Needs consent | Yes | Yes, or it becomes manipulation |
What the evidence says about the Milton Model
Controlled studies have not shown that indirect or disguised suggestions work better than plain, direct ones. Some Ericksonian practitioners also argue that the Milton Model is a simplified reading of what Erickson actually did, which was highly individual and hard to reduce to patterns.
Can NLP make you hypnotic?
Everyday language really can produce absorption: a gripping story, a calm voice. But hypnosis depends on the person’s willingness and expectation. There is no good evidence that anyone can be hypnotized without knowing it (see hypnosis series, part 37).
The bottom line
NLP borrowed from hypnosis, and some of that borrowing is useful for hypnotherapists. But hypnosis has its own research base and does not need NLP to work.
Next in the series: Rapport and Mirroring: The Part of NLP That Holds Up
This article is for general information and is not medical advice.