Talk:Neuro-linguistic programming/Reconstruction

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Possible reconstruction (this is going to be a long page in short sections)

Contents

[edit] Intro section

8 plausible intro sections identified from April - December 2005 and the current version. All quoted as in the original with the exception of (1) duplicated material, (2) obvious cleanup edits, (3) clear POV warfare edits.

[edit] Existing plausible intros

List of plausibly usable intros from the past 15 months.

I've masked this behind "commented out" since it's long and makes the page (and decision making) tedious. None the less, as cites from past versions, it is valuable to include them, so that editors can see original examples of introduction sections in their context.

Uncomment to view originals.


[edit] Summary of useful chunks from above

Useful "chunks" from above (with some mild cleanup):

What is NLP?
  • Neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) is a field of human endeavor concerned with empirically studying and modeling human performance and excellence, with the goal of creating transferable skill sets.
  • Neuro-Linguistic Programming is a field originated by Richard Bandler and John Grinder to describe the fundamental dynamics between mind (neuro, including cognitive processing, neurology, and internal representation) and language (linguistic, both verbal and non-verbal) and how their interplay affects our body and behavior (programming, or structures of behavior). It is formally defined by NLP proponents as "the study of the structure of subjective experience", and is predicated upon the belief that all behaviors have an underlying structure and purpose (also known as an intention, or function) [1].
  • In this context, programming signifies the brian's processes of creating habitual patterns internally and in daily life, and is not a reference to cult programming. [personal addition, worth clarifying]
  • Falls within the cognitive therapies ["Much of NLP operates on the cognitive level, i.e. by manipulating images, words, and feelings through an organized process"] [2] [personal addition, worth clarifying]
What is it based on?
  • It is based on the idea that the unconscious mind can be modelled as representing and processing information through the use of language, as well as through images, sounds, and other sensory input.
  • NLP adheres to the notion that the things people are aware of internally and externally, can effectively be described in terms of the five senses [3].
  • A fundamental notion is that human perception and thinking can be formally notated in terms of the five senses (Grinder & Bandler 1979; Dilts et al 1980; Bandler 1997). The basic tenets include the map-territory relation, the observation of non-verbal behavior such as the subtle movements of the eyes, or body postures, and use of VAK language.
  • Neuro-linguistic Programming (NLP) is based on the idea that you can find someone who excels at something, find out how they do it, and learn to do it yourself. [Comaze workshop version]
Scope and "taster"
  • The field has grown in many directions since its beginnings in modeling successful psychotherapists and has found applications in most areas involving human communications, such as education and learning, persuasion, negotiation, sales, leadership, team-building, etc., as well as decision-making, creative processes, health, medicine, and athletic performance.
  • NLP has been used as the foundation of self-help, therapy, skills modeling, and new age spirituality training. Advocates state that NLP promotes the use of observation, body language and careful questioning to better understand how a person is doing what they do. NLP also claims to teach processes for influencing patterns of thought, state management, changing beliefs (O'Connor and McDermot, 1996), examining intentions and values, and changing habits.
  • NLP techniques cover behaviour change, transforming beliefs, and treatment of traumas through techniques such as reframing (Andreas & Faulkner, 1994) and questioning methods such as the "meta-modeling" which can be used to explore personal limits of belief as expressed in language.
  • Individuals considered to be highly successful in a field can be "modeled", or studied with the aim of separating out the various key factors which make them more capable than others. Proponents of NLP state that this allows the creation of techniques for changing habitual thoughts and behaviors so that others can also emulate effective skills. NLP is most often applied to self-help and therapy, but it has also been applied to a variety of contexts including business, law enforcement, politics, staff training and sports performance.
  • Its goal is to identify what patterns of relationship between brains, language and bodies exceptional individuals have, to change habits and thinking patterns. Techniques are applied in various areas ranging from psychotherapy and personal development, sports and education to management training and relationships. [Comaze workshop version]
