Six-Step Reframing in NLP: Meaning, Process and Examples

Six-step reframing is a Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) technique designed to help people explore the purpose behind an unwanted behaviour and consider alternative responses. It works on the assumption that a behaviour may serve a particular function, even when its consequences are unhelpful. The technique invites a person to identify that function, generate alternatives, and consider whether those alternatives are appropriate for their life and circumstances.

What Is Six-Step Reframing in NLP?

Six-step reframing is an NLP technique commonly used in coaching and personal development to explore habits, behaviours, emotional responses, and internal conflicts. It aims to help a person find alternative behaviours that may serve the same underlying need without the unwanted consequences. In the NLP framework, behaviour is sometimes understood in terms of positive intention: a behaviour may be an attempt to meet a need, such as comfort, safety, connection, or relief, even if the behaviour itself causes problems. For example, someone who repeatedly eats junk food when stressed may be seeking comfort or relief rather than simply lacking discipline. Six-step reframing encourages the person to explore that possibility and identify other ways to meet the same need.

The technique uses the idea of different “parts” of a person to represent competing motivations or patterns of behaviour. These parts are a way of organising self-reflection; they should not be treated as separate entities or as a scientifically established explanation for unconscious behaviour. Six-step reframing is intended to support behavioural change by exploring alternatives. However, claims that it produces very rapid results or is particularly effective for psychosomatic symptoms are not firmly established by scientific evidence. It should not replace appropriate medical or psychological assessment.

How Does Six-Step Reframing Work?

The technique focuses on understanding a behaviour before attempting to change it. Rather than simply criticising an unwanted habit, the person explores what it may be accomplishing and considers other ways to meet the same need. Many habits initially serve a useful purpose. For example, avoiding a difficult conversation may temporarily reduce anxiety. Over time, however, avoidance can make the conversation feel even more difficult.

Six-step reframing encourages a person to ask:

What behaviour would I like to change?

What need might this behaviour be meeting?

What other behaviours could meet that need?

Are these alternatives practical and appropriate?

How could I begin using a new response in everyday life?

The assumption that every behaviour has a positive intention is an NLP principle, not a universal psychological fact. Some behaviours arise from complex combinations of learning, biology, environmental pressures, habits, and circumstances. Exploring a possible function can be useful, but it should not be used to excuse harmful behaviour.

What Are the Six Steps of Reframing?

The six-step reframing process is commonly taught through the following stages. Different NLP training schools may use slightly different wording, but the central ideas are to identify the behaviour, explore its function, generate alternatives, and check whether those alternatives are workable.

Step 1: Identify the Unwanted Behaviour

First, identify the specific behaviour you want to change. Be clear about what happens, when it happens, and what you would prefer to do instead.

For example, Ms Lihiri wants to improve her fitness and develop healthier eating habits, but she frequently eats junk food when she feels stressed or when someone offers it to her.

Rather than defining the problem as “I have no self-control,” she could describe it more specifically: “When I feel stressed or see food I enjoy, I often eat more than I intended.”

A clear description makes it easier to explore the circumstances surrounding the behaviour and identify realistic alternatives.

Step 2: Establish Communication With the Part Associated With the Behaviour

In the NLP model, the next step is to establish communication with the “part” associated with the unwanted behaviour. This can be approached as a reflective exercise. Ms Lihiri might ask herself what she experiences just before eating: Does she feel stressed, bored, tired, hungry, or in need of comfort? Does eating provide a brief sense of pleasure or relief?

The original NLP procedure may use internal or involuntary signals to represent a “yes” or “no” response. These signals should not be treated as proof that an unconscious part is communicating objectively. A more grounded approach is to use the questions to explore thoughts, emotions, bodily sensations, and patterns she can identify.

Step 3: Identify the Possible Positive Intention

Next, explore what the behaviour may be accomplishing.

In Ms Lihiri’s example, eating junk food may provide immediate enjoyment, comfort, a break from stress, or a sense of reward. The same behaviour may serve different functions in different situations.

The purpose is not to assume that the behaviour must have a positive intention, but to understand why it may be appealing or difficult to change.

Acknowledging the need behind a habit can help a person approach the problem with curiosity rather than self-criticism.

