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Neuro-linguistic programming

Neuro-linguistic programming (or NLP) is an interpersonal communication model applied in psychotherapy and other contexts of communication and change. It was initially co-created by Richard Bandler and linguist John Grinder in the 1970s based on the communication and behavioral patterns acquired from gestalt therapist Fritz Perls, family systems therapist Virginia Satir and psychiatrist Milton H. Erickson. The originators emphasize modeling of excellence as the core methodology of NLP, that is, the methods they used to imitate and produce the models of exceptional communicators. They also claim that the basic assumptions of NLP draw from aspects of neurology ("neuro-"), transformational grammar ("linguistics") and cybernetics ("programming"). It has often been promoted as an art and science of effective communication and defined as 'the study of the structure of subjective experience'. Others put more emphasis on the tools, techniques and applications specific to contexts such as psychotherapy, business management and communications training, motivational seminars, personal development, and teaching.

Critics argue that the basic theoretical assumptions of NLP and strong claims of efficacy are not warranted without empirical validation. Exaggerated claims made by some proponents in advertising and marketing, especially in the personal development and self-help applications, have also drawn criticism. Proponents often emphasize its pragmatic approach and aim at creating models of "what works" rather than "truth". However, some critics regard NLP as pseudoscience or as a New Age form of psychotherapy for what they see as unsubstantiated and often exaggerated claims. NLP has enjoyed little support within the psychological profession following research reviewed in the Journal of Counseling Psychology in the early 1980s which focused on preferred representational systems and matching sensory modalities to enhance client-therapist rapport in counseling. A recent survey of mental health professionals about the future of psychotherapy excluded NLP because the researchers believed it has been outdated. While there have been some efforts within NLP to improve its practice, recent research is spread thinly across various disciplines and the field remains splintered.

In 2001, an off-shoot application of NLP, Neuro-linguistic psychotherapy, was recognized by United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP) as an experimental constructivist form of psychotherapy. The first, vendor neutral, NLP Research Conference was held in 2008 sponsored by University of Surrey with the aim of encouraging improved research collaboration.

History and founding

1970s: Founding and early development

NLP originated when Richard Bandler, a student at University of California, Santa Cruz, was transcribing taped therapy sessions of the Gestalt therapist Fritz Perls as a project for the psychiatrist Robert Spitzer, who had originally commissioned Bandler to teach his son drums. Bandler believed he recognized particular word and sentence structures which facilitated the acceptance of Perls’ positive suggestions. Bandler took this idea to one of his university teachers, John Grinder, a linguist, and together they produced what they termed the Meta Model, a model of what they believed to be influential word structures and how they work. They also 'modelled' the therapeutic sessions of the family therapist Virginia Satir.

They published an account of their work in The Structure of Magic in 1975, when Bandler was 25. The main theme of the book was that it was possible to analyse and codify the therapeutic methods of Satir and Perl. Exceptional therapy, even when it appears 'magical', has a discernible structure, which anyone could learn. Some of the book was based on previous work by Grinder on transformational grammar, the Chomskyan generative syntax that was current at the time. Some considered the importation of transformational grammar to psychotherapy to be Bandler and Grinder's main contribution to the field of psychotherapy. Bandler and Grinder also made use of ideas of Gregory Bateson, who was influenced by Alfred Korzybski, particularly his ideas about human modeling and that 'the map is not the territory'.

Impressed by the work with Fritz Perls and Virgina Satir, the British anthropologist Gregory Bateson agreed to write the preface and also introduced Bandler and Grinder to Milton Erickson who would become the third model for NLP. Erickson, an American psychiatrist and founding member of the American Society for Clinical Hypnosis, was well known for his unconventional approach to therapy, for his ability to "utilize" anything about a patient to help them change, including their beliefs, favorite words, cultural background, personal history, or even their neurotic habits, and for treating the unconscious mind as creative, solution-generating, and often positive.

At that time the Californian human potential seminars were developing into an industry. As well as a therapeutic method, its founders claimed that it was a study of communication and by the 1970s Grinder and Bandler were marketing it as a business tool, claiming that 'if any human being can do anything, so can you'. After 150 students paid $1,000 each for a ten-day workshop in Santa Cruz, Bandler and Grindler gave up academic writing to produce popular books from seminar transcripts, such as Frogs into Princes, which sold more than 270,000 copies. According to court documents, Bandler's NLP business made more than $800,000 in 1980.

1980s: New developments and scientific assessment

In the early 1980s, NLP was hailed as an important advance in psychotherapy and counseling, and attracted some interest in counseling research and clinical psychology. In the mid 1980s, reviews in The Journal of Counseling Psychology and by the National Research Council (1988; NRC) committee found little or no empirical basis for the claims about preferred representational systems (PRS) or assumptions of NLP. Since then, NLP has been regarded by the academic, psychiatric and medical professions with suspicion or outright hostility.

