In NLP, there are two basic types of reframing – content (or meaning) and a context reframes.

Content Reframe

The content reframe can be useful for taking a given situation and applying several different content reframes in order to loosen the old pattern of thinking. For example, say John is feeling anxious because his boss has ignored him all day. He makes this mean he has done something wrong. If John was to think of all the other meanings this could have, like the boss is busy, the boss is having a bad day, the boss is ill, this loosens John’s original pattern of belief.

Context Reframe

The context reframe is useful for taking something perceived as negative and giving it a positive context. For example, Bob has just lost his job and is feeling pretty down. He has no job, and no future in his mind. A great context reframe is that Bob now has a clean slate, a world of opportunities, time to find the right job that suits him, and some valuable lessons to go into the future with.