Talk:Neuro-linguistic programming/HeadleyDown related

'''Note: This page is for information on items that are presently missing, or potentially misrepresented, in the article. It is not a discussion page. Please discuss on the talk page as usual which will mean there is a record of it in the usual place. FT2 14:01, 7 November 2005 (UTC)

Research articles

 * Here is some of the research and abstract citations (and outline of what was researched) that appears not to be represented in the article. I haven't reviewed them all in depth, the list is not guaranteed to be free of some reports with inaccurate abstracts or design error, they are a mixture of full papers and authors' abstracts, but taken together they suggest to me that the scientific view on NLP is "not proven and still being investigated", rather than "snake oil and pseudoscience":

I was not able to find full copies of some research I was curious to read. So I looked further afield:

''Note: The summary section summarizes the research findings. Because of the volume of research, fuller details of the research in each case are given separately under "Abstracts and details", below.''

Summary findings
Used ones have been commented out

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 * Asbell (1983) found that predicate matching was perceived as the "most helpful" of 4 strategies and gave higher ratings for counsellor empathy.


 * Baddeley (1991) found positive correlation between predicates and certain predicted eye movements


 * Bott (1995) found that NLP gave "partially positive effects" for treating psychogenic weight loss


 * Brandis (1986) found that success at self-anchoring, when utilized, was "strongly related" to changes to parental anger responses


 * Buckner (1987) found that "coefficients of agreement (Cohen's K) between participants' self-reports and trained observers' records indicate support for the visual (K=.81, p<.001) and auditory (K=.65, p<.001) portions of the model", and that "interrater agreement (K=.82) supports the NLP claim that specific eye movement patterns exist and that trained observers can reliably identify them"


 * Davis (1984) found that "[NLP]'s structure, terminology, and sound theoretical principles resulted in gathering valuable process information" when counselling prelingually deaf adults


 * Einspruch (1988) found "marked improvement" over an 8 week period in a test of 31 patients who undertook NLP phobia treatment


 * Koziey and McLeod (1987) found that the NLP V/K technique produced a "positive reduction in anxiety in teenage rape [trauma]"


 * Loiselle (1985, University of Moncton, New Brunswick) tested various spelling strategies and found: control=no change, "visualize"=10% better, "visualize up/right" (ie NLP Visual) = 20-25% better, "visualize down/left" (ie NLP Kinesthetic)=15% worse.


 * Almost identical results were obtained by Malloy (1989) - the NLP spelling strategy produced a 25% improvement in spelling ability (and 100% retention) compared to no change in a control group but that spellers told to visualize in what NLP claims is a Kinesthetic manner (down/left) were scored around 10% worse.


 * Yappo (1981) found that when subjects were put in trance using a variety of inductions in different sensory systems, and EMG (electromyograph) and self-assessment were used to measure effects of predicate matching, both measures showed that deeper trance was induced when the preferred sensory system was used


 * Macroy (1978) found that more dysfunctional families "substantially" correlated with meta-model violations, and concluded that "challenging metamodel patterns is an important way to enhance the ability to achieve satisfaction socially"


 * Cheek (1981) demonstrated that NLP Milton Model language use is capable of reaching and influencing the unconscious mind, by inducing 3000 patients to respond with formal yes/no hand signals to questions, whilst fully anaesthetized.


 * Forster Jansen Margenrot Unterberger (1993) investigated the conditions which are decisive for rapport and concluded that the NLP Milton Model was "very helpful"


 * Miranda Paula & Palma (1999) examined in clinical trials whether NLP could help children and parents in shanty towns. They used an NLP intervention program over 15 sessions (approx 10 helped with NLP, 27 control), measuring children’s psychomotor development, home environment and maternal mental health before and after. They concluded "There was a trend that indicated positive effects on the home environment" (reported in Sao Paulo Medical Journal)


 * Acosta & Levenson (2002) reviewing the "lessons from ground zero" for emergency mental health and trauma response in the wake of 9/11, stated that "The suggested interventions are based on the theory and clinical practice of Emergency Medical Hypnosis, Neuro-Linguistic Programming, and Ericksonian Psychotherapy."


 * Frank (1997, Germany) investigated NLP in social work, finding "enormous changes" and that "very many of the people indicated that they could increase their adaptability, feel technically more competent and make a more intensive self reflection", summarizing that it had "fallen out very positively"


 * Genser-Medlitsch & Schütz (1997) tested the effects of NLP master practitioners working on 55 clients with severe DSM conditions (schizo-affective, psychosis, psychosomatic, depression, dependency, etc), many on psychiatric drugs. The control group of 60 had milder symptoms. After treatment of the NLP group, 2% felt no different, 98% felt better or much better, none felt worse (control group: 48% no different, 36% better, 15% worse). After therapy, the clients who received NLP scored higher in their perception of themselves as in control of their lives (with a difference at 10% significance level), reduced their use of drugs, used more successful coping methods, and reduced symptoms such as anxiety, aggression, paranoid thinking, social insecurity, compulsive behaviours, and depression. Positive changes in 25 of 33 symptom areas (76%) occurred as a result of NLP, positive changes in 3 areas occurred in both NLP and control groups. The researchers concluded "It could be established that, in principle, NLP is effective in accordance with the therapeutic objective." (Genser-Medlitsch & Schütz, 1997, Does Neuro-Linguistic psychotherapy have effect?)


 * Konefal (1992) found that "[r]esults confirm the effectiveness of neurolinguistic programming in lowering trait anxiety and increasing the sense of internal control"


 * Dietrich (2000, "traumatology") reviewed NLP V/K dissociation trials, and concluded that NLP was "promising" and that "intrusive symptoms, avoidance behaviors, and interpersonal and occupational functioning improved for many of the participants in the studies reviewed"


 * Muss (1991) examined the impact of NLP V/K technique on 19 insurer-referred police officers who met DSM-III post-traumatic stress disorder criteria, following up at 3-24 months. Most stated it had greatly helped, in long term followup 100% of those reached confirmed freedom from recurrance.


 * Reckert (1994) studied one-session anchoring as a way to treat test anxiety, with "positive results"


 * Sandhu Reeves Portes (1993) found that NLP mirroring, when done effectively, had "significant effect" on client measurement of empathy in a cross-cultural counselling scenario


 * Swack (1992) trialled the NLP "10 minute allergy cure" on a small group of 10 individuals, both in isolation and with full NLP followup in the case of failure. The initial results were 70% (7) success with 30% (3) relapse over time; of the 3 however, 2 fully recovered when other NLP techniques such as Timeline and V/K dissociation were also allowed to be used.


