Ask ten people what NLP is and you may get ten answers: a therapy, a sales technique, a coaching method, a set of “mind hacks”. It is all of those and none of them, which is part of the confusion. Here is a plain account.
Where NLP came from
NLP began in the early 1970s at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Richard Bandler, a student, and John Grinder, a linguistics professor, set out to study people who were unusually good at helping others change. They “modelled” three of them:
- Fritz Perls, the founder of Gestalt therapy
- Virginia Satir, a pioneer of family therapy
- Milton Erickson, the psychiatrist and hypnotherapist
Their first books, The Structure of Magic (1975 and 1976), described the language patterns they believed these therapists used. Books on Erickson’s hypnotic technique followed.
What the name means
- Neuro refers to the nervous system and the senses, through which we take in the world.
- Linguistic refers to language, which we use to think and to communicate.
- Programming refers to the habits of thought and behaviour that, NLP says, can be changed like software.
The name is a metaphor, not a finding. NLP does not describe how the brain works at any level of detail.
The core ideas
- Modelling. Work out what an expert does, then copy it.
- Rapport. Connection with another person comes first.
- Outcomes. Define clearly what you want.
- The map is not the territory. We respond to our model of the world, not the world itself. (The phrase comes from the philosopher Alfred Korzybski.)
- Flexibility. The person with the most options tends to steer the interaction.
- Sensory awareness. Notice what is actually happening in front of you.
The tools
NLP is best known for its techniques: rapport-building, anchoring, reframing, the Milton Model, and the visualisation methods behind the “fast phobia cure” and the “swish pattern”. Later posts in this series cover each one.
What NLP is not
- It is not a regulated profession in the UK. Anyone can call themselves an NLP practitioner or trainer.
- It is not a recognised clinical qualification or an evidence-based psychotherapy.
- It is not mind control, whatever the adverts say.
In a 2006 poll of mental health experts, NLP was rated by respondents as “possibly or probably discredited”. That is a reason for caution, not a verdict on every idea inside it.
The bottom line
NLP is a loose collection of ideas and techniques, born from an interesting idea (learn from the best communicators) and sold with far bigger promises than the research supports. Some of its parts are ordinary good communication and worth borrowing. The next post looks at what the evidence says.
Next in the series: Does NLP Work? What the Research Actually Shows
This article is for general information and is not medical advice.