Powerful ways to work with language, state, strategy and behaviour.
These remain useful. The workshop respects what NLP contributed and uses that knowledge as a starting point.
Learn the CDT approach · At least four days
NLP to CDT Next Level Coaching
Explore twelve familiar NLP foundations through Constructed Development Theory, then begin applying its approach to meaning, identity, choice and response in practical conversations with Dr Darren Stevens.
For NLP practitioners, coaches, therapists, trainers and facilitators. Familiarity with NLP helps; a formal NLP qualification is not required.
NLP opened an important door.
CDT develops what comes next.
Why this workshop
A better way to see what is happening beneath the presenting problem.
A client can understand a pattern and still repeat it. A useful intervention can create a temporary shift without developing the capacity that produced the pattern. CDT helps practitioners notice that difference.
A developmental lens on awareness, identity, meaning and choice.
This shifts the question from “Which technique should I use?” towards “How is this person constructing the situation—and what might need to develop?”
Inside NLP to CDT · Next Level Coaching
Twelve familiar foundations.
A developmental perspective.
These twelve themes form the curriculum of this programme. Explore the NLP starting point, the CDT perspective and what each topic can help you notice.
01The Three Legs of NLP
Purpose & choice
The NLP starting point
Outcomes, sensory awareness and flexibility.
The CDT perspective
Explore how intention shapes the possibilities you can recognise.
The value to you
A more considered approach to pursuing what matters.
02The Communication Model
Meaning & response
The NLP starting point
How events, internal representations and responses connect.
The CDT perspective
Explore how the meaning you construct influences what happens next.
The value to you
Greater clarity about the thinking behind an everyday response.
03Rapport
Self & other
The NLP starting point
Building connection through matching, pacing and leading.
The CDT perspective
Consider how you construct yourself, the other person and the relationship.
The value to you
More thoughtful communication, including when you disagree.
04Sensory Acuity
Attention & interpretation
The NLP starting point
Noticing changes in yourself and others.
The CDT perspective
Examine how attention selects information and interpretation gives it meaning.
The value to you
A clearer distinction between what you observe and what you assume.
05The Feedback Model
Feedback & learning
The NLP starting point
Giving and receiving useful feedback.
The CDT perspective
Explore how the meaning you give feedback shapes your willingness and ability to use it.
The value to you
A more deliberate response to challenge and new information.
06Well-formed Outcomes
Goals & assumptions
The NLP starting point
Clarifying a desired result and its consequences.
The CDT perspective
Examine the intentions and assumptions that make a goal worth pursuing.
The value to you
Goals that can be considered, tested and revised in context.
07Submodalities
Experience & representation
The NLP starting point
Exploring the qualities of an internal experience.
The CDT perspective
Consider how the way you represent an experience relates to the response available to you.
The value to you
More precise awareness of differences within your own experience.
08Perspective & New Behaviour
Perspective & possibility
The NLP starting point
Considering other viewpoints and rehearsing alternatives.
The CDT perspective
Explore how different accounts of a situation open or constrain possible responses.
The value to you
A broader basis for choosing how to act.
09Language
Words & meaning
The NLP starting point
Positive language, chunking, presuppositions and sensory wording.
The CDT perspective
Examine how language participates in constructing meaning, relationship and choice.
The value to you
More purposeful communication and greater care with assumptions.
10NLP Presuppositions
Assumptions & judgement
The NLP starting point
Working with NLP’s guiding principles.
The CDT perspective
Consider how an assumption shapes what becomes noticeable and possible in a situation.
The value to you
More thoughtful judgement about when a principle is useful.
11Kinaesthetic Anchoring
State & available response
The NLP starting point
Associating a physical cue with a useful resource.
The CDT perspective
Explore the relationship between state, intention, context and available response.
The value to you
A practical way to examine whether a resource supports action.
12Timelines
Time & future action
The NLP starting point
Representing past experience and future goals.
The CDT perspective
Examine how a possible future is constructed and how it informs present choices.
The value to you
A clearer connection between a desired future and action now.
Teaching, demonstrations, guided exercises and review form part of the live programme. The programme does not award an NLP Diploma or INLPTA certification.
What you will gain
Leave with a clearer lens, not simply more terminology.
The purpose is to help you observe familiar practitioner situations with greater precision and make better-informed choices about what to do next.
Recognise the construction beneath the pattern
Distinguish what the client is doing from the way they are currently organising meaning, identity and response.
See why similar problems need different conversations
Notice how two people can use the same language while constructing their experience from different levels of awareness.