 * Visual submodalities have been shown to affect kinesthetic states, for example room color has an effect on temperature perception (Berry, Journal of Applied Psychology 45/4) and packaging color changes the effectiveness of the placebo effect (Buckalew and Ross, 1981)


 * Unterberger Ulbrich (1998) found that when NLP was used to treat serious chronic conditions in clinical trials, comprising 12 hours over 3 weeks, they "prove to be quite successful procedures" and "significant results show up", noting that "the participators in the training judge the success of their rehabilitation measures throughout more positively than the members of the control's group".


 * Weerth (1992) tested 29 people who were trained in general non-specific use of submodalities, finding that numerous direct effects were reported, spontaneous long term "emotion relevant" use was occurring, and that "successful uses of the trained methods could be assessed in around 66% of the participants" in everyday life. A six-month followup confirmed durability of changes.


 * Wilhelm (1991, Germany) tested the "swish" pattern for nail-biting, finding "significant variations of the nailbiting" and that results were stable up until followup


 * Janvier & Ghaoui (2004) noted that "The trained observer can consciously note these [body languages] and use the information gained to interact using Neuro-linguistic programming language" citing Craft, 2001; Janvier & Ghaoui, 2003b; Sadowski & Stanney, 1999; and Slater et al., 1994, and "[significant indication] that using [NLP] in Human-Computer Interaction does indeed improve memory retention by some 15% (p=.0001)"


 * Trevor Day (2005, PhD project) states "Neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) is becoming increasingly influential in classroom practice (e.g. Ginnis, 2002)" and reports "early success using NLP modelling with sixth form students" (presented at British Educational Research Association (BERA) Annual Conference at the University of Glamorgan)


 * Steed, Slater and Usoh (undated) found that when working with virtual reality systems (eg architects walk-through), a traditional model of presence purely in terms of exogenous factors was unsuccessful, but "[a] tentative model based on the endogenous factors of the subject using Neuro-Linguistic Programming did however provide a good prediction of a person's reported sense of presence"


 * Brown& Graff (2004) found "[s]ignificant correlations between meta programme patterns and the students’ assessment performance" and that specific NLP meta-programs identified tended to also correlate with good or poor performance in specific subjects.


 * Lund and Lund (1994) tested NLP on asthmatics, finding that whereas a control gropup deteriorated predictably, the NLP group gained a significant reversal of their deterioration, as measured by lung capacity. Unstable lung function measurements fell to under 10% in the NLP group, and sleep disorders and use of inhalers and acute medication both fell to zero in the NLP group. (reported at Danish Society of Allergology Conference 1994, and European Respiratory Society Conference 1994)


 * The University of Wales Institute School of Education (2003) reports that "the three main learning preferences are visual, auditory and kinesthetic; therefore, teachers need to use a variety of different resources and activities to ensure that children are enabled to learn through their preferred system. This belief is supported by... Shaw and Hawes (1998), Smith & Call (1999), Burgess (2000), Beere (2000), Cheshire County Council (2001) and Ginnis (2002)."


 * 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 scans of the brain)


 * Platt (2001) observed that whilst studies evaluating specific NLP points such as predicates, representation systems and eye movements tended to give positive results only around 15-35% of the time, when he examined studies of the effects of NLP applied in its complete context, in this case phobia cures, "56% found positive evidence to support NLP's effectiveness."

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You will notice an interesting pattern here. On the whole, the ones which reported NLP as working or of interest, seem from a casual glance to be those which tested it by its results and effectiveness in toto. By contrast the tests which failed seemed to be more likely to be those which attempted to evaluate NLP on the basis of one element in isolation, such as eye movements, or used NLP skilled subjects as an integral part of the experimental design (Buckner).

This is also supported by Platt's review (2001). Platt evaluated studies focussing on specific NLP points in isolation (such as predicates, representation systems, and eye movements) - and found that around 66-80% of studies found no support. Platt also evaluated studies of the effects of NLP applied in its complete context, such as phobia cures, and found that "56% found positive evidence to support NLP's effectiveness". His main concern was what NLP calls "ecology", and evidence of durability. Some of the long term studies that Platt could not find are referred to above.


 * You will notice that FT2 was happy to dismiss Platt, but now he is looking for Platt's support! DaveRight

The same hypothesis is also supported by Swack (1992) who found in a small trial of 10 that the NLP "10 minute allergy cure" gave 70% (7) success with 30% (3) relapse over time when no other technique could be used, but of these, 2 fully recovered when other NLP techniques such as Timeline and V/K dissociation were also allowed to be used.

That was not a longitudinal study, and there were no comparisons. Oh, sorry, I forgot you were a pseudoscientist!:) DaveRight

Abstracts and detail
masked

''That was about 1/4 of the way though my list of NLP citations. Here's a few highlights of the rest from 1990 onwards:''


 * A major analysis of neurological research by Bolstad (2003) found that much of NLP had sound neurological backing in principle. Because of the length of this paper and citations, it is summarized on a separate page).


 * Bradford University's staff website provides an overview of a paper "Universities in Transition" subtitled "Devising a framework for effective staff development interventions" which states "Further inspiration and guidance has come from Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP)" (Sayers & Matthew, 1999)

Recognition by other bodies
Moved, see List of users of Neuro-linguistic programming