Step 4: Generate Alternative Behaviours

Once the possible function has been identified, consider alternative ways to meet the same need. For example, if Ms Lihiri eats when she is stressed, alternatives might include taking a short walk, calling a friend, preparing a satisfying snack, practising a brief relaxation exercise, or taking a break from work.

If she is genuinely hungry, eating a balanced meal or snack may be more appropriate than trying to suppress the urge. The goal is not to eliminate food enjoyment, but to develop flexible habits that support her wellbeing.

In the traditional NLP process, this stage involves the “creative part” generating several alternatives. In practical terms, brainstorming different options can help a person find responses that are more suitable for their needs and circumstances.

Step 5: Check for Objections and Take Responsibility for the New Behaviour

In the commonly taught six-step process, the person checks whether other needs, priorities, or concerns might conflict with the proposed alternatives. They then take responsibility for choosing and practising a new response.

For example, Ms Lihiri might realise that exercising regularly sounds appealing but that a demanding daily routine would be difficult to maintain. She could begin with a manageable plan, such as preparing snacks in advance, walking on certain days, and noticing when she eats in response to stress.

Taking responsibility does not mean blaming oneself for every difficulty. It means identifying what is within one’s control, seeking support when needed, and making realistic choices.

Step 6: Check the Ecology of the Change

The final step is an ecology check: considering how the proposed change may affect the person’s wider life, relationships, needs, and responsibilities.

Ms Lihiri could ask herself:

Is this alternative realistic for my routine?

Will it meet the need that the old behaviour was serving?

Could it create other problems?

Can I sustain it without becoming excessively restrictive?

What support or adjustments might help me follow through?

If the proposed change is too demanding or creates new difficulties, it can be revised.

The ecology check is important because a change that appears positive in one area may be impractical or harmful in another. A sustainable alternative should fit the person’s circumstances rather than rely on rigid rules.

What Is Lateral Chunking of Positive Intentions?

In NLP training, six-step reframing is sometimes described as lateral chunking of positive intentions. The phrase refers to identifying a possible function behind a behaviour and generating alternative behaviours that could serve that function.

For example, if procrastination offers temporary relief from anxiety, alternatives might include breaking a task into smaller steps, asking for help, or taking a planned short break before returning to the task. The aim is to move beyond the unwanted behaviour and explore other ways of meeting the underlying need.

This is a practitioner framework rather than an established psychological law. The possible intention should be explored with the individual instead of assumed by a therapist, coach, or observer.

What Is the Origin of Six-Step Reframing?

Six-step reframing developed within Neuro-Linguistic Programming. NLP was developed in the 1970s by Richard Bandler and John Grinder, who modelled aspects of the work of therapists including Virginia Satir, Fritz Perls, and Milton H. Erickson. Virginia Satir’s family therapy and her work with interpersonal relationships and internal conflicts are often cited as influences on NLP’s approach to parts and positive intentions. The six-step reframing format is commonly attributed to Leslie Cameron-Bandler, drawing on ideas associated with Satir’s work.

Milton H. Erickson is also associated with the broader history of NLP because Bandler and Grinder modelled aspects of his therapeutic and hypnotic methods. It is important to distinguish this history from evidence of effectiveness. A technique’s origins in therapy or its influence on later approaches do not, by themselves, establish that the technique works for a particular condition.

How Can Reframing Help Us Change Our Perspective?

Reframing involves considering a different interpretation of an experience. Instead of viewing a situation through only one explanation, a person explores other possibilities and considers how those interpretations might affect their response. For example, feeling angry or guilty does not necessarily mean a person is bad or incapable. Those feelings can be acknowledged and explored. Anger may signal a perceived boundary violation, while guilt may prompt someone to consider whether they have acted against their values.

However, reframing does not require a person to find something positive in every painful experience. Some situations are genuinely harmful or unfair. The goal is to understand the situation more clearly and identify a useful response, not to deny difficult emotions or excuse wrongdoing.

Understanding the possible reasons behind another person’s behaviour can sometimes help us respond with greater perspective. It does not mean we must tolerate disrespect, control, or abuse.

For instance, a manager who has had a difficult day may take out their frustration on an employee. Recognising that stress might contribute to the behaviour can help explain it, but it does not make the behaviour acceptable. Similarly, jealousy or controlling behaviour in a relationship should not automatically be explained as a lack of self-worth. It is important to recognise harmful patterns, set boundaries, and seek support when necessary.

