Neuro-linguistic programming

Neuro-linguistic programming (or NLP) is an interpersonal communication model applied in psychotherapy^[1] and other contexts of communication and change.^[2] It attempts to observe naturally self-taught expertise, and then model the processes and habitual patterns that experts intuitively use on the assumption that those behaviours were responsible for their results. Much of NLP's philosophy, worldview and approach was laid out in early technical books, for example, Structure of Magic vol. I & II and seminar transcriptions, for example, Frogs into Princes.

NLP was co-created by Richard Bandler and linguist John Grinder in the 1970s through observation and imitation of gestalt therapist Fritz Perls^[3], family systems therapist Virginia Satir^[4] and psychiatrist Milton H. Erickson.^[5] The originators emphasized modeling of excellence as the core methodology, that is, the observational and information gathering methods they developed to define and produce the models of exceptional communicators.^[6][7][8][9] They also claimed that the basic assumptions of NLP draw from aspects of neurology ("neuro-"), transformational grammar^[10] ("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'.^[11][9] 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 presented in books, workshops and promotional material have not been accompanied by empirical research.^[7][12] The majority of psychological and experimental research published in the 1980s in The Journal of Counseling Psychology was not supportive of the claims that matching preferred representational systems and sensory predicates enhanced the client-counselor relationship.^[13] Critics argue that the lack of empirical support and exaggerated claims indicate questionable science, pseudoscience, New Age^[14] or outdated^[15] psychotherapeutic technique. 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.

Overview

Neuro-linguistic programming studies and models how people think about and perceive aspects of their life, and how to work with the underlying cognitive and emotional processes at a practical level. The range of potential uses is varied, and NLP has an exceptionally broad and adaptable structure.

The field originated in the work of Richard Bandler and John Grinder in association with polymath Gregory Bateson in Santa Cruz, California in the early 1970s, when they recorded and studied in depth several world renowned therapists who seemed to obtain almost magical^[16] results by the therapeutic standards of the time. They concluded that a comprehensive set of self-taught approaches and skills was largely responsible for their success, that these could be summarized and expanded upon, and that much of human perception and experience was also structured and could be worked with effectively in this way. They stated, in contravention of the professional wisdom of that time, that the internal human experience demonstrated itself in people's behaviors, and could be worked with directly given an appropriate mindset, and that this was why certain individuals were so singularly successful as therapists compared to the norm.^[17]

Despite its substantial influence and adoption of its viewpoints, extreme skepticism persists in some quarters, due both to its pop psychology usage and non-traditional approach to psychology.

Skills versus philosophy

Grinder and Bandler stated categorically that although these people had developed many innovative and effective skills,^[18] the core of their effectiveness was neither their skills, nor some mystical or unknowable quality or personality. It was primarily the attitudes, approaches and philosophies they had in common which made them capable of effective work, and these could be learned and transmitted. When this was done, others could learn from these models to be effective the same way. This approach became central within the philosophy and epistemology of NLP:

What we essentially do is to pay very little attention to what people say they do and a great deal of attention to what they do... We know that our modeling has been successful when we can systematically get the same behavioral outcome [results] as the person we have modeled. And when we can teach somebody else to be able to get the same outcomes in a systematic way, that's an even stronger test.

We don't know what Virginia Satir really does with families. However, we can describe her behavior in such a way that we can come to any one of you and say 'Here. Take this. Do these things in this sequence. Practice until it becomes a systematic part of your unconscious behavior, and you will end up being able to elicit the same responses that Virginia elicits.' We do not test the description we arrive at for 'accuracy', or how it fits with neurological data, or statistics about what should be going on. All we do in order to understand whether our description is an adequate model... is to find out whether it works or not: - are you able to exhibit effectively in your behavior the same patterns that Virginia exhibits in hers, and get the same results?

We will be making statements up here which may have no relationship to the 'truth,' to what's 'really going on.' We do know, however, that the model that we have made up of her behavior has been effective. After being exposed to it and practicing the patterns and the descriptions that we have offered, people's behavior changes in ways that make them effective in the same way that Satir is.

– Frogs into Princes, pp.7, 9-10

Features of world view

Subjectivity

Unlike classical psychology, the subjective character of experience is integral to NLP. (Subjective in the NLP sense means "as internally experienced", rather than 'arbitrary' or 'whimsical'). It is taken for granted that what people perceive, believe and feel, is more significant to their lives than what is objectively 'true', and takes for granted that each person's awareness and inner world is different and unique. It is emphasized that one must leave one's own preconceptions behind, and be willing to understand and work within the other person's "reality", to have any great effect, since no one map of reality can be said to be "true". There are only (in NLP's view) better or worse maps,^[19] a concept taken from Korzybski's general semantics.

There is an order and a structured logic to it. But that order and logic varies individually and people interact and judge their (and others') lives and actions based upon their own understandings of the world, not upon some objective reality.