Narrative here is commented out for clarity 
 * Psychological and other bodies:
 * The British Psychological Society, which lists NLP alongside Cognitive Behavior Therapy and Hypnotherapy as 3 therapies that come under the remit of the UKCP, providing a link for people seeking these therapies. Further, its 4th Annual Continuing Education Program included a key-note speaker talking on NLP (Leanne Harris, University of Hertfordshire). It has also awarded (2004) its key Level B accreditation to a psychometric profile system based upon NLP meta-programs, citing "several years of rigorous empirical testing" -- See below (next section).
 * The UKCP (UK Council for Psychotherapists) includes the Association for NLP's Training and Counselling arm as a member -- See below (next section).
 * Washington State Psychological Society lists NLP amongst the therapies it will recommend a counsellor in.
 * The National Board for Certified Clinical Hypnotherapists recognizes certain NLP training bodies. It notes inter alia that (for example) Clinton Clay, LCSW, NBCCH of Huntsville, AL who run training courses in clinical hypnosis are also an approved Continuing Education provider by the National Board of Certified Counselors and the Alabama State board of Social workers.
 * The British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy lists NLP as a skill it will mention in its directory for clients seeking therapists.
 * The British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy refers clients to NLP as a recognized therapeutic approach.
 * Wyoming State Mental Hospital (WSH) offers a one-year, full-time predoctoral internship in general clinical psychology, stating in its prospectus that: "Psychology Staff have a range of theoretical and therapeutic orientations including: Cognitive/Behavioral, Social Learning Theory, Humanistic-Existential, Neuro-Linguistic Programming, Psychodynamic, Interpersonal"
 * The Wisconsin Psychological Association considered NLP worthy of a full day preconference session at it's 2005 National Wellness Conference, and as a valid credit for Continuing Professional Education credits, under the heading "Sessions Approved for CEUs [Continuing Education credits] for Psychologists". PDF
 * Non-government health organizations:
 * The National Phobics Society of Great Britain lists not only the fast Phobia Cure, but also NLP in general, along with Cognitive behavior Therapy and desensitization, as "therapies offered".
 * MIND, a major UK mental health charity, has a leaflet puiblished by Hertfordshire University, on asserting oneself. It only lists three bodies as "further contacts": the British Association for Counselling, the British Autogenic Society, and the Association for NLP. (PDF)
 * Dementia Care Matters, in association with Bradford University, included a seminar on NLP rapport skills at the 2004 Communication in Dementia Care and Dementia Care North conferences. (PDF)
 * The organization "athealth.com" which organizes continuing education for mental health professionals, including psychiatrists, pediatricians, family practitioners, psychologists, psychiatric nurses, social workers, counselors, researchers, educators, school psychologists, course number Course No. C5907-A36 is entitled "Diffusing Reflexive Anger: A Neuro-Linguistic Programming Approach", described as being "directly in the therapy room to watch as leading therapists demonstrate their approaches in unrehearsed clinical sessions with real clients (not actors). Viewers will see firsthand how strict focus on the visual, auditory, and kinesthetic components of experience enables rapid change with Melissa, a real client struggling with repeated outbursts of anger ... [and how] Andreas, using this client's own language and logic, creates that all-important willingness to forgive."
 * Utah State University Student Health and Wellness Center lists NLP as one of its six "Outpatient treatment for adults and adolescents with anorexia, bulimia, binge eating disorder, food addiction", along with psychological care, cognitive therapy, assertiveness training, body image awareness, and relapse prevention.
 * The British Stammering Association lists NLP as an "option in stammering therapy", stating that "More and more speech and language therapists working with adults who stammer are also trained in counselling and they will be able to discuss your needs in line with their own training and approaches. Some may incorporate Person Centred Counselling, Personal Construct Therapy, Brief Cognitive Therapy, Brief Solution Focussed Therapy, Process Orientated Psychology, Hypnotherapy or NLP ( Neuro Linguistic Programming) in their work."
 * Project DISCUSS, at the Center for Development & Disability, at the University of New Mexico Health Science Center, School of Medicine, which investigated methods of treatment of Autism, includes NLP in a post-research list of "possible intervention techniques for persons with autism spectrum disorders".
 * The Sixth British Dyslexia Association International Conference (2004) included a workshop entitled "Neurolinguistic Programming at the Helen Arkell Dyslexia Centre" which stated: Neurolinguistic Programming (NLP) is a powerful tool both for communication skills and for problem solving. Over the years our training in NLP has proved immensely valuable in many of our regular activities: Consultations with parents or dyslexic adults; Teaching dyslexic students of all ages; Parent Course... In less than an hour we aim for clients to have reached a positive frame of mind based on solutions. Teaching strategies for dyslexic students are enhanced by the use of NLP and associated techniques from Accelerated Learning; these encourage students to learn more effectively and faster. In our Parent Courses, where we teach parents how to help their own children, NLP has been one of the most appreciated elements of the courses. NLP enables more effective communication at all levels; between parents and children, parents and professionals and dyslexic adults and others. It fits well with a solution based approach for dyslexic people, their families and professionals.
 * The organisation "Advocates for Survivors of Child Abuse" describes its recommended options for treatment to be: Narrative therapy, Somatic trauma therapy, Cognitive behaviour therapy, Psychodynamic therapy, Transactional analysis, Gestalt therapy, Attachment theory, Neuro-linguistic programming and EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing). It comments on NLP that "This therapy believes that perception can be altered either by changing the sensation and/or the language used to interpret it. This can be particularly useful in dealing with the intrusive images of flashbacks."
 * Police and law enforcement use:
 * Lower Rio Grande Valley Development Council Regional Police Academy and Training Center offers an inter-agency course on interview and interrogation, subtitled "Neuro-linguistic Interviewing and Interrogations for Confessions"
 * The International Association of Chiefs of Police includes NLP as one of only two named interview methods for advancing gang, trafficking & homicide investigations: "Enhancing Firearms Trafficking Investigations Suspect Debriefing & Interview Techniques: Detection of Deception, Kinesics, Neuro Linguistic Programming, Statement Analysis, Reid Technique and others."
 * The "FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin" (August 2001) has an article written by two instructors in the Law Enforcement Communication Unit at the FBI Academy, covering in depth how NLP can be used in the interview room, and to build rapport. It comments "Experienced investigators continually employ this technique, usually without even thinking about the mechanics or the process involved"
 * The State of Georgia's Public Safety Training Center runs two courses on NLP, stating that its methods are "field proven":
 * Course L07A05031 is an "advanced level course of the latest techniques in determining truth or deception, and in the case of deception, obtaining a legal confession. Methods included are: Statement Content Analysis, Neuro-Linguistic Programming, [and] Multiple Suspect Elimination... the latest and most powerful techniques of detection of deception and convincing strategies."
 * Course L07A05041 is simply titled Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP), and is "an Advanced Interview Technique Course [...] designed for the experienced officer with emphasis on combining other information gathering procedures with Neuro-Linguistic Programming... The participants will be provided a working knowledge of Neuro-Linguistic Patterning... This course is fast paced, with field proven methods for attaining more information in Interviews via the active processes presented." (PDF)
 * Atlantic Police Academy, Holland College Prince Edward Island, Canada, runs a course on "Forensic Interviewing". The course contents include: "statement analysis, cognitive interview, interrogation principles, body language, neuro-linguistic programming, behavior analysis and observation, ..."  (PDF)
 * Memphis Police Department created a Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) to handle emergency situations involving emotionally disturbed persons (EDP's). Walter Crews, the Memphis Police Director, stated, "Once in the [CIT] unit [police officers] are taught a variety of verbal and non-verbal techniques for defusing a situation, such as neurolinguistic programming, which lowers anxiety [...] Of three basic strategies identified by a National Institute of Justice study for dealing with the mentally ill, this one in particular has been hailed by professionals in both the law enforcement and mental health fields as perhaps the single most effective method today for dealing with EDP calls." Crews, Dupont (professor and head of the psychiatric ER at the University of Tennessee Medical Center), and the CIT's coordinator shared the annual Law Enforcement News honors as People of the Year for 2000. The "Memphis model" has since been adopted by law enforcement in Portland OR, Albuquerque, Seattle, San Jose, Minneapolis and Waterloo IA, and is under consideration by the Houston Police Department, which launched a pilot program, and by police departments in Oxnard and Ventura CA. (Law Enforcement News, Vol. XXVI, No. 545, 546)
 * The UK's National Police Leadership Centre (part of Centrex, the Central Police Training and Development Authority) includes "advanced communication skills, coaching skills, negotiation, conflict resolution and neuro linguistic programming" as specific elements of its Senior Leadership Development Programme intended for "Chief Inspectors, superintendents or police staff who are members of a command team"
 * NLP is on the syllabus of:
