View source for Neuro-linguistic programming

{{Short description|Pseudoscientific approach to psychotherapy}}
{{distinguish|text = [[Natural language processing]] (also NLP). For other uses, see [[NLP (disambiguation)|NLP]]}}
{{pp-sock|small = yes}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2021}}
{{Infobox interventions
|  Name        = Neuro-linguistic programming
|  Image       =
|  Caption     =
|  ICD10       =
|  ICD9        =
|  MeshID      = D020557
|  OPS301      =
|  OtherCodes  =
|  HCPCSlevel2 =
}}
{{Neuro-linguistic programming}}

'''Neuro-linguistic programming''' ('''NLP''') is a [[Pseudoscience|pseudoscientific]] approach to communication, personal development, and [[psychotherapy]] that first appeared in [[Richard Bandler]] and [[John Grinder]]'s book ''[[The Structure of Magic I]]'' (1975). NLP asserts a connection between neurological processes, language, and acquired behavioral patterns, and that these can be changed to achieve specific goals in life.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Tosey |first1=Paul |last2=Mathison |first2=Jane |title=Introducing Neuro-Linguistic Programming |publisher=Centre for Management Learning & Development, School of Management, University of Surrey. |url=http://www.som.surrey.ac.uk/NLP/Resources/IntroducingNLP.pdf |access-date=12 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190103020411/http://www.som.surrey.ac.uk/NLP/Resources/IntroducingNLP.pdf |archive-date=3 January 2019}}</ref>{{sfn|Dilts|Grinder|Bandler|DeLozier|1980|p=2}} According to Bandler and Grinder, NLP can treat problems such as [[phobia]]s, depression, [[tic disorder]]s, [[psychosomatic illness]]es, [[near-sightedness]],{{efn|name=nscc}} [[allergy]], the [[common cold]],{{efn|name=nscc|Note that, in a seminar, {{harvnb|Bandler|Grinder|1982|p=166}}, said that a single session of NLP combined with hypnosis could eliminate certain eyesight problems such as myopia and cure the common cold (op.cit., pp. 169, 174).}} and [[learning disorder]]s,<ref>Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/8vlcsFJyEXQ Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20100225190827/http://www.youtube.com:80/watch?v=8vlcsFJyEXQ Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{cite AV media |people=Bandler, Richard |year=2008 |title=What is NLP? |medium=Promotional video |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vlcsFJyEXQ |access-date=1 June 2013 |quote=We can reliably get rid of a phobia in ten minutes – every single time. |publisher=NLP Life}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Grinder|Bostic St. Clair|2001|loc=Chapter 4: Personal Antecedents of NLP}}.</ref> often in a single session. They also say that NLP can model the skills of exceptional people, allowing anyone to acquire them.{{sfn|Bandler|Grinder|1975|pp=5–6}}{{efn|{{harvnb|Bandler|1993|p=vii}}: "In single sessions, they can accelerate learning, neutralize phobias, enhance creativity, improve relationships, eliminate allergies, and lead firewalks without roasting toes. NLP achieves the goal of its inception. We have ways to do what only a genius could have done a decade ago." }}

NLP has been adopted by some [[hypnotherapist]]s as well as by companies that run seminars marketed as [[Leadership development|leadership training]] to businesses and government agencies.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Dowlen |first=Ashley |title=NLP – help or hype? Investigating the uses of neuro-linguistic programming in management learning |journal=Career Development International |date=1 January 1996 |volume=1 |issue=1 |pages=27–34 |doi=10.1108/13620439610111408}}</ref><ref name="von Bergen-1997" />

