An insight into the history of NLP

Neuro linguistic programming

How was NLP established?

People often wonder how NLP differs from more traditional routes of therapy. Many of us have been exposed to the basics of psychotherapy, stumbled across, and indeed tried to integrate, simple CBT strategies to our daily lives, but how many of us really understand how NLP differs and where it’s key focus lies.

Whilst NLP shares similarities with more traditional therapeutic modalities, it is a relative newcomer to the therapeutic space. Established in the 1970’s by Richard Bandler and John Grinder, it was born of their intrigue into what categorised excellent communication. Members of the University of Santa Cruz, Bandler, a mathematician, and Grinder, a linguistics professor, meticulously studied the communication skills of effective therapists and influencers. Focusing on the work of renowned psychotherapists Erikson, Satir and Perls, fascinated by how they consistently achieved successful results with their clients, they concluded that several factors were crucial for eliciting change.

Success seemed to hinge on the therapist’s ability to really understand their client’s internal world. This knowledge, along with the unique structure of language used, induced an almost hypnotic state, allowing the client to effectively access their internal reality. Armed with this insight Grinder and Bandler began to replicate these patterns of relating to their clients and the beginnings of NLP as a theory were established.

 How does NLP actually work?

Today, Robert Diltz defines NLP as the study of structure of subjective experience (Diltz, 2000). By understanding that every individual has their own unique perception of the world – their map - the practitioner assists their client to study patterns created by brain and language interactions. Working together, practitioner and client examine how these unique interactions produce either successful or unsuccessful behaviour for the individual.

The foundations of NLP are built on several presuppositions held by the practitioner about their client. There is a fundamental belief that the client’s problem has been created through the way they structure experience; the objective is to help the client choose healthy responses in place of more problematic existing behaviour.

NLP takes a similar stance to Person-Centred theory in that the practitioner believes the client is the expert of themselves. Problematic behaviour exists for a reason, by understanding that reason and bringing self awareness to the issue, the client can begin to see how the behaviour no longer adds value.

In contrast to more traditional talking therapies that often work with a client long term, NLP believe change can be rapid with just the smallest change in the client’s “map” resulting in significant change to personal experience and interaction with their world. There is an abundance of opportunity to facilitate change through the ability to diminish and replace negative memories with more positive, healthy responses.

 How does change occur?

“The strategies, tools and techniques of NLP represent an opportunity unlike any other for the exploration of human functioning, or more precisely, that rare and valuable subset of human functioning known as genius”. John Grinder

There are several principles which NLP theorists see as fundamental to eliciting change. These include focusing on the solution rather than the problem, encouraging the client to understand they have capacity to be flexible in their behavioural approach and actively being aware of sensory modalities.

Establishing positive anchors for a client, enabling them to access a positive emotional state in times of distress, is perhaps one of the most well-known NLP techniques. In addition, working with an understanding of senses and the mind-body connection is also key. Sensory modalities include our visual, auditory, kinaesthetic, olfactory and gustatory representations which we use to structure our internal world. By understanding how physical senses change in response to thoughts, client and practitioner manipulate specific physical responses to elicit a healthier outcome.

A strong relationship between practitioner and client is also vital for a successful outcome. Underpinning all the techniques is the ability of the practitioner to establish a congruent connection with the client; one which facilitates growth through trust.

 How is the efficacy of NLP measured?

Many practitioners measure the efficacy of their practice through positive client feedback. In addition to this, scientific studies have increased over the last few years with bodies of evidence supporting NLP as an effective technique for treating a range of psychological disorders including PTSD and phobias.

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