 * Santa Barbara City College Continuing Education in Psychology and Communication lists an NLP course as one of its options.
 * Suffolk University, Boston's Spanish campus lists NLP on the syllabus for their Intensive Reading Skills course, reference ENG90
 * The "Attorney Communication & Persuasion Techniques" course under "ADVANCED TRIAL ADVOCACY", part of the Litigation Skills program, at the University of Houston Law Center, states "The theoretical orientation of the content material is taken mostly from the science of Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP). NLP is a practical system... [and] is the leading edge of communication skills training throughout industry, among professions, and within education."
 * Fayetteville State University Department of Social Work's Master of Social Work program course "SWRK 540: Social Work Intervention with Individuals and Families" includes NLP on the syllabus (DOC)
 * California State University lists an NLP course reference EXSP 8944 under its continuing education for Business and Management.
 * Millersville University of Pennsylvania course WSSD 582 (Sports Psychology) states "Focuses on the latest psychological skills training techniques for both coaches and athletes. Information from the annual conference on sport psychology for coaches will be presented. The latest techniques in neuro-linguistic programming and its implications for coaches and athletes will be utilized. Students will be introduced to and learn the latest mental training techniques of Olympic and professional athletes."
 * The Australian College of Applied Psychology runs 3 modules on NLP, leading up to "INLPTA Practitioners Certificate (International Neuro-Linguistic Programming Trainers Association). INLPTA is a unified accreditation body based on a consistency of quality in accreditation standards, professional conduct and ethical application of NLP technology."
 * University of Surrey which runs a 3 year postgrad MSc in "Change Agent Skills & Strategies" for HR and change professionals in organisations and communities which includes: "Module 2: Individual Change and Development Methods of personal development and change, with emphasis on the understanding and experience of core processes and assumptions, types and levels of change, and issues of working with personal change in an organisational context. Specialist input is given on modalities such as: Transactional Analysis; Gestalt; Neuro-linguistic programming; Psychosynthesis and Co-counselling (others may be available)" (PDF)
 * BirkBeck (University of London) Diploma in Applied Psychology, module 19 is listed as NLP
 * American River College California's Management school course MGMT 332 (Team Development) "This course focuses on the extension of the basic business knowledge of teams, with a focus on practical application of the knowledge and tools of Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP)..." (PDF)
 * South East Essex College, Southend UK, runs a 3 week NLP course.
 * The University of Bradford runs Introductory & Intermediate Counselling Courses covering "Introduction to Counselling, Further Aspects of Counselling, Bereavement Counselling, Transcultural Counselling, Co-Counselling, plus related courses including Dramatherapy, Transactional Analysis, and NLP (Neurolinguistic Programming)"
 * Fort Hays State University, Department of Sociology and Social Work (2002-5) includes NLP in its presentations to social work majors enrolled in social work practicum. This course is run by the Director of Justice Studies at the university, by his resume a highly qualified law enforcement trainer.
 * Govenors State University, Illinois, course COUN548 (Alternate Approaches to Traditional Psychotherapy) covers "body therapy, communication therapy, Gestalt therapy, neurolinguistic programming, and psychodrama."
 * Towson University, Maryland, course PSYC 642 (organizational behavior) lists NLP as one of the three subjects taught under Communication Effectiveness Models
 * St Petersburg College, Florida, lists NLP under its "HUS 1920 Professional techniques for human services personnel" course syllabus.
 * The University of New England (Australia)'s School of Education, whose senior lecturer (who is multiple-published and also a State Registered Psychologist), states on the department website that their approach: "uses techniques from Neuro-Linguistic Programming and principles developed by Colin Rose in Accelerated Learning in his approach to tertiary teaching. These methods have proved both popular and successful."
 * NLP is used in management and staff training by:
 * The Seattle Federal Executive Board Alternative Dispute Resolution Consortium's 2005 workshops offered a course on NLP in dispute resolution, calling NLP a 'powerful tool for change'." (PDF)
 * The National Center for Guidance in Education(Ireland) issues "The Guidance Counsellor's Handbook". Section 1.4.5 is titled "The use of NLP in guidance in schools" and states "NLP has been successfully applied in fields such as business, sport, teaching, the performing arts, counselling, therapy, conflict resolution, stress management and learning [...] In recent years, particularly in the USA and France, NLP has been applied with increasing success in primary and secondary education. NLP is used to great effect in maximising the effectiveness of our group teaching, in communicating more resourcefully with individual students and with our colleagues, in understanding individual learning and motivation strategies, in developing our 1:1 counselling skills and in our own personal development. NLP has been able to break down, in a similar way, the series of behaviours that consistently lead to high levels of motivation, to successful stress management, to overcoming fears and phobias and to planning for the future..."  It also includes the following caveat about excessive claims made by some trainers: "Unfortunately, NLP has a history of so-called Practitioners overstating... their training... It is probably necessary to go to the UK to be sure of training with highly qualified trainers."  section 1.4.5  (DOC)
 * The Educational & Staff Development Unit at the University of Central England in Birmingham runs an "Introduction to NLP" course (April 2005/06)  course details  (DOC)
 * Surrey County Council Children's Services (UK) runs 2 NLP based courses and is introducing a third, for "Headteachers and senior staff", stating that "Due to popular demand, we are delighted once again to offer our 2 courses on excellent communication and the key managerial skill of coaching. In addition, we are presenting a new course open to all teachers and SCS staff on Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP)"
 * The National Institutes of Health, a US government body, began running two NLP courses in 2001, entitled "Neuro-linguistics for the Modern Scientist" and "Piecing Together the Relationship Puzzle" respectively. It states that "[NLP] is distinct from other models or theories of communication and psychology in that it provides the user with the 'nuts and bolts' of communication and change."
 * The Local Government Association of NSW and The Shires Association of NSW (Australia)includes NLP as a part of the syllabus on its Oral Communication Courses.
 * The London School of Economics ran a staff NLP course (2002) followed by a pilot NLP-based course (positively received, now being repeated) on "Coaching: unlearning to learn", an "evaluation of a pilot project which explored whether coaching can make a significant difference to the emergence of future leaders in Higher Education in the UK"  (PDF)
 * Queens University of Belfast has a staff training course on NLP under "communication"
 * London South Bank University has a staff training course on NLP under "leadership and development"
 * In the UK, the National Health Service ("NHS") is one of the country's largest employers. At a quick glance, NLP is in use at a minimum by:
 * Highland Primary Care Trust: Workshops were offered on [subject list]. All the workshops included techniques and approaches based on Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP). Over the two years, almost 400 Healthcare  Professionals from all disciplines have participated in the workshops.   (DOC)
 * The Welsh NHS: "...most valuably NLP provides practical tools for communicating and working effectively within a diverse team"
 * Cambridge Mental Health: refers patients to the Association of NLP
 * The NHS Modernisation Agency: Identifies NLP based rapport skills as an important part of human skills training.
 * Mid Staffordshire General Hospitals NHS Trust: 2003-04 Annual report states as an achievement that Continuous Personal and Professional Development has been devised "based around the basics of Neuro Linguistic Programming" (PDF)
 * Green Park Healthcare Trust: Courses based upon NLP (PDF),
 * Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire Strategic Health Authority: One day workshop, "NLP is a powerful set of tools and approaches" (PDF)
 * NHS South Yorkshire Academy for Health and care Improvement: Also runs a 1.5 day course for NHS staff only which is currently booked up and has a waiting list
 * City & Hackney teaching Primary care Trust runs a one day NLP course entitled "Coaching Practitioner & NLP Training For Doctors" as part of its Stress and Management Skills Training
 * Guy's, King's & St.Thomas's Hospitals Medical & Dental Schools, highly reputed London hospitals, introduced NLP training to its staff in 2003, "[s]upported by the testimonials of GP's" (ie, general practitioners), commenting that "it is based on ... more than 400 patients whose recovery was considered to be extraordinary in the light of the diagnosis and prognosis they had received. From this it emerged that precise and consistent communication between doctor and patient appeared to be one of the most powerful components of the healing equation."
 * The NHS Cancer Action Improvement Team: "An ongoing training programme, using the tools of Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP), is improving health professionals’ communication skills, and giving them techniques and strategies to help people cope with the experiences of living with cancer. They will then be able to pass these skills on to others. The response from the health professionals has been very positive. They found the improved communication skills and new techniques valuable and relevant to their work, and intend to continue to use their enhanced skills in practice. The project is being evaluated by Chester University College. Results so far show a strong positive response to training and support from professionals and patients and carers." (2004 newsletter)  (PDF)
 * NLP is also apparently taken seriously by:
 * The editors of "Journal of the Imagination in Language Learning and Teaching" which in an editorial note to an article states (Vol. VI, 2001), "During the past ten years, [NLP] has been quite influential in 'English as a second language' as taught in England and in Europe in general."
 * The Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychiatry at Ohio State University College of Medicine and Public Health, Anne McVey, Ph.D., lists NLP under "Additional training" on her formal OSU psychiatry department profile.
 * Penn State college of Medicine lists NLP on its Faculty Expertise database
 * Derby University's Centre for Guidance Studies 2005 schedule includes one day seminar: "This one-day seminar will explore, review, compare and contrast these approaches so that careers guidance professionals can integrate the best of these into their practice. The seminar will deal with the various approaches... using a model borrowed from Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) that incorporates identity, personality, skills, beliefs, behaviour and mood...." (PDF)
 * California Institute of Integral Studies lists in its Fall 2005 conference, a seminar entitled "Beyond Framing: How Deep Neuro-Linguistic Programming Communicates"
 * The President of the Swiss Arbitration Association talking at the Conference on Rules for Institutional Arbitration and Mediation in WIPO (1995) stated in his paper that "It is my view that much personal and professional benefit can be drawn from an NLP training course [...] it can hardly be learnt from books."
 * Dr. Stanley H. McCreary, of the Central Christian College of the Bible, Missouri, previously at Yale and Chaplain in the US navy, lists NLP master practitioner in his list of trainings.
 * The Head of Actor Training of the Theatre Arts Faculty at University of Oregon, Professor Robert Barton, lists his principle interests as "Actor training, especially Shakespeare, period styles, voice, and neuro-linguistic programming"
 * The UK government small business network BusinessLink runs a course "Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) - Women Mean Business Network Event"
 * Richard M. Gray, Ph.D., Treatment Coordinator, U.S. Probation Department, Brooklyn, New York, April 2005: "Since its inception in 1997, his 16 week "The Brooklyn Program" has helped hundreds of federal probationers live sober, personally directed lives. A remarkable 55 percent of participants remain drug free for a year or more. And this is working with individuals whose participation is mandatory, typically the most difficult client population... a program that uses NLP techniques and approaches..."
 * A colleague is cited as saying, "More than just the statistics that showed Dr. Gray’s success with NLP, I saw the program’s effectiveness in the faces of the probationers, parolees and releasees who participated. Where they were previously negative and uninspired, I observed them transform into a positive force. I saw it in how they interacted with each other and their families, and I saw it in how they interacted with Dr. Gray himself."
 * New York Governor George Pataki is quoted as saying, "The effectiveness of your Brooklyn Program is evidenced by the interest of, and use in, other jurisdictions, here in this country as well as over in South Africa."
 * The profile of Diane Siegel, at the Executive and Professional Coaching Program oat the School of management at the University of Texas at Dallas, states that "One of her unusual tools shows up in both coaching and training, Neuro-linguistic Programming (NLP) is the foundation for workshops and presentations which apply NLP technology to specific topics"
 * The North East Institute, an associate body of the University of Ulster, is "is currently seeking applications from suitably qualified and experienced people in any of the curriculum areas we deliver and who wish to be included on the Institute’s Emergency Register for Part-time Lecturers for the academic year 2005/2006." The section titled "applications are encouraged particularly in the following areas:" includes NLP in the list. (PDF)
 * Several (mainline) pronunciation texts include a wide range of NLP-derived explicit strategies for pronunciation homework and real world practice (Grant 1993, Dalton & Seidlhofer 1994).
 * The Department of Management Studies at Visvesvaraya Technological University, Bangalore, India, ran a course on "Neuro Linguistic Programming for Managerial Effectiveness" which "received good support and applause from the participants who were corporate executives"
 * Louisiana State University lists NLP as a "resource" under "Social Work Resources"
 * Argonne National Laboratory (Illinois), part of Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education, has approved Human Subject Experimentation "to evaluate different types of control room interfaces that would effectively support the monitoring and control of complex [nuclear reactor] systems" . NLP was selected as the working emthodology for this, principally TOTE and decision making styles. "The results will be used to model how reactor operators make decisions based on computer simulated scenarios, how information is recalled, and to understand how differences in interface design can contribute to or alleviate task uncertainty..." (1997)
 * The Army War College at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania, awarded a 2004 fellowship to Lieutenant Colonel LoQuasto, in respect of modeling and other simulation methods combined with neuro-linguistic programming methods applicable to training. (PDF)
 * K.DuVivier, a senior instructor of Legal Writing and Appellant Court Advocacy at The University of Colorado School of Law, wrote two separate articles for Colorado Lawyer in 1999, outlining how NLP principles can be used by lawyers seeking to write more compelling briefs.
 * The Japan Association for Language Teaching published a full series on the benefits of using NLP in teaching (Vol. 21 no.2 feb 1997), covering anchoring, linguistics, and strategies.
 * The International Association for Teaching English as a Foreign Language, whose 2005 annual conference includes an seminar entitled "NLP for your students" as virtually one of the first sessions on day 1. (PDF)
 * The NLP model of Milton Erickson covers linguistics, regression, observation, metaphor, non-verbal communication, utilization and many other techniques (of which the "Milton Model" is one component part). Milton Erickson wrote of NLP's modelling methodology and its results: "Although this book by Richard Bandler and John Grinder 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." (The Patterns of the Hypnotic Techniques of Milton H. Erickson M.D., preface). These models are the backbone and an integral underpinning within almost every aspect of modern clinical hypnotherapeutic practice.
 * Cult exit/deprogramming specialist Steve Hassan makes reference to NLP in his book "Combatting Cult Mind Control". He states that he does not believe the NLP organization itself to be a cult. He states that he is however alarmed that NLP techniques - codified and made available by Grinder/Bandler - are employed and misused by various cult leaders to control the minds of their followers. (Cited from book)
 * George Lakoff, professor of Cognitive Science and Linguistics at the University of California, Berkeley and one of America's foremost linguists, credits NLP methods specifically as being responsible for significant Republican voter influence and perception modification in the 1990's, citing three instances in his books:
 * "The Willie Horton ads, for example, used an old NeuroLinguistic Programming (NLP) technique of "Anchoring via Submodalities," linking Dukakis, at an unconscious level in the viewer’s mind, to Willie Horton by the use of color versus black-and-white footage, and background sound. After a few exposures to these psy-ops ads, people would 'feel' Willie Horton when they 'saw' Dukakis."
 * "[I]t's no coincidence that the most psychologically effective ad that the Bush campaign used in 2004 wasn't the wolf ad (that was #2) but one that had two specific NLP-based posthypnotic suggestions embedded into it, telling people that "in the quiet" and "when you're alone in the voting booth" that they "can't take the risk" of voting for Kerry. It looked like a simple check-list ad, but was saved for the last minute and played so heavily because it was so psychologically sophisticated and potent."
 * NLP language-based anchoring was used strategically by Newt Gingrich (ex-Speaker of the House) in his quest to "frame the word 'liberal' as 'something akin to traitor', an effort that ultimately led to his infamous 1995 'secret' memo to GOP leaders titled 'Language: A Key Mechanism of Control'... The result according to a decade of politicians and talk show hosts memorizing and parroting Newt’s word list is that, in much of the public’s mind, morality and patriotism are associated with conservatives while liberals are thought of in the terms described above."
 * Prof. Lakoff also states "Even if by today's cognitive science research standards some of the original NLP research must be called inadequate, we now can classify NLP research projects as fitting in the field of cognitive science." For example, Lakoff & Johnson describe "the major findings of cognitive science" as (1) abstact concepts being largely methophorical (ie "The map is not the territory") and (2) the mind being inherently embodied (ie "Body and Mind form a systemic whole"). (Philosophy in the Flesh, 1999, introduction)
 * The Phonetics Teaching & Learning Conference 2001 proceedings includes a paper presentation on Innovative approaches: "New developments in pronunciation pedagogy have been affected by clear influences from other disciplines such as psychology, neuro-linguistics, drama and technology... A brain-friendly approach to teaching practical phonetics, which manifests itself in the use of multisensory modes, i.e. auditory, visual, tactile and kinaesthetic reinforcements, is demonstrated to enhance acquisition by appealing to different learning styles... The Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) perspective is also advocated as it deals efficiently with affective and emotional factors related to learning pronunciation and facilitates an accurate production of L2 [second language] sounds through such techniques as relaxation, suggestion, visualisation and others." full paper (PDF)
 * The UK Cabinet Office's National School of Government runs a course "NLP for Managers", for "Experienced managers who have had previous management training and development". It states that "[NLP] is increasingly used in both public and private sectors to improve performance and flexibility at an individual, team and organisational level."