In the 1980s, shortly after publishing Neuro-Linguistic Programming: Volume I with Robert Dilts and Judith Delozier, Grinder and Bandler fell out. Amidst acrimony and intellectual property lawsuits, the NLP brand was adopted by other training businesses. Some time afterwards, John Grinder collaborated with various people to develop a form of NLP called the New Code of NLP which attempted to restore a whole mind-body systemic approach to NLP Richard Bandler also published new processes based on submodalities and Ericksonian hypnosis.

1990s: Controversy, division, and marketing

In July 1996 after many years of legal controversy, Bandler filed a lawsuit against John Grinder and others, claiming retrospective sole ownership of NLP, and the sole right to use the term under trademark. At the same time, Tony Clarkson (a UK practitioner) successfully asked the UK High Court to revoke Bandler's UK registered trademark of "NLP", in order to clarify legally that 'NLP' was a generic term rather than intellectual property.

Despite the NLP community being splintered, most NLP material acknowledges the early work of the co-founders, Bandler and Grinder, and the development group that surrounded them in the 1970s.

2000s: Legal settlement and government regulation

In 2001, the law suits were settled with Bandler and Grinder agreeing to be known as co-founders of NLP. Since 1978, a 20 day NLP practitioner certification program had been in existence for training therapists to apply NLP as an adjunct to their professional qualifications. As NLP evolved, and the applications began to be extended beyond therapy, new ways of training were developed and the course structures and design changed. Course lengths and style vary from institute to institute. In the 1990s, following attempts to put NLP on a regulated footing in the UK, other governments began certifying NLP courses and providers, such as in Australia for example, where Neuro-linguistic programming is accredited under the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF). However, NLP continues to be an open field of training with no 'official' best practice. With different authors, individual trainers and practitioners having developed their own methods, concepts and labels, often branding them as "NLP", the training standards and quality differ greatly. In Europe, the European NLP therapy association has been promoting its training in line with European therapy standards. The multiplicity and general lack of controls has led to difficulty discerning the comparative level of competence, skill and attitude in different NLP trainings. According to Peter Schütz the length of training in Europe varies from 2–3 days for the hobbyist, to 35–40 days over at least nine months to achieve a professional level of competence.

Today

Today, NLP is a lucrative industry, and many variants of the practice are found in seminars, workshops, books and audio programs in the form of exercises and principles intended to influence behavioral and emotional change in self and others. There is great variation in the depth and breadth of training and standards of practitioners, and some disagreement between those in the field about which patterns are, or are not, "NLP".

Concepts and methods

Modeling of Fritz Perls, Virginia Satir, and Milton Erickson

NLP began with the studies of three "master psychotherapists", Fritz Perls, Virginia Satir, and Milton Erickson. Grinder and Bandler reviewed many hours of audio and video of the three therapists and spent months imitating how they worked with clients, in order to replicate or 'model' the communication patterns which supposedly made these individuals more successful than their peers. The studies were an attempt to identify why particular psychotherapists were so effective with their patients. Rather than take a purely theoretical approach, Bandler and Grinder sought to observe what the therapists were doing, categorize it, and 'model' it.

Bandler and Grinder aimed to learn and codify the "know-how" (as opposed to "know-what" [facts] or "know-why" [science]) that set these experts apart from their peers. The expert therapists knew what they were doing but there were tacit aspects of this knowledge (i.e., subtleties which cannot be explained or codified and can only be transmitted via training or gained through personal experience). In the initial phase of the modeling process, Bandler and Grinder spent months observing, in person and via recordings, and imitating how their models worked with clients. The initial part ("unconscious uptake") of the modeling process involved putting aside prior knowledge or expectations:

While the style and approach of these psychotherapists were apparently different, Bandler and Grinder believed that all experts in human communication (including Perls, Satir and Erickson) have patterns in common that could be learnt by others:

They claimed that there were a few common traits expert communicators – whether top therapists, top executives or top salespeople – all seemed to share:

* Everything they did in their work was in active pursuit of a clearly held goal or objective, rather than reacting to change .

* They were exceedingly flexible in approach and refused to be tied down to using their skills in any one fixed way of thinking or working

* They had a strong awareness of the non-verbal feedback (unconscious communication and metaphor) they were getting, and responded to it - usually in kind rather than by analyzing it

* They enjoyed the challenges of difficult ("resistant") clients, seeing them as a chance to learn rather than an intractable "problem"

* They respected the client as someone doing the best they knew how (rather than judging them as "broken" or "working")

*They had certain common skills and things they were aware of and noticed, that were intuitively "wired in"

* They worked with precision, purpose, and skill

* They kept trying different approaches until they learned enough about the structure holding a problem in place to change it

As a result, they claimed that there were only three behaviour patterns underlying successful communication in therapy, business and sales: to know what outcome you want, to be flexible in your behaviour, and to generate different kinds of behaviour to find out what response you get, and to have enough sensory experience to notice when you get the responses that you want.