No [[scientific evidence]] supports the claims made by NLP advocates, and it has been called a [[pseudoscience]].<ref>{{Cite book |title=Science and Pseudoscience in Social Work Practice |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nE9FCQAAQBAJ&q=nlp&pg=PA166 |publisher=Springer Publishing Company |date=2015 |isbn=978-0-8261-7769-8 |first1=Bruce A. |last1=Thyer |first2=Monica G. |last2=Pignotti |pages=56–57, 165–167 |quote=As NLP became more popular, some research was conducted and reviews of such research have concluded that there is no scientific basis for its theories about representational systems and eye movements.}}</ref><ref name="Sharpley-1987" /><ref name="Witkowski-2010">{{cite journal |last=Witkowski |first=Tomasz |title=Thirty-Five Years of Research on Neuro-Linguistic Programming. NLP Research Data Base. State of the Art or Pseudoscientific Decoration? |journal=Polish Psychological Bulletin |date=1 January 2010 |volume=41 |issue=2 |doi=10.2478/v10059-010-0008-0|quote=All of this leaves me with an overwhelming impression that the analyzed base of scientific articles is treated just as theater decoration, being the background for the pseudoscientific farce which NLP appears to be. Using "scientific" attributes, which is so characteristic of pseudoscience, is manifested also in other aspects of NLP activities... My analysis leads undeniably to the statement that NLP represents pseudoscientific rubbish|doi-access=free }}</ref> Scientific reviews have shown that NLP is based on outdated metaphors of the brain's inner workings that are inconsistent with current neurological theory, and that NLP contains numerous factual errors.<ref name="von Bergen-1997">{{cite journal |last1=von Bergen |first1=C. W. |last2=Gary |first2=Barlow Soper |last3=Rosenthal |first3=T. |last4=Wilkinson |first4=Lamar V. |title=Selected alternative training techniques in HRD |journal=Human Resource Development Quarterly |year=1997 |volume=8 |issue=4 |pages=281–294 |doi=10.1002/hrdq.3920080403}}</ref><ref name="Druckman-2004">{{cite journal |last=Druckman |first=Daniel |title=Be All That You Can Be: Enhancing Human Performance |journal=Journal of Applied Social Psychology |date=1 November 2004 |volume=34 |issue=11 |pages=2234–2260 |doi=10.1111/j.1559-1816.2004.tb01975.x}}</ref> Reviews also found that research that favored NLP contained significant methodological flaws, and that three times as many studies of a much higher quality failed to reproduce the claims made by Bandler, Grinder, and other NLP practitioners.<ref name="Sharpley-1987">{{cite journal |last=Sharpley |first=Christopher F. |title=Research findings on neurolinguistic programming: Nonsupportive data or an untestable theory? |journal=Journal of Counseling Psychology |date=1 January 1987 |volume=34 |issue=1 |pages=103–107 |doi=10.1037/0022-0167.34.1.103}}</ref><ref name="Witkowski-2010" />

== Early development ==
According to Bandler and Grinder, NLP consists of a [[methodology]] termed ''modeling'', plus a set of techniques that they derived from its initial applications.{{sfnm|1a1=Bandler|1a2=Grinder|1y=1975|1p=6|2a1=Grinder|2a2=Bostic St. Clair|2y=2001|2loc=Chapter 2: Terminology}} They derived many of the fundamental techniques from the work of [[Virginia Satir]], [[Milton Erickson]] and [[Fritz Perls]].{{sfn|Bandler|Grinder|1979|p=8}} Bandler and Grinder also drew upon the [[scientific theory|theories]] of [[Gregory Bateson]], and [[Noam Chomsky]] (particularly [[transformational grammar]]).{{sfn|Bandler|Grinder|1975|p=6}}<ref name="Stollznow-2010" /><ref>{{cite book |last=Wake |first=Lisa |title=Neurolinguistic psychotherapy: a postmodern perspective |year=2008 |publisher=Routledge |location=London |isbn=978-0-415-42541-4|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8wIy20m_u9kC}}</ref>

Bandler and Grinder say that their methodology can codify the structure inherent to the therapeutic "magic" as performed in therapy by Perls, Satir and Erickson, and indeed inherent to any complex human activity. From that codification, they say, the structure and its activity can be learned by others. Their 1975 book, ''The Structure of Magic I: A Book about Language and Therapy'', is intended to be a codification of the therapeutic techniques of Perls and Satir.{{sfn|Bandler|Grinder|1975|p=6}}