Human nature

NLP does not (subject to physiological pathology) consider people "broken" or "working". All people have a neurology, experience of life, and the innate ability to change their perspective on any aspect of their life, and the nature of neurology is very adaptable. They also have great wisdom in their unconscious minds, even if they do not seem to be able to always use it or it seems on the surface, dysfunctional.^{[20] [21]} One does not have to be in trance for unconscious processes to be effective.^[22]

NLP views human authenticity as bound up with the capability to respond and how much awareness of choice is experienced in actions and responses.^[23] Bandler comments, "We're talking about basic beliefs regarding human capability. Here's the only truth about that. Nobody knows."

In NLP, "understanding" is less important than change.^[24] Most human learning occurs outside consciousness, and some learnings may even be sabotaged by conscious attention. According to NLP, the brain is capable of learning (or re-learning) patterns extremely fast, and that change can happen quickly,^[25] often without conscious mediation. Dysfunctional patterns can be addressed through cognitive routes (talking therapies) or non-cognitive routes (working with the body and unconscious mind), and particularly, by directly retraining the mind to use its innate capability to learn new patterns in a deliberate manner. NLP believes that "People already have all the resources they need, to change", that the mind/brain is very willing to change once it "knows" how, and that guided with skill and sensitivity, change provides an increased sense of control over one's life.

A powerful demonstration of these interactions by Baxter (1994) found that NLP reframing used to treat obsessive compulsive disorder in place of Prozac, resulted in the same raised serotonin levels and reduced caudate nucleus activity as control subjects who took medication (as measured by positron emission tomography, a type of neural imaging).^[26]

Systems view

People are complex adaptive (learning) systems and processes, and have a richness to them which no simple system can fully predict or capture. 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. "Intuitively obvious" results are not always to be expected. Positive and negative feedback, leverage points, interpretational context, and other features of complex systems will come into play. In humans, the body impacts on the mind, and the mind impacts on the body. Thought, emotional state, somatic awareness, perception, and body usage, as well as neurochemistry and other hormonal interactions, and external circumstances, are all profoundly interdependent and deeply connected, and any can influence or be influenced by another.

In NLP it is therefore seen as important not to make untested assumptions about individuals, that there are many more ways than the obvious to approach a seemingly intractable problem, it is understood there will usually be unconscious goals, limiting beliefs or secondary gains present in any situation, and that there is an art as well as a skill in perceiving how best to approach this.^[27] Change is also systemic. That is, it does not happen in a vacuum and is not limited to the "problem area", but usually is connected to other aspects of life, which are part of the situation as well as a necessary part of any solution. Partly for this reason, NLP leaves deliberately open and unlimited, its areas of interest and its scope.

As a special case of systemic thinking, NLP emphasizes that change is relational. That is, change happens in a relational context, whether the self-relationship or the relationship with another person (parent, friend, partner, employer, co-worker, role model, clinician, trainer). Change happens in a relationship, and the quality of that relationship, known as rapport, is often critical to the ability to change.^[28]

Meaning and context in communication

NLP views meaning as only existing within a given context, a view known as cultural relativism which is axiomatic in anthropology. Because of this, NLP states The meaning of communication is the result you get – it is not message sent, but message received, and willingness to set aside preconceived interpretive frames, which is most significant in communication.

The process of interpreting "meaning" from thought and speech is complex and (as pointed out in sciences such as cognitive linguistics, transformational grammar and general semantics) can involve a wide range of distortions, errors, and mistranslations because internal experiences, thoughts and feelings have to be translated back and forth through conscious perceptual filters, into crude symbols known as 'words'. The resulting patterns of speech are considered highly revealing of the unconscious perceptual filters involved.

NLP considers all behavior, at some level, communicative. Thus even undesired or clinical states such as depression and confusion have a structure, a purpose, and an underlying communication – or in other words, on their own terms, all mental states have a rational structure within their given context. Such states are often viewed by NLP not as problems, but as valuable resource states which are not being understood or acted upon, or a part of a person trying to grow or change, or which require a better 'map' of reality.^[29] NLP also considers much communication metaphorical, and that even its own tools can be philosophically interpreted as metaphors used to guide useful responses, rather than literal objective 'truth statements'.^{[24] [30]}

Form and content

In NLP, underlying subjective (perceived, cognitive) structure ("form") matters more than specific situational "content". The subjective structure of a perceived problem matters more than the situation in which it is embedded. This is an embodiment of the form/content distinction in philosophy, also favored by Western psychiatric medicine (an innovation first argued for by psychiatrists Karl Jaspers and Kurt Schneider), and is also a feature within cognitive linguistics.