Reception and criticisms
  • While NLP has been applied to a number of fields such as sales, psychotherapy, communication, education, coaching, sport, business management, interpersonal relationships, seduction, and spirituality, it was metaphorically described by the original developers as "therapeutic magic" and 'the study of the structure of subjective experience" [1][2] and is predicated upon the assumption that behaviors have a practically determinable structure [3][4]
  • NLP has a mixed and polarized reception. It is widely used and affirmed by credible bodies, but at the same time often considered critically by scientists. Studies by Heap (1988), Sharpley (1987), and Lilienfeld (2003), examining the principles and processes state that Neuro-linguistic programming is scientifically unsupported. Writings by Eisner (2000), Lilienfeld et al (2003), Helisch (2004), Williams (2000), and Drenth (2003) also state that the methodology is pseudoscience. Writers such as Salerno (2005) have criticized the promotion within self-help, psychologists such as Singer (1999) and management experts such as Hardiman (1994) have criticized the principal beliefs within management and human resources. Psychologists such as Eisner (2000) and Lilienfeld (2003) have raised concern over the promotion within psychological associations due to the open-ended nature of applicability and utility, and the unregulated dubious approaches of some practitioners.
  • Scientific research on specific NLP processes has led to mixed results, with some studies concluding that NLP is scientifically unsupported (Heap 1988; Sharpley 1987; Lilienfeld et al, 2003), and others concluding more positively. This has led to NLP being classed as pseudoscience by (Eisner, 2000; Lilienfeld et al, 2003; Helisch 2004; Williams et al 2000; Drenth 2003) and a dubious therapy by the National Council Against Health Fraud (Loma 2001). Despite this it continues to receive strong support from a wide range of clinicians and other bodies, perhaps because, as Sharpley says (1987 p.105) "This does not necessarily reduce NLP to worthlessness for counseling practice. Rather, it puts NLP in the same category as psychoanalysis, that is, with principles not easily demonstrated in laboratory settings but, nevertheless, strongly supported by clinicians in the field."
  • Due in part to its open-ended philosophy and encouragement of developing "whatever practitioners find works", NLP is considered controversial and criticized by some as pseudoscientific and for the manner of using exaggerated claims by some of its promoters. For the same reasons, there is often dispute amongst its developers and proponents as to what exactly is NLP and what is not. On the other hand many credible bodies and clinicians worldwide report both use and support of the field in its core areas.
  • Sceptics consider that much of NLP (as with many modern talking therapies) is a subtle placebo, in that "If a person believes that a personal change is possible, then he will obtain it more easily than if he does not believe. So, the first step in a treatment, is usually to change the person's belief - i.e. to prepare a specially made placebo for him." [4] [personal addition, significant for explaining sceptics view]
  • There are various criticisms of the discipline of NLP: Some of its techniques have had little direct support in psychological and experimental literature. There are no formally agreed-upon standards for practitioners. There is disagreement and wide variations among individual trainers and practiioners regarding definitions as to what NLP itself is, and what constitutes NLP. There are as many ways of doing NLP as there are practitioners. NLP has no inherent moral or ethical framework, i.e. it is a set of techniques, whose use are left to the discretion of the practitioner. [Comaze workshop version]

[edit] Merger into "best intro"

Taking from above to try and answer the following intro issues:

  • What is NLP?
  • Basis (including creation) and usage
  • Current status, criticism and overall summary

Bear in mind, NLP is complex, the intro has to say what it is so a reader "gets the idea", not just a technical definition. FT2 (Talk) 12:13, 6 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] First attempt at merge (Comaze)

Neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) is an approach to learning, communication and change that practitioners apply to psychotherapy, business management, interpersonal relationships, and other contexts. The field of NLP was co-founded by then assistant professor of linguistics, Dr. John Grinder and Richard Bandler, who collaborated to imitate and then build an explicit models of exceptional psychotherapists, Fritz Perls, Virginia Satir, and Milton H. Erickson. The field is based on the idea that you can find exceptional individuals, find out how they do what they do, and teach the patterns to others.