Bandler and Grinder say that they used their own process of modeling to model Virginia Satir so they could produce what they termed the Meta-Model, a model for gathering information and challenging a client's language and underlying thinking.{{sfn|Bandler|Grinder |1975|p=6}}<ref name="Clancy-1989" /> They say that by challenging linguistic distortions, specifying generalizations, and recovering deleted information in the client's statements, the transformational grammar concept of surface structure yields a more complete representation of the underlying deep structure and therefore has therapeutic benefit.<ref>John Grinder, Suzette Elgin (1973). "A Guide to Transformational Grammar: History, Theory, Practice." Holt, Rinehart and Winston. {{ISBN|0-03-080126-5}}. Reviewed by Frank H. Nuessel, Jr. ''The Modern Language Journal'', Vol. 58, No. 5/6 (September–October 1974), pp. 282–283</ref><ref name="Bradley-1985">{{cite journal |first1=E. Jane |last1=Bradley |last2=Biedermann |first2=Heinz-Joachim |title=Bandler and Grinder's neurolinguistic programming: Its historical context and contribution |journal=Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training |date=1 January 1985 |volume=22 |issue=1 |pages=59–62 |doi=10.1037/h0088527 |issn=0033-3204 |oclc=1588338}}</ref> Also derived from Satir were anchoring, future pacing and representational systems.<ref name="Spitzer-1992">{{cite journal |last=Spitzer |first=Robert |title=Virginia Satir & Origins of NLP |journal=Anchor Point Magazine |issue=July |page=? |year=1992 |url=http://www.social-engineer.org/wiki/archives/NLP/NLP-Satir395.pdf |access-date=5 June 2013}}</ref>

In contrast, the Milton-Model—a model of the purportedly hypnotic language of Milton Erickson—was described by Bandler and Grinder as "artfully vague" and [[metaphor]]ic.{{sfn|Bandler|Grinder|1982|p=240}} The Milton-Model is used in combination with the Meta-Model as a softener, to induce "trance" and to deliver indirect therapeutic suggestion.{{sfn|Bandler|Grinder|1981}}

Psychologist [[Jean Mercer]] writes that Chomsky's theories "appear to be irrelevant" to NLP.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Mercer |first1=Jean |editor1-last=Cautin |editor1-first=Robin L. |editor2-last=Lilienfeld |editor2-first=Scott O. |title=The Encyclopedia of Clinical Psychology, Volume II |date=2015 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-0-4706-7127-6 |page=759 |chapter=Controversial Therapies |doi=10.1002/9781118625392.wbecp515}}</ref> Linguist [[Karen Stollznow]] describes Bandler's and Grinder's reference to such experts as [[namedropping]]. Other than Satir, the people they cite as influences did not collaborate with Bandler or Grinder. Chomsky himself has no association with NLP, with his work being theoretical in nature and having no therapeutic element. Stollznow writes, "[o]ther than borrowing [[terminology]], NLP does not bear authentic resemblance to any of Chomsky's theories or philosophies—linguistic, [[cognitive]] or political."<ref name="Stollznow-2010">{{cite journal |last1=Stollznow |first1=Karen|author-link=Karen Stollznow|year=2010 |title=Not-so Linguistic Programming |journal=[[Skeptic (U.S. magazine)|Skeptic]] |volume=15 |issue=4 |page=7 |url=http://www.skeptic.com/magazine/archives/vol15n04.html |access-date=1 June 2013}}</ref>

According to [[André Muller Weitzenhoffer]], a researcher in the field of hypnosis, "the major weakness of Bandler and Grinder's linguistic [[analysis]] is that so much of it is built upon untested hypotheses and is supported by totally inadequate data."{{sfn|Weitzenhoffer|1989|p=304}} Weitzenhoffer adds that Bandler and Grinder misuse [[formal logic]] and mathematics,{{sfn|Weitzenhoffer|1989|pp=300–301}} redefine or misunderstand terms from the [[linguistics]] [[lexicon]] (e.g., [[nominalization]]),{{efn|{{harvnb|Weitzenhoffer|1989|pp=304–305}}: "I have chosen [[nominalization]] to explain what some of the problems are in Bandler and Grinder's linguistic approach to Ericksonian hypnotism. Almost any other linguistic concept used by these authors could have served equally well for the purpose of showing some of the inherent weaknesses in their treatment."}} create a scientific façade by needlessly complicating Ericksonian concepts with unfounded claims,{{efn|{{harvnb|Weitzenhoffer|1989|p=307}}: "As I have mentioned in the last chapter, any references made to left and right brain functions in relation to hypnotic phenomena must be considered as poorly founded. They do not add to our understanding of nor our ability to utilize hypnotic phenomena in the style of Erickson. Indeed, references such as Bandler and Grinder make to these functions give their subject matter a false appearance of having a more scientific status than it has."}} make factual errors,{{efn|{{harvnb|Weitzenhoffer|1989|p=306}}: "This work [''Trance-formation''], incidentally, contains some glaring misstatements of facts. For example, [[Freud]] and [[Mesmer]] were depicted as contemporaries!"}} and disregard or confuse concepts central to the Ericksonian approach.{{efn|{{harvnb|Weitzenhoffer|1989|p=306}}: One of the most striking features of the Bandler/Grinder interpretation is that it somehow ignores the issue of the existence and function of suggestion, which even in Erickson's own writings and those done with Rossi, is a central idea."}}