Sharpley (1987)
masked

Heap (1988)
masked

Morgan (1993)
This was the discussion on the article talk page:


 * Considering how little regard NLP gets from reputable sources, Dr Morgan's scientific followup and final word assessment is entirely relevant. It is also the view of a world renowned clinical hypnotherapist. ATB Bookmain 04:23, 29 October 2005 (UTC)

Dylan Morgan... "world renowned clinical hypnotherapist".
 * 1) Dylan Morgans Bio  which if he was "world renowned" would presumably say so, lists no signs opf world renown. He was "editor" on a Psychotherapists journal, and lists his work gained due to his qualifications as: These qualifications enabled me at various times to be: Road Manager for a Rock Band; Civil Servant at a Government Research Establishment (the Official Secrets Act limits what I can say about this); one of the Paparazzi - I still have a collection of informal pictures of the Royal Family and the Scottish aristocracy; Lecturer at Universities; Photographer for The Edinburgh Tatler and Horse and Hound; Private Tutor; Winner of the Flowering Scythe Award for my Gardening; a Telephone Samaritan; a World Expert in noise generation by jet engines and high speed helicopter blades; and I have travelled to Russia, Germany, Denmark, Holland, Ireland, Norway, Yugoslavia and Sweden for Conferences and other purposes. (!)
 * 2) Morgan cites his skill area as Ericksonian hypnotherapy. Erickson's methodology is the one unpacked within NLP which Erickson himself credited for explaining it "better than he could". Grinder and Bandler were the people who initially made Milton's skills - the ones that Morgan uses - accessible to the world, in "Patterns in the Hypnotic Techniques of Milton Erickson, Vol 1 + 2". Before then Erickson's work was renowned, but not well understood and close to unreplicable by third party therapists. It doesn't sound much like Morgan's calling their work "pseudoscience" if he bases his career on it.
 * 3) Morgans works are (apparently) not peer reviewed. I could not find academic approval for any of what he called "Morganic" hypnosis. If an NLP trainer labelled his personal development "Morganic NLP", I think we'd hear "pseud" faster than you can say "hypnotic handshake"...
 * 4) I have looked on Google for dylan morgan hypnotherapy. There is not one significant credible link in the first 100 that indicates any professional reference other than that one might expect from a practitioner who has a practice, has published books, and has a website with reference material. (By contrast, a search for stephen gilligan hypnotherapy -- a genuine "world renowned clinical hypnotherapist", and protege of Erickson -- has within the first page many references to interviews, conference speeches, pages referring to him as an expert, and the like)
 * 5) Although not conclusive, most "world renowned" people have at least some reference in Wikipedia. Erickson has a Wikipedia article. Gilligan has a wikipedia article. Apparently Dylan Morgan doesn't. The only single reference anyone has made to this "world renowned" expert is here. Not conclusive, but noteworthy.