The methods of observation and imitation Bandler and Grinder used to learn and codify the initial models of NLP came to be known as Modeling. Proponents maintain that NLP Modeling is not confined to therapy but can be applied to all human learning. Another aspect of NLP modeling is understanding the patterns of one's own behaviors in order to 'model' the more successful parts of oneself.

Meta model

The meta model can be seen as a heuristic that responds to the words and phrases that reveal unconscious limitations and faulty thinking — the distortions, generalizations and deletions in language. Bandler and Grinder observed similar patterns in the communication of Fritz Perls and Virginia Satir (and gleaned from a set of transformational grammar language categories). The meta model seeks to recover unspoken information, and to challenge generalization the other distorted messages that involve restrictive thinking and beliefs. The intent is to help someone develop new choice in thinking and behavior. By listening to and carefully responding to the distortions (generalizations and deletions) in a client's sentences, the practitioner seeks to respond to the syntactic form of the sentence rather than the content itself.

For example, if someone said, "everyone must love me," the message is overly general as it does not specify any particular person or group of people. Examples of meta model responses include "which people, specifically?" or "all people?" and questions to define the criteria that would be acceptable for this person to know when he or she is experiencing the state of "love". The practitioner also understands that words such as "must" also indicates necessity or lack of choice on the part of the speaker. A meta-model response might be, "what would happen if they did/didn't?" Practitioners choose when to respond and when not to, using softeners and linkage phrases from the Milton model to maintain rapport.

Milton model

In contrast to the Meta Model of NLP which seeks to specify information, is the Milton Erickson-inspired Milton model described by Bandler and Grinder as "artfully vague". In it the communicator makes statements that seem specific but allow the listener to fill in their own meaning for what is being said. It makes use of pacing and leading, ambiguity, metaphor, embedded suggestion, and multiple-meaning sentence structures. It has been described as "a way of using language to induce and maintain trance in order to contact the hidden resources of our personality". The Milton model has three primary aspects: First, to assist in building and maintaining rapport with the client. Second, to overload and distract the conscious mind so that unconscious communication can be cultivated. Third, to allow for interpretation in the words offered to the client.

After spending months closely studying Erickson's language (verbal and non-verbal) and imitating the way that Erickson worked with clients, Bandler and Grinder published the Milton model in 1976/1977 under the title The Patterns of Milton H. Erickson Volumes I & II. In the preface, Erickson said, "Although this book [...] is far from being a complete description of my methodologies, as they so clearly state it is a much better explanation of how I work than I, myself, can give. I know what I do, but to explain how I do it is much too difficult for me." Erickson was known for his use of unconventional approaches, including the use of stories, and for deeply entering the world of his clients. The Milton model is a way of communicating based on the hypnotic language patterns of Milton Erickson.

Representational systems and accessing cues

The basic assumption of NLP is that internal mental processes such as problem solving, memory, and language consist of visual, auditory, kinesthetic (and possibly olfactory and gustatory) representations (often shortened to VAK or VAKOG) that are engaged when people think about problems, tasks or activities, or engage in them. Internal sensory representations are constantly being formed and activated. Whether making conversation, talking about a problem, reading a book, kicking a ball or riding a horse, internal representations have an impact on performance. NLP techniques generally aim to change behavior through modifying the internal representations, examining the way a person represents a problem and by building desirable representations of alternative outcomes or goals. In addition, Bandler and Grinder claimed that the representational system use could be tracked using eye movements, gestures, breathing, sensory predicates and other cues in order to improve rapport and social influence.

Some of these ideas of sensory representations and associated therapeutic ideas appear to have been imported from gestalt therapy shortly after its creation in the 1970s.Accessing cues

Bandler and Grinder claimed that matching and responding to the representational systems people use to think is generally beneficial for enhancing rapport and influence in communication. They proposed several models for this purpose including eye accessing cues and sensory predicates. The direction of eye accesses was considered an indicator of the type of internal mental process (see the chart):

'v'isual — up to left or right
'a'uditory — level to left or right
'k'inesthetic — down to the right

The sensory predicates, breathing posture and gestures were also considered important. In the sensory predicate model, if someone said:

"that rings true for me", rings predicates auditory processing.
"that's clearer now", the sensory predicates clearer indicates some internal visual representation.
"I can see a bright future for myself", the sensory predicates see and bright indicates some internal visual processing.
"I can grasp a hold of the concept", the sensory predicates grasp and hold indicates primarily kinesthetic processing

These verbal cues are often coupled with posture changes, eye movements, skin color or breathing shifts. Essentially, it was claimed that the practitioner could ascertain the current sensory mode of thinking from external cues such as the direction of eye movements, posture, breathing, tone of voice and the use of sensory-based predicates.Preferred representational systems

The majority of research (as published in the Journal of Counseling Psychology in the early 1980s) focused on Bandler and Grinder's claim that a preferred representational system (PRS) exists and is effective in counseling-client influence. Put simply, they claimed that some people prefer visual, auditory, or kinesthetic processing. Further, a therapist (or communicator) could be more influential by matching the other's preferred system. Christopher Sharpley's review of counselling psychology literature on PRS found that it could not be reliably assessed, it was not certain that it even existed and it could not be demonstrated to reliably assist counselors. Buckner (published after Sharpley) found some support for the notion that eye movements can indicate visual and auditory components of thought in that moment.