Other foundational influences included Korzybski, map-territory distinction and his methods for modeling humans language and behavior.[5], NLP focused on exploring and challenging the limits to a person's beliefs as expressed in language, and developed techniques for behavior change, such as reframing beliefs, and reduction of simple phobias.[3][5][6]

<merge best overview of criticism>NLP is criticized for having no agreed upon code of ethics for trainers or practitioners, marketing of pseudoscientific or exaggerated claims, and for having little support in psychological and experimental literature.

--Comaze 12:06, 6 June 2006 (UTC)

[Hope you don't mind, I moved the raw material from your workshop version up to the other raw material, so that others could compare all versions in the same place, and edit with ease FT2 (Talk) 12:13, 6 June 2006 (UTC)]
No problem, that is exactly what I was attempting to do :) --Comaze 12:16, 6 June 2006 (UTC)
I somehow feel strangely impelled to flame you with 17 sockpuppets for not replying with a personal attack! FT2 (Talk) 12:18, 6 June 2006 (UTC)

I've just noticed, the "useful chunks" from previous intros all fall naturally into 4 areas. So maybe that's telling us what areas the intro has to cover? FT2 (Talk) 12:20, 6 June 2006 (UTC)


[edit] Overview

I sort of got this far. Its not short (that can be fixed) but seems a decent overview to distill down. Any use?


  1. What is NLP?
    Neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) is a field of human endeavor concerned with studying and modeling human performance and excellence. Its goal is to understand how human processes seem to work in practice and learning how to effectively identify, document and transfer the processes involved in high quality skills in a structured manner.
    NLP was originated by Richard Bandler and John Grinder to describe the fundamental dynamics between mind (neuro, including cognitive processing, neurology, and internal representation) and language (linguistic, both verbal and non-verbal) and how their interplay affects our body and behavior (programming, or structures of behavior). It is formally defined by NLP proponents as "the study of the structure of subjective experience", and is predicated upon the belief that all behaviors have an underlying structure and purpose (also known as an intention, or function) [5]. In this context, programming signifies the brain's processes of creating habitual cognitive processes.
  2. What's it based on?
    Neuro-linguistic Programming (NLP) is based on the idea that you can find someone who excels at something, find out how they do it, and learn to do it yourself, a process known as "modelling" which is at the heart of NLP. It is sometimes described as a wide-ranging toolkit, developing a library of both trusted and novel concepts and processes which are tested and refined over time, and it is driven by a methodlogy and philosophy, rather than a "theory" of behavior. In cognitive terms, a core principle of NLP is that the subjectively important features of human perception, emotion and cognition, which drive both visible and inner behaviors, can be formally notated (perhaps metaphorically) in terms of the five senses (Grinder & Bandler 1979; Dilts et al 1980; Bandler 1997). It also draws on linguistics, and microbehaviors, looking to identify patterns within each person which can be used to develop insight how they do what they do, whether excellent or dysfunctional.
  3. Scope and "taster
    The field has grown in many directions since its beginnings in modeling successful psychotherapists and has found applications in most areas involving human communications, such as education and learning, persuasion, negotiation, sales, leadership, team-building, etc., as well as decision-making, creative processes, health, medicine, and athletic performance. NLP has been used as the foundation of self-help, therapy, skills modeling, and new age spirituality training. Advocates state that NLP promotes the use of observation, body language and careful questioning to better understand how a person is doing what they do. NLP also claims to teach processes for influencing patterns of thought, state management, changing beliefs (O'Connor and McDermot, 1996), examining intentions and values, and changing habits. Its questioning methods such as the "meta-modeling" are widely used to explore personal limits of belief as expressed in language. NLP is most often applied to personal development, interpersonal relationships and psychotherapy, but it has also been applied to a variety of contexts including business, law enforcement, politics, staff training and sports performance.
  4. Reception and criticisms
    NLP has a mixed and polarized reception. It is widely used and affirmed by credible bodies, but at the same time often considered critically by scientists. This is due in part to its open-ended philosophy and encouragement of developing "whatever practitioners find works", creating a lack of formal "orthodoxy" and rigor, with no enforcement or universal standard to regulate less ethical practitioners. For the same reasons, there is often disagreement and wide variation among individual trainers and practitioners regarding definitions as to what NLP itself is, and what constitutes NLP. Psychologists have raised concern[7] over the commercial marketing of NLP within psychological associations due to its open-ended approach to applicability and utility, and the unregulated dubious approaches of some practitioners. Likewise sceptics consider that much of NLP (as with many modern talking therapies) is a subtle placebo[8] Scientific research on specific NLP processes has led to mixed results, with some studies concluding that NLP is scientifically unsupported (Heap 1988; Sharpley 1987; Lilienfeld et al, 2003), and others concluding more positively. Despite this it continues to receive strong support from a wide range of clinicians and other bodies, perhaps because, as Sharpley says (1987 p.105) "This does not necessarily reduce NLP to worthlessness for counseling practice. Rather, it puts NLP in the same category as psychoanalysis, that is, with principles not easily demonstrated in laboratory settings but, nevertheless, strongly supported by clinicians in the field."