More recently, Bandler has stated, "NLP is based on finding out what works and formalizing it. In order to formalize patterns I utilized everything from linguistics to [[holography]] ... The models that constitute NLP are all formal models based on mathematical, [[logic]]al principles such as [[Predicate logic|predicate calculus]] and the mathematical [[Holography#Mathematical model|equations underlying holography]]."<ref>{{cite web |last=Bandler |first=Richard |title=NLP Seminars Group – Frequently Asked Questions |website=NLP Seminars Group |url=http://www.purenlp.com/nlpfaqr.html |year=1997 |access-date=8 August 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130622080317/http://www.purenlp.com/nlpfaqr.html |archive-date=22 June 2013}}</ref> There is no mention of the mathematics of holography nor of holography in general in Spitzer's,<ref name="Spitzer-1992" /> or Grinder's<ref>{{harvnb|Grinder|Bostic St. Clair|2001}}.</ref> account of the development of NLP.

On the matter of the development of NLP, Grinder recollects:

{{blockquote|text=My memories about what we thought at the time of discovery (with respect to the classic code we developed—that is, the years 1973 through 1978) are that we were quite explicit that we were out to overthrow a [[paradigm]] and that, for example, I, for one, found it very useful to plan this campaign using in part as a guide the excellent work of [[Thomas Kuhn]] (''[[The Structure of Scientific Revolutions]]'') in which he detailed some of the conditions which historically have obtained in the midst of [[paradigm shift]]s. For example, I believe it was very useful that neither one of us were qualified in the field we first went after—psychology and in particular, its therapeutic application; this being one of the conditions which Kuhn identified in his historical study of paradigm shifts.<ref>{{cite web |last=Grinder |first=John |others=Interviewed by Chris Collingwood and Jules Collingwood |title=1996 Interview with John Grinder PhD, co-creator of NLP |website=Inspiritive |url=http://www.inspiritive.com.au/grinterv.htm |date=July 1996 |access-date=8 August 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130428225949/http://www.inspiritive.com.au/grinterv.htm |archive-date=28 April 2013}}</ref>}}

The philosopher [[Robert Todd Carroll]] responded that Grinder has not understood Kuhn's text on the [[history of science|history and philosophy of science]], ''The Structure of Scientific Revolutions''. Carroll replies: (a) individual scientists never have nor are they ever able to create ''paradigm shifts'' volitionally and Kuhn does not suggest otherwise; (b) Kuhn's text does not contain the idea that being unqualified in a field of science is a prerequisite to producing a result that necessitates a ''paradigm shift'' in that field and (c) ''The Structure of Scientific Revolutions'' is foremost a work of ''history'' and not an instructive text on ''creating'' paradigm shifts and such a text is not possible—extraordinary discovery is not a formulaic procedure. Carroll explains that a ''paradigm shift'' is not a planned activity, rather it is an outcome of scientific effort within the dominant paradigm that produces [[scientific data|data]] that cannot be adequately accounted for within the current paradigm—hence a ''paradigm shift'', i.e. the adoption of a new paradigm. In developing NLP, Bandler and Grinder were not responding to a paradigmatic crisis in psychology nor did they produce any data that caused a paradigmatic crisis in psychology. There is no sense in which Bandler and Grinder caused or participated in a paradigm shift. "What did Grinder and Bandler do that makes it impossible to continue doing psychology ... without accepting their ideas? Nothing," argues Carroll.<ref name="Carroll-2009">{{cite web |last=Carroll |first=R. T. |author-link=Robert Todd Carroll |publisher=[[The Skeptic's Dictionary]] |url=http://skepdic.com/neurolin.html |title=Neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) |access-date=25 June 2009 |date=23 February 2009}}</ref>