While some NLP training programs and books still feature PRS, many have modified or dropped it. Richard Bandler, for example, de-emphasized its importance in an interview with the Enhancing Human Performance subcommittee. John Grinder, in the New Code of NLP, emphasizes individual calibration and sensory acuity, precluding such a rigidly specified model as the one described above. Responding directly to sensory experience requires an immediacy which respects the importance of context. Grinder also stated in an interview that a representational system diagnosis lasts about 30 seconds.

Submodalities

Submodalities are the fine details of sensory representational systems or modalities. In the late 1970s, the use of visual imagery was common in goal setting, sports psychology and meditation. Not only did Bandler and Grinder begin to explore imagery in all sensory modalities (Visual, Auditory, Kinesthetic, Gustatory and Olfactory), they also were interested in the qualities/properties of internal representations, the "submodalities".

Bandler and Grinder observed that for some people increasing the brightness, color or location of an internal imagery, intensity of their state also increased. They observed similar patterns different sensory modalities (e.g. Auditorial and Kinesthetic systems) in other people and changes depending on context.

This work with submodalities inspired a number of novel interventions within NLP, therapeutic and personal development settings. For example, the swish pattern is proposed to reduce unwanted habits. It involves first deciding on a positive alternative. The desired alternative may be in the form of a representation of the self, resourceful and happy. The internal representations that previously triggered unwanted behavior are identified and recoded in the form of something that is uninteresting to the participant, typically small and dark. The desirable outcome recoded in a form of something that is highly motivating, typically bright, colourful and large. After the initial preparation, the participant is asked to bring to mind the representation of the unwanted behavior. As this is brought to mind the participant immediately makes it small and dark and bring forth an image of the desired alternative. The process is repeated and revised as required. To test it, the participant then put himself into the context where the old behavior used to be triggered. The process is considered successful if the participant remain resourceful when recalling the context where the unwanted behavior used to occur and automatically thinks of the desired alternative.

Techniques

Rapport

NLP proposed a number of simple techniques involving matching, pacing and leading for establishing rapport with people. There are a number of techniques explored in NLP that are supposed to be beneficial in building and maintaining rapport such as: matching and pacing non-verbal behavior (body posture, head position, gestures, voice tone, and so forth) and matching speech and body rhythms of others (breathing, pulse, and so forth).

Anchoring

Anchoring is the process by which a particular state or response is associated (anchored) with a unique anchor. An anchor is most often a gesture, voice tone or touch but could be any unique visual, auditory, kinesthetic, olfactory or gustatory stimulus. It is claimed that by recalling past resourceful states one can anchor those states to make them available in new situations. A psychotherapist might anchor positive states like calmness and relaxation, or confidence in the treatment of phobias and anxiety, such as in public speaking. Proponents state that anchors are capable of being formed and reinforced by repeated stimuli, and thus are analogous to classical conditioning.

Anchoring appears to have been imported into NLP from family systems therapy as part of the 'model' of Virginia Satir.

Swish

Swish is a novel visualization technique for reducing unwanted habits. The process involves disrupting a pattern of thought that usually leads to an unwanted behavior such that it leads to a desired alternative. The process involves visualizing the trigger or 'cue image' that normally leads to the unwanted behavior pattern, such as a smoker's hand with a cigarette moving towards the face. The cue image is then switched a number of times with a visualization of a desired alternative, such as a self-image looking resourceful and fulfilled. The swish is tested by having the person think of the original cue image that used to lead to the undesired behavior, or by presenting the actual cue such as a cigarette to the client, while observing the responses. If the client stays resourceful then the process is complete. The name swish comes from the sound made by the practitioner/trainer as the visualizations are switched. Swish also makes use of submodalities, for example, the internal image of the unwanted behavior is typically shrunk to a small and manageable size and the desired outcome (or self-image) is enhanced by making it brighter and larger than normal. The swish was first published by Richard Bandler.

