What is NLP?

My younger days with Dr. Richard Bandler. Have you ever seen such crazy grins from two sane therapists?!Paul McKenna and I looking somewhat normal!

NLP (Neuro-linguistic programming) is an approach to communication, personal development, and psychotherapy created by Dr. Richard Bandler and John Grinder in California, USA in the 1970s and is a highly successful and effective form of modern psychology.

Neuro: relates to your mind, how it perceives and interprets using the five senses.

Linguistic: relates to how you express your experiences, your thought processes, the language you use internally and externally.

Programming: relates to how you act, think and behave according to your unconscious programming.

NLP provides ways for you to understand how you and those around you think and behave and how to change that, to get along better with others, to decrease negative emotions or states and increase positive feelings.

NLP enables you to become more competent, more in control of how you think and behave. It show you how you ‘code’ your reality, through awareness of the images, language and feelings you make i.e. how do you know that a memory is good or bad, or you’re just indifferent? How do you know when to be phobic? Or angry? When you understand how someone makes distinctions, then it’s easier to make changes.

NLP unlocks the resources, abilities and creativity that you already possess in order to eliminate problems, or do what you already do better. NLP enables you to live to your full potential.

NLP’s global awareness and appeal has been greatly enhanced by UK celebrity therapist and famed hypnotist Paul McKenna.

Papers

* Stipancic et al (2009) “Effects of Neuro-Linguisitic Psychotherapy on psychological difficulties and perceived quality of life”, Counselling & Psychotherapy Research Journal – RCT of 106 therapy clients that found therapeutic gains equivalent to CBT and sustained at 5 month follow up
* Karunaratne, M (2010) “Neuro-Linguistic Programming and application in treatment of phobias”, Complimentary Therapy in Clinical Practice Journal – review of evidence and literature from the US and UK and found NLP to be an effective and efficient treatment for phobia
* Weaver, M (2008) “An exploration of a research-based approach to the evaluation of clients’ experience of neuro-linguistic psychotherapy within a private practice making use of the CORE model” Current Research in NLP Journal, Volume 1, pp 69 – 85 – study of 41 clients in private practice completing CORE outcome measures, data analysed independently – concluded that an average of 7 sessions of NLP yielded statistically significant outcomes for clients.