What Does NLP Mean by the Unconscious Mind?

In NLP, the term unconscious mind is often used to describe processes that occur outside conscious awareness. These may include learned habits, automatic responses, aspects of perception, and physiological processes.

Some processes do occur without deliberate awareness. For example, people can recognise familiar words quickly, respond to environmental cues, and carry out well-practised movements without consciously considering every step. However, the NLP concept of an unconscious mind should not be treated as a single, unified system that can be directly questioned or measured through involuntary signals. Physiological responses and subtle movements do not reliably reveal a hidden intention or provide an objective “yes” or “no” answer.

In six-step reframing, communication with the unconscious is best understood as a way of exploring automatic habits, competing motivations, and responses that may not be immediately obvious to the person.

How Can NLP Help Us Create Change?

NLP techniques aim to help people review their experiences, explore alternative interpretations, and practise different responses. Six-step reframing does this by encouraging a person to identify the possible function of a behaviour and consider other ways to meet the same need.

For example, a person who avoids difficult conversations might explore whether avoidance provides short-term relief from anxiety. They could then practise alternative responses, such as preparing what they want to say, choosing an appropriate time to talk, or seeking guidance. John Grinder’s book Whispering in the Wind discusses themes related to NLP and unconscious processes. If the following quotation is retained, verify its exact wording and page reference against the original edition before publication:

“The unconscious is capable of enormously complex and creative acts when the proper framing and context have been established and the lead is released to unconsciousness.”

The broader idea, that people can develop new responses through practice, learning, and reflection, is consistent with many approaches to behaviour change. However, the quotation should not be treated as scientific evidence for six-step reframing.

How Can the Conscious and Unconscious Work Together?

A practical starting point is to define the change you want to make and the context in which you want it to occur.

Questions to consider include:

• What do I want to change?

• How will I know whether the change is helping?

• Why is this change important to me?

• What need might my current behaviour be meeting?

• What effect could the change have on other areas of my life?

• What would be a realistic first step?

Traditional NLP procedures may use internal signals to ask whether an alternative is acceptable to an unconscious “part.” In a reflective approach, these questions can instead be used to identify doubts, competing priorities, or practical barriers.

If an alternative feels unacceptable, explore why. Perhaps it is too demanding, does not meet the original need, conflicts with another priority, or is simply not the right approach. The process then becomes a form of negotiation between competing goals: understanding the current behaviour, identifying workable alternatives, and choosing a response that fits the person’s circumstances.

Can Reframing Be Used for Anxiety, Depression, Addiction and Pain?

Reframing is used in a range of contexts to help people reconsider the meaning they give to experiences. Cognitive restructuring, for example, is a component of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), an established psychological treatment that helps people examine and evaluate unhelpful thoughts and beliefs.

However, six-step reframing in NLP is not the same as CBT cognitive restructuring, and the evidence supporting CBT should not be taken as proof that the NLP technique is effective. A systematic review of NLP interventions found little evidence that NLP improves health-related outcomes, noting that the available studies were limited in number and quality.

For conditions such as anxiety disorders, depression, addiction, chronic pain, or trauma-related difficulties, appropriate evidence-based care may be needed. Reframing exercises may be used as a reflective activity, but they should not be presented as a proven treatment for these conditions.

How Is Reframing Used in Family and Individual Therapy?

The following examples illustrate how a change in perspective might be explored. They are hypothetical examples, not evidence that six-step reframing has been clinically validated.

Example 1: Family Relationships

Mindy tells a therapist that her elder brother frequently interferes in her life. He restricts her from going out with friends and repeatedly tells her what she should be doing.

One possible reframe is to explore whether some of his behaviour comes from concern for her safety or wellbeing. The therapist might ask, “Could part of his behaviour come from wanting you to be safe?”

This question introduces an alternative interpretation, but it should not be used to dismiss Mindy’s experience or justify controlling behaviour. Her brother’s intentions cannot be known without further information, and concern does not automatically make restrictions appropriate.

A balanced discussion would explore both possibilities: whether he is expressing concern and whether his behaviour is crossing reasonable boundaries. Mindy can acknowledge any genuine care while still deciding what boundaries she needs.