=== Commercialization and evaluation ===
By the late 1970s, the [[human potential movement]] had developed into an industry and provided a market for some NLP ideas. At the center of this growth was the [[Esalen Institute]] at [[Big Sur, California]]. Perls had led numerous [[Gestalt therapy]] seminars at Esalen. Satir was an early leader and Bateson was a guest teacher. Bandler and Grinder have said that in addition to being a therapeutic method, NLP was also a study of communication and began marketing it as a business tool, writing that, "if any human being can do anything, so can you."<ref name="Clancy-1989">{{cite journal |last1=Clancy |first1=Frank |last2=Yorkshire |first2=Heidi |year=1989 |title=The Bandler Method |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DOcDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA22 |journal=[[Mother Jones (magazine)|Mother Jones]] |volume=14 |issue=2 |pages=22–28 |issn=0362-8841 |access-date=26 April 2024 |via=}}</ref> After 150 students paid $1,000 each for a ten-day workshop in [[Santa Cruz, California]], Bandler and Grinder gave up academic writing and started producing popular books from seminar transcripts, such as ''Frogs into Princes,'' which sold more than 270,000 copies. According to court documents relating to an intellectual property dispute between Bandler and Grinder, Bandler made more than $800,000 in 1980 from workshop and book sales.<ref name="Clancy-1989" />

A community of psychotherapists and students began to form around Bandler and Grinder's initial works, leading to the growth and spread of NLP as a theory and practice.<ref>{{cite book |title=Social Engineering |publisher=John Wiley & Sons Inc |last1=Hadnagy |first1=Christopher |last2=Wilson |first2=Paul |access-date=24 May 2013 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9LpawpklYogC |date= 2010 |isbn=978-0-470-63953-5}}</ref> For example, [[Tony Robbins]] trained with Grinder and utilized a few ideas from NLP as part of his own [[self-help]] and motivational speaking programmes.<ref>{{cite book |title=Sham: How the Self-Help Movement Made America Helpless |year=2006 |publisher=Crown Publishing Group |isbn=978-1-4000-5410-7 |last=Salerno |first=Steve |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lmmxX81cEmMC}}</ref> Bandler led several unsuccessful efforts to exclude other parties from using NLP.{{citation needed|date=May 2024}} Meanwhile, the rising number of practitioners and theorists led NLP to become even less uniform than it was at its foundation.<ref name="Stollznow-2010" /> Prior to the decline of NLP, scientific researchers began testing its theoretical underpinnings [[empirical]]ly, with research indicating a lack of empirical support for NLP's essential theories.<ref name="Witkowski-2010" /> The 1990s were characterized by fewer scientific studies evaluating the methods of NLP than the previous decade. [[Tomasz Witkowski]] attributes this to a declining interest in the debate as the result of a lack of empirical support for NLP from its proponents.<ref name="Witkowski-2010" />

== Main components and core concepts ==
NLP can be understood in terms of three broad components: subjectivity, consciousness, and learning.

According to Bandler and Grinder, people experience the world subjectively, creating [[Representational systems (NLP)|internal representations]] of their experiences. These representations involve the five senses and language. In other words, our conscious experiences take the form of sights, sounds, feelings, smells, and tastes. When we imagine something, recall an event, or think about the future, we utilize these same sensory systems within our minds.{{sfn|Bandler|Grinder|1976|pp=3–8}}{{efn|{{harvnb|Dilts|Grinder|Bandler|DeLozier|1980|pp=13–14}}: "There are three characteristics of effective patterning in NLP which sharply distinguish it from behavioural science as it is commonly practiced today. First, for a pattern or generalization regarding human communication to be acceptable or well–formed in NLP, it must include in the description the human agents who are initiating and responding to the pattern being described, their actions, their possible responses. Secondly, the description of the pattern must be represented in sensory grounded terms which are available to the user. This user–oriented constraint on NLP ensures usefulness. We have been continually struck by the tremendous gap between theory and practice in the behavioural sciences—this requirement closes that gap. Notice that since patterns must be represented in sensory grounded terms, available through practice to the user, a pattern will typically have multiple representation—each tailored for the differing sensory capabilities of individual users [...] Thirdly, NLP includes within its descriptive vocabulary terms which are not directly observable [i.e. representational systems]."}} Furthermore it is stated that these subjective representations of experience have a discernible structure, a pattern.{{sfn|Dilts|Grinder|Bandler|DeLozier|1980|p=7}}