Reframing

In NLP, reframing is the process whereby an element of communication is presented so as to transform an individual's perception of the meanings or "frames" attributed to words, phrases and events. By changing the way the event is perceived "responses and behaviors will also change. Reframing with language allows you to see the world in a different way and this changes the meaning. Reframing is the basis of jokes, myths, legends, fairy tales and most creative ways of thinking." The concept was common to a number of therapies prior to NLP. For example, it appeared in the approaches of Virginia Satir, Fritz Perls and Milton Erickson and in strategic therapy of Paul Watzlawick. There are examples in children's literature. Pollyanna, for example, would play The Glad Game whenever she felt downhearted to remind herself of the things that she could do, and not worry about the things that she could not change.

Six step reframe

An example of reframing is found in the six-step reframe which involves distinguishing between an underlying intention and the consequent behaviors for the purpose of achieving the intention by different and more successful behaviors. It is based on the notion that there is a positive intention behind all behaviors, but that the behaviors themselves may be unwanted or counterproductive in other ways. NLP uses this staged process to identify the intention and create alternative choices to satisfy that intention.

Ecology and congruency

Ecology in NLP deals with the relationships between a client and his or her natural, social and created environments and how a proposed goal or change might retreat to his or her relationships and environment. It is a frame within which the desired outcome is checked against the consequences client's life and mind as systemic processes. It treats the client's relationship with self as a system and his or her relationship with others as subsystems that interact so when someone considers a change it is important therefore to take into account the consequences on the system as a whole. Like gestalt therapy a goal of NLP is to help the client choose goals and make changes that achieve a sense of personal congruency and integrity with personal and other aspects of the client's life.

Parts integration

Parts Integration creates a metaphor of different aspects (parts) of ourselves which are in conflict due to different goals, perceptions and beliefs. 'Parts integration' is the process of 'identifying' these parts and negotiating (or working) with each of these parts separately & together, with a goal of resolving internal conflict. Successful parts negotiation occurs by listening to and providing opportunities to meet the needs of each part and adequately addressing each part's interests so that they are each satisfied with the desired outcome. It often involves negotiating with the conflicting parts of a person to achieve resolution. Parts integration appears to be modeled on 'parts' from family therapy and has similarities to ego-state therapy in psychoanalysis in that it seeks to resolve conflicts that constitute a "family of self" within a single individual.

Criticism

Journal of Counseling Psychology

In 1984, Christopher F. Sharpley (publishing in the Journal of Counseling Psychology) undertook a literature review of 15 studies on the existence and effectiveness of preferred representational systems (PRS), an underlying principle of NLP. He found "little research evidence supporting its usefulness as an effective counseling tool" and that there was no reproducible support for PRS and predicate matching. Eric Einspruch and Bruce Forman (1985) broadly agreed with Sharpley, but they disputed the conclusions, identifying a failure to address methodological errors in the research reviewed. They stated that "NLP is far more complex than presumed by researchers, and thus, the data are not true evaluations of NLP" adding that NLP is difficult to test under the traditional counseling psychology framework. Moreover, they argued the research lacked a necessary understanding of pattern recognition as part of advanced NLP training. There was also inadequate control of context, an unfamiliarity with NLP as an approach to therapy, inadequate definitions of rapport, and numerous logical mistakes in the research methodology. In 1987, Sharpley published a response to Einspruch and Forman with a review of a further 7 studies on the same basic tenets (totalling 44 including those cited by Einspruch and Forman). This second article included a review of Elich et al (1985), a study that found no support for the proposed relationship between eye movements, spoken predicates, and internal imagery. Elich et al stated that "NLP has achieved something akin to cult status when it may be nothing more than a psychological fad".

Other reviews of evidence for preferred representational systems

A study by Buckner et al (1987, after Sharpley), using trained NLP practitioners found support for the claim that specific eye movement patterns existed for visual and auditory components of thought, and that trained observers could reliably identify them. However, the study did not address whether such patterns indicated a preferred representational system. They also made suggestions for further research. Krugman et al (1985) had tested claims for a 'one-session' treatment of performance anxiety against another method and a control group and found no support for claims of a 'one-session' effective treatment. Buckner et al argued for further research into NLP amongst other treatments that have "achieved popularity in the absence of data supporting their utility".

Responses to research reviews

In response to the experimental literature reviews Watkins said that "Neurolinguistic Programming studies attempted to match eye movements and representational patterns. These are appropriate tests of the validity of the proponents' claims. However, one can only speculate what might have been learned with a wider range of outcome variables. Since this is a review of empirical research it may seem unfair to focus on limitations of the studies reported, but at a minimum the authors could have critiqued the methodological rigor and conceptual soundness of the variables tested."