[edit] FT2's scrapbook of useful snips

I found this here. Whilst it's not an academic source, its a good clarifier to bear in mind, since academic and research sources do show clearly that studies allowing goal driven flexibility in "live" cases often obtain different results than testing of "just one generalization".

"I can appreciate Dr Bob Rich's reservations about NLP. Like he says, a lot of the processes that NLP has developed have indeed proven to be ineffective in tests. This entirely overlooks one of the main operating principles of NLP, which is to try different approaches until you find one that works. A strategy that works for one person may be entirely inappropriate for another. There's also an implicit assumption that whatever process is tried will be accomplished equally successfully by anyone who tries it. Again, nonsense: that kind of thinking suggests that a method is somehow independent of the person using it, and doesn't take into account their own experience and expertise. More importantly, it doesn't take into consideration the heart of NLP, which is finding a solution that arises from the relationship between the people involved."


Cultural relativism is a good link to use for the relevant principle in NLP. It is considered "axiomatic" in anthropology, and of course, Bateson was an anthropologist...

"Cultural relativism is the principle that an individual human's beliefs and activities make sense in terms of his or her own culture... Cultural relativism involves specific epistemological and methodological claims. Whether or not these claims necessitate a specific ethical stance is a matter of debate. Nevertheless, this principle should not be confused with moral relativism."


Eye accessing cues:

The most common arrangement for eye accessing cues in a right-handed person.

(Note that NLP does not say it is 'always' this way, but rather that (although very common) it should always be checked for any given individual whether reliable correlations seem to exist and if so what they are)

[edit] Replacement of Fundaments section (working title, Principles)

  • (only partially edited. Feel free to continue, change, and undo, of course. I've re-added the headings comaze - I think they're necessary or the text gets too unwieldy. I like the idea of making sure the points flow on to the next point though, rather than being a discreet list, and I've attempted to build on that. Greg 15:51, 8 June 2006 (UTC))
This still needs alot of work. I've put the subheadlines back. Let's work on making it so that this section introduces the main themes, the major influences and presuppositions. --Comaze 12:37, 9 June 2006 (UTC)
Hi Comaze. You say you've put the subheadlines back, but it looks like you've removed some headings...? Oh and my apologies for not getting you to stop editing, and then not getting through as much as I hoped - we had a busy night. Greg 12:48, 9 June 2006 (UTC)
Yes, I lost a few subheadlines.. I really want that first paragraph to work as one.. It can link to some sub-article... Do you think that it is possible? --Comaze 12:54, 9 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Principles & Presuppositions of NLP