NLP takes this principle into the field, with so-called "content free" work being a common respected NLP skill – that is, where no details of the situation are shared or sought, but only the cognitive features of how it is structured are relevant. Despite the practitioner lacking knowledge of the actual situation, knowledge of the structural aspects alone (modalities, strategies, outcome orientation and the like) are often sufficient by themselves to allow NLP to work with full effectiveness. Common rationales for working with reduced content in this manner are:

• The less content is involved, the more the practitioner is client- rather than self- or interpretation-focused
• The less distraction (i.e., loss of strategic focus) due to content is likely to arise.
• Other than perhaps for rapport purposes, the extra information is generally not very relevant to NLP's strategic structural approach, so it is a waste of time to dwell on it

NLP is in the present and oriented towards the future

No matter the personal history, the only memory of it is in the present neurology and life. The past has no existence independent of this. Therefore what is explored is the memory and impressions of events in the present – present experiences, present constructions, and present limits, including the present beliefs about their existence and origins. What is then aimed for is to build in the present, a changed future, where old, outdated, or dysfunctional beliefs and patterns are no longer an issue.

History and founding

Main article: History of neuro-linguistic programming

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 lecturers, 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.^[31]

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.^[10] Some considered the importation of transformational grammar to psychotherapy to be Bandler and Grinder's main contribution to the field of psychotherapy.^[32] 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'.^[3][8]

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^[31].

1980s: New developments and scientific assessment

In the early 1980s, NLP was hailed as an important advance in psychotherapy and counseling^[33], and attracted some interest in counseling research and clinical psychology. In the mid 1980s, reviews in The Journal of Counseling Psychology^[13] and by the National Research Council (1988; NRC) committee^[34] 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^[11] 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 organisations.^[34] 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^[35][8] Richard Bandler also published new processes based on submodalities and Ericksonian hypnosis.^[36]

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.^[37][38] 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.^[39]

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).^[40] 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",^[12] the training standards and quality differ greatly.^[41] 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.^[41]

In Europe, the European NLP therapy association has been promoting its training in line with European therapy standards.

In 2001, an off-shoot application of NLP, Neuro-linguistic psychotherapy (NLPt), was recognized by United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP) as an experimental constructivist form of psychotherapy.^[42]

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"^[6], Fritz Perls, Virginia Satir, and Milton Erickson. ^[43] 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.^[44] 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. ^[45]

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.^[8] 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:

[...] when you watch and listen to Virginia Satir and Milton Erickson do therapy, they apparently could not be more different [...] People also report that the experiences of being with them are profoundly different. However, if you examine their behavior and the essential key patterns and sequences of what they do, they are similar. [...] The same was true of Fritz Perls [...] when he was operating in what I consider a powerful and effective way, he was using the same sequences of patterns that you will find in their work.^[46]

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 ^[47].
• 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 ^{[48] [47]}
• They had a strong awareness of the non-verbal feedback (unconscious communication and metaphor) they were getting, and responded to it ^{[48] [47]} - usually in kind rather than by analyzing it ^[24]
• 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" ^{[48] [49]}
• They worked with precision, purpose, and skill ^{[50] [49]}
• They kept trying different approaches until they learned enough about the structure holding a problem in place to change it ^{[48] [47]}

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. ^[47]

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.^[51] 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

Main article: Meta model (NLP)

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.^[3] 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

Main article: 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"^[52]. 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".^[53] 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.^[54]

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^[55]. 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."^[55] 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.^[56]

Representational systems and accessing cues

Main article: Representational systems (NLP)

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.^[34] 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.^[46]

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.^[46]

Accessing cues

An eye accessing cue chart proposed for a normally organized right-handed person.
Key: V^c : Visual construct, V^r : Visual recall, A^c : Auditory construct A^r : Auditory recall, K: Kinesthetic, Aⁱ : Auditory internal dialogue

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.^[46] 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 eye accessing cue chart).

The sensory predicates, breathing posture and gestures were also considered important.^[46] 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^[57]) focused on Bandler and Grinder's claim ^[46] 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.^[57] Buckner (published after Sharpley) found some support for the notion that eye movements can indicate visual and auditory components of thought in that moment.^[58]

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.^[34] 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.^[8]

Submodalities

Main article: Submodalities (NLP)

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".^[9]

Bandler and Grinder observed^[46] 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.^[59]

Techniques

Rapport

NLP proposed a number of simple techniques involving matching, pacing and leading for establishing rapport with people.^[46] 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).^[46]

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.^[60] 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.^[61]

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.^[62][63] 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.^[36] The swish was first published by Richard Bandler.^[36]

Reframing

Main article: Reframing (NLP)

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.^[64] 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."^[65] The concept was common to a number of therapies prior to NLP.^[13] For example, it appeared in the approaches of Virginia Satir, Fritz Perls and Milton Erickson and in strategic therapy of Paul Watzlawick.^[66] 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.^[67]

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.^[68] Like gestalt therapy^[69] 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

Main articles: NLP and science and List of studies on Neuro-linguistic programming

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.^[57] 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"^[57] 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.^[70] 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).^[13] 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".^[71]

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.^[58] 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.^[72] 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."^[73]

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.^[34][74] 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.^[75]

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).^[34] This then led the committee to take up the topic of expert modeling in the second phase of its work."^[6] While the committee recommended further investigation into the NLP as a "model of expert performance"^[76], NLP was not mentioned^[77] in Enhancing Human Performance publications^[78] 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.^[6]

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.^[79].