Bandler and Grinder assert that behavior (both our own and others') can be understood through these sensory-based internal representations. Behavior here includes verbal and non-verbal communication, as well as effective or adaptive behaviors and less helpful or "pathological" ones.{{efn|{{harvp|Dilts|Grinder|Bandler|DeLozier|1980|p=36}}: "The basic elements from which the patterns of human behaviour are formed are the perceptual systems through which the members of the species operate on their environment: vision (sight), audition (hearing), kinesthesis (body sensations) and olfaction/gustation (smell/taste). The neurolinguistic programming model presupposes that all of the distinctions we as human beings are able to make concerning our environment (internal and external) and our behaviour can be usefully represented in terms of these systems. These perceptual classes constitute the structural parameters of human knowledge. We postulate that all of our ongoing experience can usefully be coded as consisting of some combination of these sensory classes."}}<ref>{{cite book |last1=Grinder |first1=John |last2=Bandler |first2=Richard |title=Patterns of the Hypnotic Techniques of Milton H. Erickson: Volume 2 |edition=1st |year=1977 |publisher=Meta Publications |pages=11–19 |isbn=978-1-55552-053-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=u_gbkgAACAAJ}}</ref> They also assert that behavior in both the self and other people can be modified by manipulating these sense-based subjective representations.{{sfnm|1a1=Bandler|1a2=Grinder|1y=1979|1pp=5-78|2a1=Bandler|2a2=Grinder|2y=1981|2pp=240-50|3a1=Hall|3a2=Belnap|3y=2000|3pp=39–40|3loc=#2 Pacing Or Matching Another's Model of the World|4a1=Hall|4a2=Belnap|4y=2000|4pp=89–93|4loc=#23 The Change Personal History Pattern|5a1=Hall|5a2=Belnap|5y=2000|5pp=93–95|5loc=#24 The Swish Pattern}}{{efn|{{harvp|Dilts|Grinder|Bandler|DeLozier|1980|p=7}}: "NLP presents specific tools which can be applied effectively in any human interaction. It offers specific techniques by which a practitioner may usefully organize and re–organize his or her subjective experience or the experiences of a client in order to define and subsequently secure any behavioural outcome."}}

NLP posits that [[consciousness]] can be divided into conscious and unconscious components. The part of our internal representations operating outside our direct awareness is referred to as the "unconscious mind".{{efn|{{harvnb|Dilts|Grinder|Bandler|DeLozier|1980|pp=77–80}}: "Strategies and representations which typically occur below an individual's level of awareness make up what is often called or referred to as the 'unconscious mind'."}}

Finally, NLP uses a method of learning called "modeling", designed to replicate expertise in any field. According to Bandler and Grinder, by analyzing the sequence of sensory and linguistic representations used by an expert while performing a skill, it's possible to create a mental model that can be learned by others.{{sfnm|1a1=Bandler|1a2=Grinder|1y=1975|1p=6|2a1=Bandler|2a2=Grinder|2y=1979|2pp=7, 9, 10, 36, 123|3a1=Dilts|3a2=Grinder|3a3=Bandler|3a4=DeLozier|3y=1980|3pp=35, 78|4a1=Grinder|4a2=Bostic St. Clair|4y=2001|4pp=1, 10, 28, 34, 189, 227–28}}

== Techniques or set of practices ==
{{further|Methods of neuro-linguistic programming}}
[[File:Mouvements-oculaires-PNL.svg|thumb|An "eye accessing cue chart" as it appears as an example in Bandler & Grinder's ''[[Frogs into Princes]]'' (1979). The six directions represent "visual construct", "visual recall", "auditory construct", "auditory recall", "[[kinesthetic]]" and "auditory internal dialogue".]]
According to one study by Steinbach,<ref name="Steinbach-1984">{{cite journal|pmc=2153995 |date=1984 |last1=Steinbach |first1=A. M. |title=Neurolinguistic Programming: A Systematic Approach to Change |journal=Canadian Family Physician |volume=30 |pages=147–150 |pmid=21283502 }}</ref> a classic interaction in NLP can be understood in terms of several major stages including establishing rapport, gleaning information about a problem mental state and desired goals, using specific tools and techniques to make interventions, and integrating proposed changes into the client's life. The entire process is guided by the non-verbal responses of the client.<ref name="Steinbach-1984" /> The first is the act of establishing and maintaining rapport between the practitioner and the client which is achieved through pacing and leading the verbal (''e.g.'', sensory predicates{{Explain|date=October 2023}} and keywords) and non-verbal behavior (''e.g.'', matching and mirroring non-verbal behavior, or responding to eye movements) of the client.{{sfn|Bandler|Grinder|1979|pp=8, 15, 24, 30, 45, 52, 149}}