Our experience of reality never fully captures the objective world, it will always be subjective. In the view of NLP, individuals access their own beliefs which they've built up over time, and are unable to access an absolute knowledge of reality. When working with people, their beliefs and awareness of reality are not reality itself, and that belief and awareness can be broadened or altered (without altering reality itself). This is often described as "the map is not the territory" (based on Alfred Korzybski, 1933, and Gregory Bateson, 1972 & 1979) - the map (one's internal awareness and beliefs) is not the territory (actual reality).

The mind and body are part of the same cybernetic system. The body impacts on the mind, as the mind impacts on the body. How one stands, walks, moves, breathes, and holds muscle tensions, will have an impact on a person's emotional state. [2][9] [10]. More formally, NLP teaches that a person's internal state, internal computation (ie thoughts) and external behaviour are linked. A change in one will change affect the others [11]

Both a person's individual internal processes, and the processes between people and their environment are complex systems. Our bodies, our societies, and our planet form an ecology of complex systems and sub-systems all of which interact with and mutually influence each other. Making a change in any part of the system can have effects on other parts of the system (this is called "systemic effects") - and any change considered for an individual should be explored for its effect on others both now and in the future (this is called an "ecology check")

These complex behaviors are not simple linear processes, and all the inter-relationships will not be fully understood. One method for expanding a person's awareness is by looking from different vantage points, to gain quite different (and yet equally valid) descriptions and emphases of what is important in the system. (Example: the description of a business problem and what is seen as relevant will be quite different depending if you ask the CEO, a worker on strike, or a client). Multiple viewpoints allow for more information to be gathered, and a greater appreciation of the interactions involved - this is very useful before making a change, and is as useful when working with an individual as for larger systems.

One specific method of exploring a social situation from multiple perspectives is to view from mulitple perceptual positions, typically the triple description. The subject's own view (1st position), another person's view (2nd position), and mutual observer view (3rd position). Often a person in a situation cannot see answers that a person standing outside can - NLP teachings claim that by moving through these 3 positions one can see a problem in new ways, or with less emotional attachment, and thus gather more information and develop new choices of response. [9]

Behind every behavior is a positive intention - whatever a person does, they are in fact attempting to fulfill some positive intention (of which they may not be aware of consciously). Note that this does not make their intention "good", simply something they believe is important to them. Every behavior having a positive intention may or may not be true (it may simply be another perspective to explore), but it is considered useful.

Reframing is the more specific act of having a person change the way they look at something. This comes from the work of Milton Erickson, who was famous for turning peoples self-perceived defects, or limitations, to positive use, and NLP works on the basis that if it helps, then it can be considered usable. Thus Erickson used a man's Jesus delusion to open up talk about carpentry (Jesus was a carpenter) and to get him involved in woodwork as part of his eventual healing and rehabilitation, and Bandler reframed a woman's interpretation of her down-trodden carpet from 'requiring cleaning' to 'having her family around her'.

It is useful to believe that people have all the personal resources (states, outcomes, beliefs) they need to succeed, they just need to be organised in a way that serves their outcomes. [5]

It assumes that the current behaviour exhibited by a person represents the best choice available to them at the time. [5][6] This is a model taken from Virginia Satir's belief system, and means that whatever a person does, they are in fact attempting to fulfill some positive intention (of which they may not be aware). It assumes that the current behaviour exhibited by a person represents the best choice available to them at the time. Generating alternatives from this point of view is thought by NLP proponents to be a useful way of helping people to change unwanted or undesirable behaviours.

