Time Line Therapy™

Written by Ellen Lees
Ellen Lees
Hypnotherapy Directory Content Team

Last updated 12th January 2022 | Next update due 11th January 2025

Time Line Therapy™ (TLT) is a hypnotic approach created by NLP practitioner, Tad James. It derives from NLP and is based on the concept that our unconscious mind stores memories in a linear pattern (like a timeline). Simply put, this timeline is a mental photo album of our life.


What is Time Line Therapy™?

Hypnotherapist Mary Bowmer explains Time Line Therapy™ and how it may benefit you. 

Time Line Therapy™ provides powerful processes and techniques for personal change and growth by helping the client remove any of the painful emotions attached to a particular memory or event.

Time Line practitioners use a range of techniques to work with the unconscious mind to help clients let go of negative emotions and limiting beliefs linked to past experiences, in order to support long-term transformation and promote better mind-body health. Time Line Therapy™ is considered a particularly useful approach in helping people overcome symptoms of depression, stress and anxiety. TLT is also thought to achieve effective results quickly.

TLT focuses on what can be learnt from the past events and how to utilise these as a resource for a positive future. It's said that TLT techniques and processes support long-lasting transformation quicker than other therapies, with minimal discomfort to the client. 

The emotions associated with certain memories or experiences will vary for individuals. However, common examples of ‘painful emotions’ include:

  • anger
  • sadness
  • hurt
  • regret
  • fear
  • guilt

Time Line Therapy™ can also help clients work past any limiting beliefs that are keeping them in the past and preventing them from living their best life. Unwanted negative emotions and feelings, and limiting beliefs can have a huge affect on our lives. TLT supports the client through the journey, supporting them on every hurdle. Reliving these painful memories can be difficult, but TLT can support and guide clients through overcoming them and moving forward. Often, Time Line Therapy™ is used in conjunction with hypnotherapy and NLP to create a powerful and unique therapeutic model.


How it can help

One advantage of Time Line Therapy™ is how it enables the client to let go and clear all the chains of emotion, rather than focus on one at a time. For example, imagine the client is experiencing anger problems. TLT can support the 'letting go process' and help eliminate all anger from the past, not the one feeling attached to the particular event or memory. In other words, Time Line Therapy™ helps clients release anger from the root cause.

In Time Line Therapy™, only the negative emotions and feelings attached to the memories are dealt with and released. Our memories are our history and are an important part of who we are.

TLT is an invaluable technique in helping people resolve negative emotional issues from the past and let go of limiting beliefs and decisions that may prevent positive progression. Examples of limiting beliefs include, “I don’t deserve it”, “I can’t do it” and “I’m not good enough”.

As well as enabling clients to let go of these negative feelings, Time Line Therapy™ can support clients on their journey to achieve any goals they have for the future.

Time Line Therapy™ is thought to be most effective in easing stress and anxiety-related issues. For example, anxiety can be treated using Time Line Therapy™ although the method is different to other negative emotions. Anxiety is often understood as a fear of the future. While fear is treated in the method of letting go of the negative emotion, TLT for anxiety asks the client to imagine being above their timeline. While floating above, they are asked to go to the point where the anxiety has reduced and the event causing the anxiety has been completed. By viewing the endpoint rather than focusing on the event itself, the feelings of anxiety can reduce.


Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

What does Time Line Therapy™ do?

In essence, Time Line Therapy™ (also known as TLT) helps treat you at an unconscious level. This allows you to give up negative emotions linked to past experiences, which in turn helps you to become more open to changing your thought processes and automatic responses.

Time Line Therapy™ can help you to transform your internal programming - the part of us that is often responsible for how we outwardly express our emotions. Together with an experienced, qualitied TLT therapist, you can identify and move past limiting beliefs, disconnect memories from associated negative thoughts and feelings, and create more positive affirmations and beliefs to help you move forward. 

What is Time Line Therapy™ used for?

Time Line Therapy™ is used to subtly and unconsciously help you to change behaviour patterns that have been formed due to emotions linked with past situations and events. Using TLT, a hypnotherapist can help you break this connection, thereby allowing you to react to current situations here and now.

What happens in Time Line Therapy™?

Using a variety of techniques to work with your unconscious mind, TLT focuses on identifying past memories that have negative emotions associated with them. Using a range of techniques, a Time Line Therapy™ practitioner helps facilitate long-term change, promoting better mind-body health quickly and effectively. 

During your TLT sessions, you will resolve negative emotional issues stemming from your past, discover how to let go of limiting beliefs and decisions you may be making unconsciously that could be preventing you from progressing across different areas in your life. Through releasing negative feelings, you can move forward towards more positive goals. 

What is Time Line Therapy™ in NLP?

TLT is a therapeutic process that has evolved from hypnosis and NLP. Often used alongside clinical hypnosis and neuro-linguistic programming, Time Line Therapy™ extensively uses some NLP techniques, such as reframing, to help challenge existing perceptions. While many similar techniques are used, they are not the same thing.


Find a Time Line Therapy™ practitioner

As it stands, there are currently no laws in the UK stating the level of training an individual must have to practice hypnotherapy. But, there are a number of professional bodies and societies that practitioners can choose to register with. In order to do this, a hypnotherapist will need to meet certain criteria set by the organisation. Only after this has been approved will they gain membership.

While not all hypnotherapists are members of a professional body, it can be reassuring for the client to know the professional is working to a good standard and has agreed to abide a code of ethics and complaints procedure.

Time Line Therapy™ practitioners will also require qualifications in hypnotherapy and NLP to practice with clients. Use our search tool to find a professional near you.

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