User:Action potential/NLP

Neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) is defined in the Oxford English Dictionary as "a model of interpersonal communication chiefly concerned with the relationship between successful patterns of behaviour and the subjective experiences (esp. patterns of thought) underlying them" and "a system of alternative therapy based on this which seeks to educate people in self-awareness and effective communication, and to change their patterns of mental and emotional behaviour". The co-founders, Richard Bandler and linguist John Grinder, claimed their approach to language, therapy, communication and change would be instrumental in "finding ways to help people have better, fuller and richer lives". They coined the title to denote a supposed theoretical connection between neurological processes ('neuro'), language ('linguistic') and behavioral patterns that have been learned through experience ('programming') and that can be organised to achieve specific goals in life.

NLP was originally based on observations and imitation of family therapist Virginia Satir, gestalt therapist Fritz Perls and medical hypnotherapist Milton H. Erickson. They claimed to offer "specific set of tools that seem to us to be implicit in the actions of these therapists" to help people improve their effectiveness both personally and professionally. Psychotherapy applications: encountered in therapy, such as single phobias, depression, changing habits, psychosomatic illnesses, and spelling difficulties. It also espoused the potential for self-determination through overcoming learned limitations and emphasized well-being and healthy functioning. At the same time, it was "promoted" as a 'science of excellence', derived from the study of how exceptional people in different fields achieve their results. + something about seminars/style of presentation.

One paragraph with examples of basic techniques: meta model, milton model, anchoring, perceptual positions, metaphor, step-by-step processes, outcomes, ...

Because of the pragmatic / controversy-splintered / lack of definitive definition / commercialization / popularity / outside of academia / absence of any firm empirical evidence supporting its sometimes extravagant claims, NLP has had little (if any) support in psychological and experimental literature. There is no firm statistics on the popularity of NLP. According to psychologist Michael Heap, has made no impact on mainstream academic psychology, and has had limited impact on mainstream psychotherapy and counselling. However, it has had some influence among private psychotherapists and counselors, including hypnotherapists, to the extent that many claim to be trained in NLP and apply it to their practice. It has had an influence in management training, life coaching, and the self-help industry.

Aims
Aims of Bandler and Grinder... aims of followers/practitioners.

Ethics
===Currents

Techniques
Meta model, milton model, perceptual positions, representation systems, submodalities... list the basic techniques with a short description of what someone might expect to find in an NLP seminar or book.

Empirical validation
The experimental and psychological research suggests that the central claims of NLP remain empirically unvalidated. The majority of empirical research was carried out by psychologists in the 1980s and 1990s and consisted of laboratory experimentation testing Bandler and Grinder's hypothesis that a person's preferred sensory mode of thinking can be revealed by observing eye movement cues and sensory predicates in language use. A review conducted by Christopher Sharpley in 1984, followed by another review in 1987 in response to criticism by Einspruch and Forman, concluded that there was little evidence "for its usefulness" as an effective counseling tool. Michael Heap (1988, 1989, 2008) remarked that objective and fair investigations had shown no support for NLP claims about 'preferred representational systems'. The conclusions of Sharpley and Heap have been contested on the grounds that the studies contained numerous methodological errors not addressed in the reviews. The researchers had an incomplete understanding of the claims of NLP and that the interviewers involved in the many of the studies had inadequate training/competence in the particularly techniques tested.

A research committee working for United States National Research Council led by Daniel Druckman came to two conclusions. First, the committee "found little if any" evidence to support NLP’s assumptions or to indicate that it is effective as a strategy for social influence. It assumes that by tracking another’s eye movements and language, an NLP trainer can shape the person’s thoughts, feelings, and opinions (Dilts, 1983 ). There is no scientific support for these assumptions." Secondly, the committee "were impressed with the modeling approach used to develop the technique. The technique was developed from careful observations of the way three master psychotherapists conducted their sessions, emphasizing imitation of verbal and nonverbal behaviors... This then led the committee to take up the topic of expert modeling in the second phase of its work." These studies marked a decline in research interest in NLP generally, and particularly in matching sensory predicates and its use in counsellor-client relationship in counseling psychology.