In a similar vein, psychiatrist R. D. Laing has argued that the symptoms of what is normally called mental illness are just comprehensible reactions to impossible demands that society and particularly family life places on some sensitive individuals. (Main article: Positive and negative (NLP))

NLP views goals as rich subjects to explore, and the principle of constantly back-tracking to find new solutions and approaches is inherent in the methodology. Hence, "if what you are doing isn't working, try something else" From information theory and (William Ross Ashby, Cybernetics) [3] NLP (see below) does not view communication in terms of success and failure, there is no failure, only feedback. Rather it sees in terms of competence or lack thereof, or learning and failure to learn. As a field which utilizes trial and error, not all actions are expected to "work", rather they are intended to explore, and the results should be utilized as a source of valuable learning and new focus, rather than cause for negativity and despair. Do not dwell unnecessarily on the failure, instead explore what you have learned for the next time (c.f. the story of Edison and the lightbulb). This principle is a statement about the importance of feedback loops to learning, borrowed from information theory. (Ashby, Cybernetics). Meaning of the communication is the response it produces [5]; in the eye of the recipient. This is an "As-if" concept: it may not be true, it may be that the recipient is mistaken, but if you work on the basis that the recipient's understanding of what you say (and not yours) is the important one, it will lead you to communicate in a way that gets the actual message across and heard, even if linguistic gymnastics [ie flexibility] are needed to do so.

In systems theory the part of the system that can adapt best, be most influential, and has best chance of achieving its goals, is often not the most forceful part, but the part that has most flexibility and least rigidity in its responses, choice is better than no choice (and flexibility is the way one gets choice) [5] A large part of basic NLP is recognizing "stuckness", and learning how to open it out in accordance with the saying "One choice is no choice, two choices is a dilemma, three [or more] choices is choice". This is as true for therapist as client. In systems theory the part of the system that can adapt best, be most influential, and has best chance of achieving its goals, is often not the most forceful part, but the part that has most flexibility and least rigidity in its responses. (This ties in with not having assumptions about people, and exquisite observational skills with a broad and flexible repertoire of avenues at the fingertips - all means to achieve this). Richard Bandler word this, The ability to change the process by which we experience reality is more often valuable than changing the content of our experience of reality. [6]

Since NLP is the study of personal subjective reality, which is idiosyncratic, and human situations are systemic and complex, and the subject is not fully understood, NLP employs a heuristic and (in some ways) iterative approach, whereby a situation is explored without preconception rather than analyzed or categorized. When good quality information is available, change can occur quickly, information gathering accounts for most the change process. NLP is critical of the belief that many sessions are needed for some problems. It is supportive of brief therapy and brief intervention, that is, it believes that an appropriate change to how a person thinks about a situation is often all that is needed to help them, and that therefore the job of therapy is to explore efficiently, how a person subjectively understands, represents and experiences their problem, how they are holding it in place, and how they may be encouraged to further their goals by changing those underderstandings about it.

This model has its roots in observations of leading psychotherapists of the time, Virginia Satir and Fritz Perls, and Transformational syntax. It was proposed as an information gathering tool, to challenge distortions, generalizations or deletions in a speaker's language [3]. A simplified meta model, the precision model, developed by John Grinder reduced it to asking "What specifically", or "How specifically?" to specify abstract nouns and verbs (or unspecified syntactic elements) to clarify information and thinking [12] "These are the three features which are common to all human modeling processes: Deletion, Distortion, and Generalization. These are the universal processes of human modeling - the way that people create any representation of their experience" [3]. Levelt, criticises Bandler and Grinder use of transformational grammar saying it was applied directly as a prescription from untested theory to empirically untested application [13]. [dubious — see talk page]

[edit] Milton H. Erickson (improve describe, describe the various qualities of erickson and how they were incorporated into NLP - Sensory acuity and calibration, rapport, anchor, language patterns could be introduced here

Grinder and Bandler noticed that Erickson had developed highly refined skills in sensory acuity, calibration and responding to pattern - evidence of patterns and structures seen in others are always in principle both tangible and objectively visible. Erickson would engage in mirroring or matching somebody's verbal (for example, sensory predicates) and non-verbal behavior (gestures, movements, eye movements) in an attempt to gain rapport. [14] NLP (at least in its original version) rejects as "evidence" anything which has not been received through the senses (internally or externally). Thus "mind-reading" or supposition is not acceptable as a basis for belief in what is going on, although speculation, hypothesis and logic are normal means of determining possible patterns and directions to explore. These however must be tested, again through sensory evidence, and not assumed to be true.