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".^[80]

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:

"at the time of its introduction, NLP was heralded as a breakthrough in therapy and advertisements for training workshops, videos and books began to appear in trade magazines. The workshops provided certification [...] However, controlled studies shed such a poor light on the practice, and those promoting the intervention made such extreme and changeable claims that researchers began to question the wisdom of researching the area further and even suggested that NLP was an untestable theory. [...] NLP is no longer as prevalent as it was in the 1970s or 1980s, but is still practiced in small pockets of the human resource community. The science has come and gone, yet the belief still remains" (Grant Devilly, 2005, p.437).^[33]

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."^[81]

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.^[14] It is argued that the proof of the validity of new therapeutic practices in clinical psychology fall on the proponents of these practices.^[82] There has been no peer-reviewed empirical research on VK/D (Visual/Kinesthetic dissociation),^[33] an intervention derived from NLP which has been been taught alongside other Power therapies (eg. EMDR, TFT).^[82]

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).^[83]

NLP Research Conference

The first, vendor neutral, NLP Research Conference was held in 2008 sponsored by University of Surrey with the aim of encouraging improved research collaboration.^[84]

Uses

Psychotherapy

Main article: Therapeutic use of Neuro-linguistic programming

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^[85] practicing in other therapeutic disciplines, or as a specific therapy called Neurolinguistic Psychotherapy (NLPt)^[86] which is a recognized by the UKCP.^[87]

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^[88], sales^[89], sports^[90], and interpersonal influence^[34].

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.^[34] 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.^[91]

Well-known practitioners

• Anthony Robbins, motivational speaker and author.^{[92][93] [94]}
• Derren Brown, self-described psychological illusionist and mentalist, was rumoured to use NLP in his acts and television show. He has discussed NLP briefly in his book Tricks of the Mind. However, it is thought that his use of NLP is more about creating a viable stage persona than actually using the techniques themselves to create an effect.
• Paul McKenna, stage hypnotist and self-help author
• Thom Hartmann, psychotherapist-turned-Air America radio talk show host

Classifying NLP

Associations with science

See also: NLP and science and List of studies on Neuro-linguistic programming

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)."^[59] 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."^[8] 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."^[3]

Technology

Rather than 'science', 'technology' or 'hi-tech psychology' as NLP has been marketed, critics Margaret Thaler Singer and Janja Lalich (both psychologists) characterize NLP by its "quick-fix" attitude toward psychotherapy of "pretend it works, try it, and notice the results you get. If you don't get the result you want, try something else"^[95]

Other emphasize that NLP is pragmatic set of tools and techniques for achieving outcomes in the world rather than a comprehensive theory. They claim to be interested in "what works" rather than what is "true". 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."^[96]

See also

• Gestalt therapy
• Hypnotherapy
• Family systems therapy
• The map is not the territory
• Provocative therapy
• Cognitive science
• Persuasion
• Sapir–Whorf hypothesis

Notes and references

Further reading

Main article: Neuro-linguistic programming: Bibliography

• Articles about Neuro-linguistic Programming
• 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.
• 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

Associations

• The Society of NLP: Richard Bandler[5], Christina Hall[6]
• International Trainers Academy of NLP (ITA), initiated by John Grinder & Carmen Bostic St Clair
• The International Neuro-Linguistic Programming Trainer's Association (INLPTA), initiated by Wyatt Woodsmall
• Association of NLP, sponsor of Rapport Magazine
• American Board of NLP, initiated by Tad James
• List of German associations
• Professional Guild of NLP, UK-based
• International Association for NLP (IANLP)
• Neuro-linguistic psychotherapy: EANLPt - European accrediting organisation for NLPt, Neuro-linguistic psychotherapy & counselling Association (NLPtCA)

Research

• NLP and learning research (University of Surrey) hosted The First International Neuro-Linguistic Programming Research Conference
• Article on scientific validity of NLP
• Database and review of academic research
• Glossary of commonly used NLP terms
• Lee Lady's comments about history and development of NLP
• Extensive Library of articles in independent collaborative space for NLP
• Archives of NLP Magazine

Skeptics

• The Skeptic's Dictionary - Critical essay on NLP by Robert T. Carroll
• Encyclopedia of Pseudoscience