Morgan appears to have no especial standing to qualify him to make a statement any more than any other individual hypnotherapist. He is not evidenced as being especially academically reputed, nor apparently were the views you quoted academically (much less formally peer) reviewed, they are in the form primarily of an opinion regarding Heap's work. Morgan is most assuredly from the look of it not a world renowned expert, and his own self-written bio does not especiallly reflect the usual evidence of lifelong world renowned clinical expertise. His article is posted, apparently in full, on his own website, and clearly is a mere discussion and opinion of Heap. Last but noteworthy, his hypnotherapy site contains enough hype to more than qualify for labelling as "hype", in the manner that some label and dismiss NLP.

Although Morgan was eventually part-fixed, it was with extreme reluctance, and he is still retained as a source worthy of citation. It disturbs me that there was invention of fact (in this case, an attributed standing) to support this source. What disturbs me more is that it had to be fixed several times, reverted each time, and that even so he is considered a source of enough standing to warrant his comment being posted in the article.


 * Morgan published his article in a hypnotherapy journal, therefore it is admissible. It represents his view.  Morgan's conclusion is that NLP uses methods that are "devious, indirect, and doubtful" and implied that he would not use such a technique.  There are many hypnotherapists who agree with him.  Morgan represents a hypnotherapists view that NLP is doubtful and devious.  DaveRight 03:38, 15 November 2005 (UTC)
 * The journal published is apparently the National Register of Hypnotherapists and Psychotherapists, not the National College of Hypnosis and Psychotherapy. The former is simply a hypnotherapists members referral group, the latter a professional body accrerdited by UKCP.
 * That quote is part of an argument from lack of imagination, starting with the words "In my own experience..." It is very clear it is a personal opinion. I note that DR slides very quietly away from questioning the standing of Morgan, and into weasel words that it is in "a journal" (to be precise a hypnotherapists association newsletter rather than a scientific one, and certainly not a Medline publication such as he requires any NLP research to be in) and that "many hypnotherapists" agree. Lastly it is factually incorrect. Morgan by his own website, recommends Ericksonian Hypnotherapy ..... which is lock stock and barrel a huge part of NLP (see above). FT2 13:26, 16 November 2005 (UTC)

British Psychological Society
The article says that "The British Psychological Society classes NLP as 'quintessential charlatanry' ". In fact this is diametrically incorrect.
 * The Society not only rates NLP as sufficient standing to mention in their biographies but also refer interested users to the UK Council for Psychotherapy, who are interested in finding an NLP therapist, grouping it together with Psychoanalysis, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, and Hypnotherapy which are also not part of their remit  (The BPS is more psychoanalytically oriented judging by its board)
 * Indeed the British Psychological Society reports that in 2001 its NorthWest Chapter has held an NLP introduction event for its members. "This one-day event is aimed at psychologists, consultants, HR professionals, counsellors and students, or anyone with an interest in the practice and application of NLP."

Further, the British Psychological Society's 4th Annual Continuing Education Program (CEP) conference included a keynote speaker Leanne Harris (University of Hertfordshire) entitled "Exploring the use of neuro-linguistic programming as a first person methodology: Studying the use of imagery in changing the quality of experience". Its abstract reads:
 * "After years of being dominated by 3rd person objective research methods, there are now calls within psychology for a shift in this perspective to one which embraces both objective and subjective ways of knowing as equally valid and inextricably linked in the search for the understanding of human experience and behaviour... In particular, the workshop will draw on methods which have been developed outside academic psychology but which appear to have much to offer as an approach to exploring subjective experience, namely neuro-linguistic programming. NLP claims to be the study of the structure of experience. It makes use of questioning techniques which do not make assumptions about the content of experience, but rather seek to elicit the structure of the experience and how that structure affects the quality of an individual's experience. The workshop will incorporate an experiential elicitation session based on the NLP sensory sub-modalities model... The session will conclude with a discussion of the applicability of such techniques for psychology research."

Further again, at the end of 2004, the British Psychological Society has awarded its prestigious Level B accreditation to CDA for its new psychometric test, CDAQ. British Psychological Society Level B accreditation is widely recognised as a clear benchmark standard, and CDA is now one of a limited number of companies accredited by the BPS to run Level B training:
 * "CDAQ, which represents a new approach to personality testing based on cognitive psychology and neurolinguistic programming (NLP), has undergone several years of rigorous empirical testing. This was undertaken with the cooperation an extensive range of private and public sector organisations, including Toyota GB, Alpha Airports Group, Northern Foods and Essex County Council. The CDAQ psychometric test has been successfully applied in various scenarios, including training, recruitment, personal development, teambuilding and coaching, with users reporting that it is able to accurately identify thinking and behavioural preferences in their employees and recruitment candidates."
 * CDAQ’s Technical Director states: "When we explored the NLP phenomenon and the notion of metaprogrammes, we found solid ideas supported by robust psychological theory which provided a sound basis for understanding peoples’ behaviour and thinking."


 * Forgive me if this doesn't sound totally like the BPS hold NLP to be "quintessential quackery." Whatever the source, it seems clear this information is diametrically in error.