Enhancing human performance study

As part of a study that investigated various psychological techniques for learning, improving motor skills, altering mental states, stress management and social influence at the request of the US Army Research Institute, the Committee on Techniques for the Enhancement of Human Performance (United States National Research Council) selected several heavily marketed human performance enhancement techniques that made strong claims for their efficacy. Many of the techniques evaluated happened to have origins in the human potential movement. NLP was selected as a strategy for social influence and was evaluated by the psychological techniques committee directed by social psychologist Daniel Druckman. The committee was already aware of the weak support for preferred representation systems (PRS) in the literature and noted that the body of research had largely not tested NLP beyond the assumptions related to PRS (consistent with the Sharpley's literature review in Journal of Counseling Psychology). However, the effect of matching predicates on all representations showed strong effect on perceptions.

The psychological techniques study committee directed by Druckman "found little if any evidence to support NLP’s assumptions or that it is effective as a strategy for social influence." But the committee "were impressed with the modeling approach used to develop the [NLP] technique. The technique was developed from careful observations of the way three master psychotherapists conducted their sessions, emphasizing imitation of verbal and nonverbal behaviors (Druckman & Swets, 1988, Chapter 8). This then led the committee to take up the topic of expert modeling in the second phase of its work." While the committee recommended further investigation into the NLP as a "model of expert performance, NLP was not mentioned in "Enhancing Human Performance" publications that followed, except by way of acknowledgment for the observation and imitation methods used by Bandler and Grinder to model the verbal and non-verbal patterns of "master psychotherapists" Fritz Perls, Virginia Satir and Milton Erickson in the early development of NLP.

Decline in research interest

These mid-80s reviews marked the start of a decline in research interest in NLP generally, and particular in matching sensory predicates and its use in counselor-client relationship in counseling psychology..

Similarly in the field of psychotherapy it is stated that the "original interest in NLP turned to disillusionment after the research and now it is rarely even mentioned in psychotherapy".

There has been some ongoing research by both NLP practitioners and psychologists, including outcome-based research and research of therapies which share NLP processes, but there are no thorough reviews or meta-analyses of NLP's effectiveness.

Grant Devilly (2005) researching the experimental evidence underlying several "power therapies" including EMDR and VK/D (a technique spawned from NLP) stated that there had not been any peer-reviewed experimental research published yet concerning VK/D. He comments that:

Lack of scientific validation

Proponents of NLP often claim it is predicated on a scientific understanding and the name of neuro-linguistic programming implies a basis in science. Cognitive neuroscience researcher Michael C Corballis (1999) said that "NLP is a thoroughly fake title, designed to give the impression of scientific respectability."

Researcher and clinician Scott Lilienfeld said that "largely untested treatments comprise a major proportion—in some cases a majority—of the interventions delivered by mental health professionals." Lilienfeld argues that NLP, as a New Age psychotherapy, is one of many hundreds of variations of psychotherapy that have not been subject to rigorous empirical validation. Lilienfeld and colleagues believe that randomized controlled studies are the only way to verify whether or not psychotherapeutic treatments are effective. It is argued that the proof of the validity of new therapeutic practices in clinical psychology fall on the proponents of these practices. There has been no peer-reviewed empirical research on VK/D (Visual/Kinesthetic dissociation), an intervention derived from NLP which has been been taught alongside other Power therapies (eg. EMDR, TFT).

Psycholinguist Willem Levelt (in the Dutch skeptical magazine Skepter) acknowledges that the main point of NLP was pragmatic, but doubts the basis in neurology, linguistics and computer programming implied. He argues that most modern neurologists are informed about the brain based on neuro-imaging and clinical data but in NLP there has been little interest in neuroscience or clinical research. He asserts that the experimental evidence does not exist to support the hypothesis that eye movements can reveal preferred representational system. He also claims there are philosophical conflicts between the NLP meta model, the philosophy of David Hume (sensory experience is combined to form representations) and William Wundt (which Levelt considers close to "the study of subjective experience", a main idea in NLP).

Uses

Psychotherapy

In contrast to mainstream psychotherapy, NLP does not concentrate on diagnosis, treatment and assessment of mental and behavioral disorders. Instead, it focuses on helping clients to overcome their own self-perceived, or subjective, problems. It seeks to do this while respecting their own capabilities and wisdom to choose additional goals for the intervention as they learn more about their problems, and to modify and specify those goals further as a result of extended interaction with a therapist. The two main therapeutic uses of NLP are use as an adjunct by therapists practicing in other therapeutic disciplines, or as a specific therapy called Neurolinguistic Psychotherapy (NLPt).

Interpersonal communications and persuasion

While the main goals of Neuro-linguistic programming are therapeutic, the patterns have also been adapted for use outside of psychotherapy including business communication, management training, sales, sports, and interpersonal influence.

For some, the techniques, such as anchoring, reframing, therapeutic metaphor and hypnotic suggestion, were intended to be used in the therapeutic setting. Research in counseling psychology found rapport to be no more effective than existing listening skills taught to counselors. Furthermore, Druckman found weak empirical support for PRS and little theoretical support in counseling psychology and the experimental literature for NLP as a technique for social influence. Sharpley concluded that most of the other techniques available in NLP were already available in counseling.