(describe anchoring as an example of a techniques that required sensory acuity) Anchoring is a term for the process by which memory recall, state change or other responses become associated with (anchored to) some stimulus, in such a way that perception of the stimulus (the anchor) leads by reflex to the anchored response occurring. The stimulus may be quite neutral or even out of conscious awareness, and the response may be either positive or negative. They are capable of being formed and reinforced by repeated stimuli, and thus are analogous to classical conditioning. Basic anchoring involves in essence, the elicition of a unique, intense, experience of a desired state, whilst using some notable stimulus (touch, word, sight) at the time this is most fully realized. In many cases, repetition of the stimulus will reassociate and restore the experience of the state. A typical NLP change process involves recalling past resourceful memories and recalling the state of mind and body associated with it. The resources that are associated with host past memories are bridged to future contexts. [15].

The inverse of the meta model is the Milton model [16][14] a collection of "artfully vague" language patterns [6] elicited from the work of Milton H. Erickson. It is said that the use of non-specific language patterns can allow the client to make their own meaning for what is being said.

Unlike traditional therapies, effective change, and/or learning at an unconscious level, are emphasised over and above conscious understanding. According to NLP, change does not always require interpretation and analysis, it requires development of ones map of beliefs about the world and oneself, so that what was previously inaccessible becomes possible, and this can be effected in very many ways. Thus according to Haley, Erickson was notable amongst psychiatrists, because he would respond to metaphor with other metaphors, rather than by attempting to "interpret".

"He does not translate unconscious communication into conscious form. Whatever the patient says in metaphoric form, Erickson responds [matches] in kind. By parables, by interpersonal action, and by directives, he works within the metaphor to bring about change. he seems to feel that the depth and swiftness of that change can be prevented if the person suffers a translation of the communication." (Haley, "Uncommon therapy", 1973 + 1986, p.28)

[edit] Conscious / Unconscious Process (describe how this fits in with Erickson - merge with above)

Unusually, NLP maintains that while understanding is often useful, it is sometimes not necessary for a person to understand themselves, provided the person helping them does and can help them reach a useful end-point. Several common explanations are given for this including conscious understanding can often be used counter-beneficially, not to self-help, but as a basis for reinforcing problematic beliefs and self-images, and for self-sabotage, Conscious understanding is not as desirable as "change", nor is it always essential for it. (In the same way that "understanding" was usually not needed for dysfunctional patterns to become established, NLP does not see it as essential for beneficial patterns either) and the conscious attention (or working memory) is limited to 7+-2 chunks of information; all other information in the mind and body system is unconscious[3].

More behavior and mental habits are mediated by the unconscious mind than the conscious so this is where the work usually has to be. (Under this view, "understanding" is a placebo given to placate and distract the conscious mind whilst the "real work" is done by the client's unconscious mind)[17] An example of a rapid behavior change technique that involves changing swaping an mental image of a problem state for a desired self image (for example, Bandler's swish pattern) [18]. Visual / kinesthetic dissociation A process to reduce the negative feeling associated to a memory, that involves two place dissociation in order to separate the kinesthetic synesthesia from a phobic response [5][19]

It is widely held amoung NLP practitioners that matching sensory-based language predicates can build rapport with individuals. Some authors [20][21] use internal Visual/Auditory/Kinesthetic strategies in order to categorize people within a thinking strategies or learning styles framework for instance, that there exist visual, kinesthetic or auditory types of manager. Everyone is different, always check, never assume a pattern is universal, NLP asserts that this internal structuring, or organizing, of personal experience is highly idiosyncratic, and calibration of state is essential in effective communication. That is, it is either unique to each individual and develops during their life, or any higher organizational function that would explain its development is not yet identified so it might as well be unique to each individual. So whilst it is claimed there are consistently useful ways to approach studying an individual's subjective experience, every pattern is a generalization and will have exceptions or new variations. So even core NLP models such as the representatioanl system model, cannot always be assumed to hold true, but must be tested or calibrated to the individual.

