I don't know a lot about CBT (always makes me laugh as the acronym is the same as Computer based Training), but it seems to be about facing your fears and overcoming them. If there are any CBT practitioners are around I'd be grateful if you'd correct me if I've got it wrongs.
If this is that case the two are poles apart. NLP would say that if it was really scarey the first time why would you put the client through it again and again. NLP would tend not to make the client relive something bad, particularly if they associate into the state (get the feelings they had at the time). There are a number of techniques in the NLP bag that would tend to give you some tools and resources that you would apply to the situation so that it would no longer be scarey.
One of the presuppositions (something believed to hold true for everything all of the time) is that we all have all the resources we need to handle whatever happens to us. A lot of therapeutic work in NLP is about making the client aware of the resources that they have, which makes it very empowering for the client.
I would liken CBT to Gillian McKeith and NLP to Gok Wan. They both work well with different personality types and both have their place.
Hope that helps.
Regards
Mike
