Everyday Stress
The general population’s exposure to stress factors has now reached epidemic proportions. Over the past 40 years, numerous approaches to this issue have emerged, with an emphasis on self-sustainable methods, many of which often offer advantages over more traditional long-term treatments. Among these are solutions that, within classical psychology, fall under the umbrella of cognitive-behavioral therapies.
Alternative techniques, once considered peripheral, are now fully integrated into the group of approaches that promote healthier lifestyles and stress regulation—without the need for long-term therapy or medication. These include mindfulness practices, emotional intelligence training, and third- and fourth-generation Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP), all of which have a direct impact on the quality and effectiveness of both internal and external communication (i.e., one’s relationship with oneself and with others).

Verbal and Nonverbal Communication
Communication is what makes the world go round, yet few people truly understand how it works. It is a natural and everyday process, but most individuals have only a vague notion of the rules that govern it. And yet, communication is our primary tool for achieving the results we desire.
This is why it is so important to understand the rules of communication: how we communicate, and how we perceive the way others communicate with us. It becomes essential to explore key theories and models of communication, assess their relevance, and—most importantly—develop the ability to apply them in practice.
By raising communication to higher levels of objectivity and empathy, we enhance our ability to achieve goals, foster stronger collaboration within teams and between individuals, and ultimately contribute to greater individual and collective satisfaction and well-being.

Focus as a Differentiating Factor
Why do people with the same intellectual and cognitive levels—and the same potential—achieve such different results in life? The answer is quite simple: truly driven individuals rarely get distracted. They are able to build and sustain their focus on what truly matters, setting aside what is secondary or less relevant.
These are people with a much greater capacity to take action, produce results, and make things happen—and they do so with a higher level of quality than their peers or competitors.

NLP is now widespread across various fields, from healthcare to business, and has undergone multiple developments that have led to its being taught worldwide and studied as an academic discipline—such as at Bangor University in the UK and the University of California, Santa Cruz.
This postgraduate program aims to provide students with a solid understanding of the bio-neuro-psychological foundations underlying the mental processes involved in both Mindfulness and Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP). The goal is for students to acquire practical tools that allow them to apply these techniques in both their personal and professional lives.
What makes this course unique is the integration of these two rapidly evolving fields, both of which have seen remarkable growth in recent years.

International Certification as an NLP Practitioner and Postgraduate Certificate in NLP and Mindfulness

With several editions already held in university settings (ESTeSL and UAL), this postgraduate program has been a success in achieving its main goal: developing participants’ skills in two key areas:

1. PERSONAL dimension, enabling the activation of strategies and tools for emotional management, relationship management, improvement of internal and external communication processes, as well as the ability to create, develop, and maintain focus and manage stress.
2. PROFESSIONAL dimension, empowering participants to optimize interaction with others and within teams, and to respond more effectively to stress-related situations. This leads to increased performance effectiveness and professional fulfillment, as well as a reduction in adverse events associated with inefficient communication.

These objectives will be achieved through the application of Mindfulness techniques and the study of third-generation Neuro-Linguistic Programming. Based on the structure of neurological levels, this approach works not only on skills, beliefs, and values, but also on the deeper levels of identity and purpose.

• Graduates from any field, with preference given to those from the health sector.
• Applicants without an academic degree may also be admitted, provided they undergo prior evaluation based on their curriculum

MODULES

Stress and Copping

1. Stress and Stressors: Definition, Perspectives, and Associated Emotions
2. Occupational Stress: Definition, Predictors, and Consequences
3. The Transactional Model: Stress as a Process
4. Coping Strategies: Definition, Characteristics, and Benefits

Cleópatra Andrade
12 hours

Neurobiology of Emotions

1. Body Physiology and Brain Structures (Nervous System, Endocrine System): Characteristics and Their Relationship with Emotional Experiences
2. Neurons, Synapses, and Neural Networks
3. Mirror Neurons
4. Effects of Stress on the Body (Cortisol)

Isadora Migliori
12 hours

Cognitive-Behavioral Psychology

1. Concepts of Cognition, Emotion, and Behavior
2. The Central Role of Cognitive Processes: The Mediating Function of Cognitions in Human Behavior
3. Beliefs and Other Cognitive Processes
4. Monitoring and Modification of Cognitive Activity

Margarida Rafael
12 hours

Mindfulness and Health

1. Mindfulness: What Is It? Origins and Scientific Evidence
2. Mind, Thoughts, and Emotions
3. The Present Moment: Techniques to Enhance Awareness
4. Stress, Reactivity, and Awareness: The Role of Mindfulness (Acceptance, Kindness, Compassion, Resilience, and Forgiveness) in the Stress Response
5. Applications of Mindfulness in Different Life Contexts

João Pereira Leite
16 hours

Neuro-Linguistic Programming

1. Introduction to NLP – What It Is, History, and Approaches
2. Basic Principles and Presuppositions
3. The NLP Communication Model
4. The Neurological Levels
5. Goal Setting
6. Representation Systems and Submodalities
7. Rapport
8. Meta Model of Language
9. Milton Language Model and Metaphors
10. Reframing
11. Values and Beliefs
12. Parts Model
13. Strategy Modeling
14. Applications in Different Life Contexts

Eugénia Fonseca
130 hours

Cleópatra Almada
Eugénia Fonseca
Isadora Migliori
João Pereira Leite
Margarida Rafael