Outside of psychotherapy, the meta model, for example, is seen by some as a promising business management communication technique.

Popular culture and media

NLP, when mentioned in popular culture, often refers to its more ‘spectacular’ claims and potentials. When NLP is mentioned in the context of "the power of the mind", claims such as "you can achieve anything" are common — this is seen by scientists as a wild and unsubstantiated claim. (Note that NLP does not teach that this claim is true, but it does teach that believing it is useful — that if a subject believes they are capable of more it will enable a greater range of possibilities for them.)

NLP also teaches that people are unconsciously influenced when making decisions, and that they can give indications in their muscle and facial movements of their thought processes. The public perception of NLP, like hypnosis, is often mixed (sometimes deliberately) with public preconceptions and interest in the unknown.

Entertainment

Derren Brown

English mentalist Derren Brown is publicly linked to NLP, and it has been speculated that some of his acts use NLP techniques, for example the "Russian Roulette" TV special. Brown has stated that NLP spurred his interest in developing skills in reading non-verbal signals (see also cold reading) and indirect suggestion, but he points out in Tricks of the Mind that he has "never mentioned it" in the context of his work, and that although he found it enlightening, NLP's capabilities are frequently exaggerated.

Self-help

Paul McKenna

In 2005, celebrity hypnotist and television personality Paul McKenna was shown applying NLP and other techniques on his Sky1 show, I Can Change Your Life to assist people with phobias, such as agoraphobia and addictions to gambling and shopping. In 2006, another Sky One programme, ‘I Can Make You Thin’, featured Richard Bandler and used NLP among other techniques including Thought Field Therapy to help people lose weight.

Anthony Robbins

Anthony Robbins saw success marketing his self-help programs using infomercials. Personal Power, one of Robbins self-help audio programs launched in 1989 has sold in excess of US $100 million. Previously Robbins had published Unlimited Power, an American best seller based largely on NLP. While Robbins incorporated some aspects of NLP in what he called Neuro Associative Conditioning and later programs, NLP was mentioned less often.

Thom Hartmann

Thom Hartmann, the psychotherapist-turned-Air America radio talk show host, was trained in Neuro-Linguistic Programming in the 1970s by Richard Bandler, whom he calls "one of my best teachers" in a 2008 book entitled Cracking the Code: How to Win Hearts, Change Minds, and Restore America's Original Vision that is largely based on NLP. In Cracking the Code, Hartmann affirms that Newt Gingrich and Frank Luntz "studied the tools" of NLP and put them to work for the Republican Party in the 1980s and 1990s, but does not present documentary evidence of this.

Classifying NLP

Associations with science

NLP's association with science has been complex and controversial. Robert Dilts and Judith Delozier claim "NLP is rooted in the synthesis of three areas of modern science: neurophysiology, linguistics and cybernetics (computer programming)." Grinder & Bostic St Clair (2001) make suggestions about what needs to be done next to "improve the practice [of NLP] and take its rightful place as a scientifically based endeavor with its precise focus on one of the extremes of human behavior: excellence and the high performers who actually do it." They ask those interested to work with researchers in cognitive linguistics and neuroscience to begin to improve the relationship with those fields.

In the introduction to The Structure of Magic Series, Gregory Bateson stated that "[Bandler and Grinder] create the beginnings of an appropriate theoretical base for the describing of human interaction. [They] have succeeded in making linguistics into a base for theory and simultaneously into a tool for therapy."

One of the techniques utilized by NLP Marin is similar to the pseudoscience of Vegetotherapy, which was originally proposed by Wilhelm Reich.

Principles and presuppositions

While practitioners disagree about some elements of NLP, these are some generalizations often used as working guides.