 * Hi FT2. BPS is a huge body of psychologists and its job is to promote meetings etc.  Take a look at their annuals.  Their are a whole bunch of psychotherapists who talk about how NLP is total bunk, and regret having registered with their courses etc.  The amount of criticism by psychotherapists about the BPS and other such bodies promoting pseudoscience (including EMDR, TFT, primal scream therapy, and even dianetics) is incredibly harsh.  They hate it and bodies such as the BPS have induced mass boycott by lots of psychotherapists who know that NLP is pseudoscience.  Pretty funny huh? DaveRight 03:30, 15 November 2005 (UTC)
 * What's funnier is that in the article, the BPS can do no wrong, they are a professional and reputable body cited as condemning NLP as quackery. But now they are shown to be positively inclined to NLP, all of a sudden the BPS is untrustworthy, has induced "mass boycotts" and "hate" and an "incredibly harsh" amount of criticism. It seems DR has once again invented or "spun" facts to suit a POV, because I've seen none of that. Either way the point stands, that the BPS was knowingly misrepresented. Do you want to add to the BPS or NLP article that they have induced boycotts etc? I don't think you do..... you know the response you'd get. FT2 13:26, 16 November 2005 (UTC)

UK Council for Psychotherapy
So I looked up the UK Council for Psychotherapy. They are the umbrella accrediting body for psychotherapy in the UK:
 * In 1994 the ANLP (British NLP association) Professional and Counselling Services was awarded a representative on the Governing Board of the UK Council for Psychotherapy . It continues to be a member organization in good standing of that body at the present time. NLPtca.com website and UKCP 2005 members list PDF


 * The more recent papers and books on NLP criticise such boards for encouraging pseudoscience within psychotherapy (eg Eisner 2000). DaveRight 03:39, 15 November 2005 (UTC)
 * "Such boards". Do they specifically criticise this one, for NLP, or generally any boards, for anything "pseudoscientific". There's little evidence that this is representative. In the meantime the one indisputable fact is, both these two credible UK bodies are supportive of NLP in the profession. FT2 13:26, 16 November 2005 (UTC)

Druckman (1988)
Druckman (1988) who is stated to have said "There is no evidence to support either NLP assumptions or NLP effectiveness", in fact said a little more than this:
 * "Studies of the effectiveness of NLP are limited in a number of ways. The dependent measure used in most studies is client-counselor empathy, as measured on a paper-and-pencil scale (e.g., Hammer, 19831. This is not a satisfactory index of the therapeutic effectiveness of the counselor. One can find a counselor very empathetic but nonetheless ineffective in modifying behaviors or feelings. There are no studies comparing the effectiveness of NLP as an influence technique with other interpersonal influence techniques. None of the studies testing aspects of NLP has used NLP-certified Trainers as counselors, therapists, or eye movement monitors; thus studies that fail to support NLP are subject to the criticism that, if properly trained people had been used, the results would have been more positive."
 * "Many of the studies are concerned with testing whether influence attempts that match the PRS are more effective than those that do not match... Since the emphasis on the Preferred Representational System (as distinguished from the representational system currently in use) has been explicitly disavowed in informal communication, the relevance of this negative finding is diminished."
 * "Respected and responsible people who have been trained in the system report positively."

Platt (2001)
Platt (2001) in his article "NLP - No Longer Plausible?" is stated to have concluded that he found "NLP to be ineffective". But in fact he identifies that whilst it produces poor corerelation in isolation, when used in context it has produced positive results (noted above). He concludes (and this is far from "rejection") that it needs to temper its claims, and accept it has limits on its effectiveness:
 * "Does that make NLP bogus? No, it does not. But the research and the findings of the investigators certainly make it clear that NLP cannot help all people in all situations, which is frequently what is claimed and what practioners assert. In that sense NLP is no better than any other process or system. The immoderate claims that are made for NLP might be viewed a little more critically when viewed against this background. What conclusions can we draw from this body of evidence that casts more than a shadow of doubt over certain aspects of NLP? Well frankly, a degree of objectivity and healthy cynicism of some of the claims made would be a good start. I would also suggest that a realisation that NLP will not always work and that some other systems or approaches might be better applied would also be useful."

Platt also refers to 68 studies on preferred rep systems and 9 studies on phobias. Yet he got these all from abstracts, and from a site which lists 180 studies. There is no indication of why the other 103 studies were ignored or what they said.

Carroll (2003)
Carroll (2003) is portrayed in the article as research. In fact it is an opinion entry, for a skeptic's website. It is not at all clear how Carroll's neutrality as a source is assured. It is written in a somewhat sarcastic tone, and at times grossly misinformed. This, and his final paragraph, indicate it is a form of argument from ignorance:
 * "...when someone tells me that the way I squeeze my nose during a conversation means I am signaling him that I think his idea stinks, how do we verify whether his interpretation is correct or not? I deny it. He knows the structure, he says. He knows the meaning. I am not aware of my signal or of my feelings, he says, because the message is coming from my subconscious mind. How do we test these kinds of claims? We can't. What's his evidence? It must be his brilliant intuitive insight because there is no empirical evidence to back up this claim. Sitting cross-armed at a meeting might not mean that someone is 'blocking you out' or 'getting defensive'..."
 * (These are not NLP methods or approaches at all. This is straw man)
 * "While I do not doubt that many people benefit from NLP training sessions, there seem to be several false or questionable assumptions upon which NLP is based. Their beliefs about the unconscious mind, hypnosis and the ability to influence people by appealing directly to the subconscious mind are unsubstantiated... You cannot learn to 'speak directly to the unconscious mind' as Erickson and NLP claim, except in the most obvious way of using the power of suggestion."
 * (but see Cheek research above which did just that)
 * The article's conclusion is that: "This is not to say that the techniques won't work. They may work and work quite well, but there is no way to know whether the claims behind their origin are valid. Perhaps it doesn't matter. NLP itself proclaims that it is pragmatic in its approach: what matters is whether it works. However, how do you measure the claim "NLP works"? I don't know and I don't think NLPers know, either. [...]"

Thus out of the sources cited as "scientific research", we find that three stated in their paper or book, a belief that NLP may well work but that scientific measurement of this is unsupported at present, additionally, one had falsified credentials, one is a writer for a sceptics site and non-neutral, .....


 * Carroll writes books on warning undergraduate psychologists about the nonsense that pervades the self help section of bookstores etc. Carroll's treatment of NLP reflects what most people think of NLP.  Just a bunch of pseudoscientific/pseudospiritual nonsense.  DaveRight 03:41, 15 November 2005 (UTC)
 * I think that comment of DR's about wraps it up. "Most people" think that? No... thats an editor's personal view masquerading as a weasel. And as pointed out, for a riter, Carroll is remarkable poorly informed on several readily verifiable matters noted, and writes with a straw man. He may be an author. He is not a researcher much less a scientific researcher writing peer reviewed articles. He is yet again an example of "Dave cites this critical and ill-informed author as a "researcher", but don't cite any NLP researchers who are professionally reported". Thats too far from neutral, Dave. FT2 13:26, 16 November 2005 (UTC)