Example 2: Individual Reflection on a Missed Promotion

John tells his therapist that he feels stressed and frustrated because he was not promoted, despite working hard. He had been confident that he would receive the promotion.

The therapist might help John explore what the outcome means to him and whether there are other ways to interpret it. For example, he might consider whether the experience offers an opportunity to clarify his career goals, request feedback, develop particular skills, or explore a role better suited to his interests. Reframing does not require John to pretend that he is not disappointed. He can acknowledge the disappointment while identifying practical next steps and recognising that one missed promotion does not determine his future.

What Are the Benefits and Limitations of Reframing?

Reframing can encourage people to pause before accepting their first interpretation of a situation. It may help them explore alternatives, identify needs, and consider different ways to respond.

Potential benefits of reflective reframing include:

• Changing perspective: considering more than one explanation for an experience.

• Validating emotions: recognising feelings without automatically judging them as wrong.

• Developing compassion: exploring the needs and circumstances behind behaviour while maintaining appropriate boundaries.

• Supporting problem-solving: identifying practical alternatives and deciding what action to take.

• Encouraging self-awareness: noticing habits and reactions that may otherwise go unexamined.

The limitations are equally important. Reframing should not force positivity, invalidate distress, or shift responsibility for another person’s harmful behaviour onto the person affected. It is also not a substitute for professional care when a person is experiencing significant psychological or physical symptoms.

What Does Research Say About Reframing?

Research on cognitive restructuring and cognitive reappraisal supports the use of certain evidence-based strategies for examining thoughts and regulating emotions. However, this research should not be interpreted as direct evidence for NLP six-step reframing.

A 2014 study by Shikatani and colleagues examined cognitive restructuring and mindfulness strategies among people with social anxiety disorder. Both strategies were associated with reductions in post-event processing and improvements in affect compared with a control condition in the study. The researchers did not test NLP six-step reframing. Research on quality of life during the COVID-19 pandemic has also examined the relationship between psychological and social factors and wellbeing. Such findings do not establish that six-step reframing itself reduces anxiety or depression or improves quality of life.

The distinction matters: a technique may share ideas with an evidence-based approach without having been independently tested in the same way. Claims about the effectiveness of six-step reframing should therefore be supported by studies that specifically evaluate that technique.

Conclusion: How Can Six-Step Reframing Support Behaviour Change?

Six-step reframing is an NLP technique that encourages people to examine an unwanted behaviour, explore the need it may be serving, and consider alternative ways to meet that need. Its focus on curiosity rather than self-criticism can offer a useful structure for reflection. For example, instead of labelling themselves as lazy, a person who procrastinates might explore whether they feel overwhelmed, fear making mistakes, or lack clarity about the first step. Understanding the difficulty can help them choose a more practical response.

The technique’s central assumption, that every unwanted behaviour has a positive intention, is an NLP principle rather than a universal fact. Similarly, the effectiveness of six-step reframing as a specific psychological intervention has not been established by strong evidence.

Used carefully, reframing can be a prompt for self-awareness, balanced thinking, and practical problem-solving. The goal is not to turn every negative experience into a positive one, but to understand what is happening and choose a response that better supports one’s needs, values, and circumstances.

This article on ' 6 step reframing ' has been contributed by Sukriti Bansal who is a student of Psychology from University of Lucknow. and peer reviewed by Ishita Vashisht who is a psychology student from Keshav Mahavidyalaya, Delhi University.

Sukriti and Ishita are both part of the Global Internship Research Program (GIRP), which is mentored by Anil Thomas.

Sukriti 's future plan is to Learn Psychology and raise awareness in subject .

Ishita hopes to pursue a doctoral degree in psychology and understand human behaviour, their attachment styles and clinical disorders through her own lens.

GIRP is an initiative by (International Journal of Neurolinguistics & Gestalt Psychology) IJNGP and Umang Foundation Trust to encourage young adults across our globe to showcase their research skills in psychology and to present it in creative content expression.

Anil is an internationally certified NLP Master Practitioner and Gestalt Therapist. He has conducted NLP Training in Mumbai, and across 6 other countries. The NLP practitioner course is conducted twice every year. To get your NLP certification