How do you get an individual to adhere to their medication? As healthcare professionals, we often overlook the other person’s model of the world, their views and beliefs. It will be incredibly difficult for you to facilitate a change in a person’s behaviour if you cannot appreciate and respect the other person’s model of the world. People are not solely defined by their behaviours. This means that you must accept the person to change the behaviour. The concepts of concordance, compliance, adherence and patient agreement are now central to successful medical management.

In this section, we will explore a progressive area of study: neuro-linguistic programming (NLP). Derived from cognitive psychology and developed by Richard Bandler and John Grinder, this is a model of how we communicate with ourselves and with others. It is a model of excellence and is used in all areas of business from consultation skills, people management and selling skills to setting personal and business goals. We will explore one of the key principles: rapport. Without a good sense of rapport as a healthcare professional, you cannot possibly succeed in developing positive health outcomes or health excellence.