Identify when insight is not yet development
Understand why knowing about a pattern does not automatically create the capacity to respond differently under pressure.
Ask more developmentally useful questions
Begin moving from technique selection towards questions that reveal what the person can notice, choose and change.
Workshop structure
Three connected shifts.
Across at least four days, the programme moves from selected NLP foundations into CDT and initial practice with its developmental approach. The opening weekend is 27–28 February 2027; the remaining training dates will be confirmed separately.
Begin with what NLP noticed
Revisit outcomes, rapport, observation, language and feedback. Establish shared distinctions through examples and practical exploration.
Add construction and adult development
Explore the CDT sequence of Intention, Awareness, Choice and Response. Notice how meaning and identity are constructed, and what alternatives are currently available.
Apply the lens to practice
Use practitioner examples, conversation and feedback to explore the construction beneath the story. Include your own assumptions and responses as part of the work.
How we work
Understanding becomes useful through practice.
The foundations bring three useful disciplines into the workshop: an open attitude, understanding the ideas and putting them into practice.
Stay curious
Meet difference, uncertainty and feedback with care. Notice what you are constructing as you listen.
Make sense of the ideas
Connect each model to a real example, explain what it helps you notice and recognise its limits.
Practise and respond
Explore conversations with others, offer specific feedback and adapt to what the person and situation make available.
Who it is for
For practitioners who sense that there is more going on than technique can explain.
- You value NLP but want to place it within a deeper developmental framework.
- You work with clients who understand their patterns but still repeat them.
- You want to recognise differences in awareness, not simply differences in behaviour.
- You are curious about applying adult development in coaching, therapy, facilitation or training.
“If I had had this knowledge of CDT and the Identity Compass when I gave NLP training courses, the entire programme would have been very different.”Feedback from an experienced European NLP colleague Read the practitioner case study
Opening weekend · 27–28 February 2027
Programme fee and scholarship support.
Choose the next step that fits your circumstances. Venue and joining details will be confirmed separately.
Standard programme fee
£1,995
For the NLP to CDT - Next Level Coaching programme of at least four days. Register your interest to discuss joining and the full schedule.
Register interest Or call: 01604 34530312 scholarships · 25% support
Fee with a scholarship
£1,496.25
A scholarship reduces the standard fee by £498.75. Successful applicants pay the remaining £1,496.25.
Apply for a scholarshipCommon questions
A respectful evolution of NLP.
Can I try the approach before joining?
The free online taster offers a 90-minute introduction through a worked example, reflection and discussion. It stands on its own and creates no commitment to further training.
Is this workshop critical of NLP?
No. It begins with what NLP contributed and then asks what becomes possible when its insights are connected to adult development. The aim is extension, not dismissal.
Do I need an NLP qualification?
No. Familiarity with NLP is useful, but you do not need to be a certified practitioner. The workshop revisits selected foundations; it is not a complete introductory NLP training. If you are new to NLP or coaching, contact Darren to discuss whether this is the right starting point.
Does this programme award an NLP qualification?
No. NLP to CDT - Next Level Coaching is a developmental workshop. It does not award an NLP Diploma or INLPTA certification. The NLP foundations are included to support the work with CDT.
Is the workshop theoretical or practical?
Both, but always connected to practice. You will be introduced to the developmental ideas and use examples and discussion to explore what they change in real conversations.
What happens after the workshop?
This programme stands alone as a foundation in the approach. NLC Practitioner develops its use through repeated practice, feedback and reflection across sessions. The proposed CDT Certification pathway is a separate route for demonstrating competence through supervision and assessment; completing a training programme does not automatically award certification.
Register interest
Take the next step in your practice.
Register your interest in NLP to CDT - Next Level Coaching, opening on 27–28 February 2027. The programme is at least four days; remaining dates will be confirmed separately. Tell me about your experience and what you want to develop.
Looking for scholarship support?
Use the scholarship application to be considered for one of the 12 places with 25% support.
Apply for a scholarship →Explore IAD certification
The Institute for Adult Development is developing its own NLP-to-CDT qualification pathway, organised through Dr Darren Stevens’ Constructed Development Theory and Dynamic Intelligence. Explore the IAD’s rationale and learning stages if you are interested in progressing towards certification.
IAD certification depends on the relevant assessment requirements and evidence reviewed by the Institute. Participation in this workshop does not automatically award certification or establish eligibility for an award. Contact Darren to discuss how your learning could connect with the IAD pathway.
Why an IAD qualification? →Explore the Diploma and Practitioner pathway →