[edit] Modeling (summarise this section)

Since NLP is open ended as to what may be part of "human experience and skill", modelling has ranged from the prosaic and mundane, through to sports skills, through to the esoteric.[22] NLP modeling has also been applied to clinical conditions, such as the "skill" of schizophrenia [5][6][9] and notable people of whom we have only writings, such as Jesus of Nazareth and Sherlock Holmes [23]. It has been argued that modeling from writings is unverifiable (both within and outside NLP).

If two problems share a common psychological structure, then they can probably be approached similarly. Often it is the structure of the problem (how it is maintained, what type of beliefs are reinforcing it, how the client thinks about it to themselves) that matters most, rather than the details of the situation in which it is embedded. This is an embodiment of the form/content distinction, also favored by Western psychiatric medicine (an innovation first argued for by psychiatrists Karl Jaspers and Kurt Schneider).

Individuals considered to be highly successful in a field can be "modeled", or studied with the aim of separating out the various key factors which make them more capable than others. Proponents of NLP state that this allows the creation of techniques for changing habitual thoughts and behaviors so that others can also emulate effective skills. NLP is most often applied to self-help and therapy, but it has also been applied to a variety of contexts including business, law enforcement, politics, staff training and sports performance.

Neuro-linguistic Programming (NLP) is based on the idea that you can find someone who excels at something, find out how they do it, and learn to do it yourself. The field has grown in many directions since its beginnings in modeling successful psychotherapists and has found applications in most areas involving human communications, such as education and learning, persuasion, negotiation, sales, leadership, team-building, etc., as well as decision-making, creative processes, health, medicine, and athletic performance.

NLP modeling is a method that is promoted for duplicating behaviour, expertise or excellence, or reproducing "magic" abilities of experts [3]. It is considered by Grinder to be at the heart of NLP [24]. It can be thought of as the process of discovering relevant distinctions within these experiential components, as well as sequencing these components, aiming to achieve a specific result. NLP proponents claim that it is used to discover and codify patterns of excellence as demonstrated consistently by top performers in any field [10].

[edit] Other snippets (Comaze)

  • Bandler and Grinder (1975a, p.5,7,11-12; 1975b, p.181) quote from Vaihinger (1924) and it is asserted that '[w]e have no idea about the "real" nature of things, and we're not particularly interested in what's true. The function of modeling is to arrive at descriptions which are useful. So if we happen to mention something that you know from a scientific study, or from statistics is inaccurate, realize that a different level of experience is being offered here. We're not offering you something that's true, just things that are useful ' (Bandler and Grinder, 1979, p.7).
  • According to Dilts et al "Neuro-Linguistic Programming...makes no commitment to theory, but rather has the status of a model -- a set of procedures whose usefulness not truthfulness is to be the measure of its worth...I choose the term model deliberately and contrast it with the term theory. A model is simply a description of how something works without any commitment regarding why it might be that way." (Dilts et al, 1980, Forward)
  • For many simple phobias, the key problem is in fact a very powerful "once-off" learning experience which formed a structural link of the form "See X --> Feel Y". In the absence of any underlying issue, where the sole problem is the discomfort and inconvenience of a phobia, there are tools which effectively help a client reduce/remove this dysfunctional link. Responsible NLP practice would explore carefully for any secondary gain or potential side effects (ecology), and deal with that before making an intervention.
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