NLP is generative. NLP seeks to assist a client to generate new ideas.
If you always do what you've always done, you will always get what you always got. Try different approaches.
Use whatever works. Also known as the principle of utilization. Use whatever gets the job done. NLP itself is viewed as a 'toolbox.'
There are no resistant clients; there are only inflexible (or less skilled) therapists. Resistance to change is not the patient being unwilling, but an unconscious communication saying "Not that way, this way!"
If something can be done in ten minutes, don't spend an hour doing it. Followers of NLP believe brief therapy is effective.
NLP incorporates the body as well as the mind. How a person's body is will have an impact on a person's emotional state.
Behind every behavior there is (or once was) a positive intention. Even a seemingly negative thought or behavior has a positive function at some level or in some other context. (presupposition)Based on the work of Virginia Satir, it assumes this behaviour was the best choice for the patient at the time, much as R. D. Laing argued that what is called "mental illness" is a comprehensible reaction to impossible demands. (Main article: Positive and negative (NLP))
A person is not his or her behaviour.
There is no failure, only feedback. As a field which utilizes trial and error, not all actions are expected to "work," some give you ideas for a new approach.
The meaning of the communication is the response it produces, not the intended communication. This is an "As-if" concept: it may be that the recipient is mistaken, but assuming they are right may foster communication.
One cannot not communicate. Every behaviour is a kind of communication. Because behaviour does not have a counterpart (there is no anti-behaviour), it is not possible not to communicate.
Choice is better than no choice. An idea from cybernetics that holds the most flexible element in a system will have the most influence or choice in that system.
People already have all the internal resources they need to succeed. This is believed to be useful for the subject to believe when attempting a change. Christina Hall has argued that people's resources are their sensory representation systems and the manner in which they are organized.
Multiple descriptions are better than one. By moving between different perceptual positions, it is claimed that one can see a problem in new ways, or with less emotional attachment, and thus gather more information and develop new choices of response. This may also refer to other people and their view of a situation.
Meet people in their own unique map of the world. This is based on the generalisation that one individual's reality is not the same as any other's and is linked to the principle that the map is not the territory. Even core NLP models such as the VAK model, cannot always be assumed to hold true for every client, but must be tested or confirmed first.
The map is not the territory. "NLP epistemology" follows Alfred Korzybski (1933) and Gregory Bateson's (1972, 1979) postulations that there is no such thing as "objective experience." NLP does not claim that one is working with reality, ie the "territory", but only ever with peoples subjective perceptions and beliefs about reality, ie some or other "map". (Main article: Map-territory relation)

Technology

Psychologists, Margaret Thaler Singer and Janja Lalich claim that NLP fosters a 'quick-fix' attitude. They argue that while some proponents of NLP purport it is based on disciplines such as cybernetics, linguistics, communication theory, others claim it is a "heavily pragmatic" — what's useful for a person to believe might differ wildly from what is actually true — and not based on theory at all. Singer quotes that common attitude of "pretend it works, try it, and notice the results you get. If you don't get the result you want, try something else" Despite the lack of interest in theory by at least by some practitioners, the field has been marketed as a 'science', 'technology' and 'hi-tech psychology'.

Peter Labouchere states that "NLP has a very pragmatic, applied focus on what is helpful, what works and how to replicate it (Bandler & Grinder, 1990). While NLP draws on and shares common ground with ‘mainstream’ cognitive psychology, it has, from its inception, continued to develop, refine, and apply its own unique range of concepts, models and techniques."

Christoper Partridge states that "NLP may be best thought of as a system of psychology concerned with the self development of the human being" and "It is concerned with the function of belief rather than its nature. It is not concerned whether a belief is true or not, but whether it is empowering or disempowering. NLP's focus on subjective experience and its view that we cannot comprehend objective reality means that it fits well as an example of postmodern thought." Similarly, Stephen J. Hunt states that NLP "is a technique rather than an organized religion and is used by several different human potential movements". David V. Barrett (2001) also describes NLP as a technique or series of techniques, or a process. He states that that "the balance comes down against it being labeled as a religion".

Notes

References

Bandler, R., Grinder, J. (1979) Frogs into Princes: Neuro Linguistic Programming. Real People Press. 149 pages. ISBN 0911226192
Bandler, R., Grinder, J. (1975) The Structure of Magic I: A Book About Language and Therapy Science and Behavior Books. 198 pages. ISBN 0831400447
Bandler, R., Grinder, J. (1981) Reframing: Neuro-Linguistic Programming and the Transformation of Meaning Real People Press. ISBN 0911226257
Bandler, R., Andreas, S. (ed) and Andreas, C. (ed) (1985) Using Your Brain-for a Change ISBN 0911226273
Frank Clancy and Heidi Yorkshire, "The Bandler Method",Mother Jones Magazine 1989.
Colman., Andrew M., Oxford University Press, 2006. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press. retrieved 6 September 2007, 27 April 2008.
Dilts, R., Hallbom, T., Smith, S. (1990) Beliefs: Pathways to Health & Well-being
Dilts, R. (1990) Changing belief systems with NLP Meta Publications. ISBN 0916990249
Grinder, M. Lori Stephens (Ed) (1991) Righting the Educational Conveyor Belt ISBN 1555520367
Laborde, G. (1987) Influencing with Integrity: Management Skills for Communication and Negotiation
Grinder, J., Bandler, R. (1976) Patterns of the Hypnotic Techniques of Milton H. Erickson Volume I ISBN 091699001X
O'Connor, J., Seymour, J. Dilts, R. (foreword), Grinder, J. (preface) (1995) Introducing Neuro-linguistic Programming: The New Psychology of Personal Excellence Aquarian Press. 224 pages. ISBN 1852740736
Satir, V., Grinder, J., Bandler, R. (1976) Changing with Families: A Book about Further Education for Being Human Science and Behavior Books. ISBN 083140051X