Once rapport is established, the practitioner may gather information about the client's present state as well as help the client define a desired state or goal for the interaction. The practitioner pays attention to the verbal and non-verbal responses as the client defines the present state and desired state and any resources that may be required to bridge the gap.<ref name="Steinbach-1984" /> The client is typically encouraged to consider the consequences of the desired outcome, and how they may affect their personal or professional life and relationships, taking into account any positive intentions of any problems that may arise.<ref name="Steinbach-1984" /> The practitioner thereafter assists the client in achieving the desired outcomes by using certain tools and techniques to change internal representations and responses to stimuli in the world.{{sfn|Bandler|1985|pp=134–3}}<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Masters |first1=B. |last2=Rawlins |first2=M. |last3=Rawlins |first3=L. |last4=Weidner |first4=J. |year=1991 |title=The NLP swish pattern: An innovative visualizing technique |journal=Journal of Mental Health Counseling |volume=13 |issue=1 |pages=79–90 |url=http://psycnet.apa.org/psycinfo/1991-19473-001}}</ref> Finally, the practitioner helps the client to mentally rehearse and integrate the changes into their life.<ref name="Steinbach-1984" /> For example, the client may be asked to envision what it is like having already achieved the outcome.

According to Stollznow, "NLP also involves fringe discourse analysis and 'practical' guidelines for 'improved' communication. For example, one text asserts 'when you adopt the "but" word, people will remember what you said afterwards. With the "and" word, people remember what you said before and after.'"<ref name="Stollznow-2010" />

== Applications ==
=== Alternative medicine ===
NLP has been promoted as being able to treat a variety of diseases including [[Parkinson's disease]], [[HIV/AIDS]] and cancer.<ref name="American Cancer Society-2009">{{cite book |publisher=[[American Cancer Society]] |title=American Cancer Society Complete Guide to Complementary and Alternative Cancer Therapies |edition=2nd |year=2009 |isbn=9780944235713 |editor=Russell J |editor2=Rovere A |pages=[https://archive.org/details/americancancerso0000unse/page/120 120–22] |chapter=Neuro-linguistic programming |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/americancancerso0000unse/page/120 }}</ref> Such claims have no supporting [[evidence-based medicine|medical evidence]].<ref name="American Cancer Society-2009"/> People who use NLP as a form of treatment risk serious adverse health consequences as it can delay the provision of effective medical care.<ref name="American Cancer Society-2009"/>

=== Psychotherapeutic ===
Early books about NLP had a psychotherapeutic focus given that the early models were psychotherapists. As an approach to psychotherapy, NLP shares similar core assumptions and foundations in common with some contemporary brief and systemic practices,<ref>Rubin Battino (2002) ''Expectation: The Very Brief Therapy Book''. Crown House Publishing. {{ISBN|1-84590-028-6}}</ref><ref>Kerry, S. (2009) Pretreatment expectations of psychotherapy clients, University of Alberta (Canada)<!--, {{AAT|NR55409}}--></ref><ref name="Beyebach-1999" /> such as [[solution focused brief therapy]].<ref>Bill O'Connell (2005) Solution-focused therapy (Brief therapy series). Sage; Second Edition [https://books.google.com/books?doi=GVC4lJzyjBMC p. 9]</ref><ref>Windy Dryden (2007) Dryden's handbook of individual therapy. 5th edition. Sage. {{ISBN|1-4129-2238-0}} [https://books.google.com/books?id=nT8jqeRXBmYC&pg=PR9 p. 382]</ref> NLP has also been acknowledged as having influenced these practices<ref name="Beyebach-1999">{{cite journal |last1=Beyebach |first1=M. |last2=Rodríguez Morejón |first2=A. |year=1999 |title=Some thoughts on integration in solution-focused therapy |journal=Journal of Systemic Therapies |volume=18 |pages=24–42|doi=10.1521/jsyt.1999.18.1.24 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Pesut |first=Daniel J. |title=The art, science, and techniques of reframing in psychiatric mental health nursing |journal=Issues in Mental Health Nursing |date=1 January 1991 |volume=12 |issue=1 |pages=9–18 |doi=10.3109/01612849109058206 |pmid=1988384}}</ref> with its reframing techniques{{sfnm|1a1=Maag|1y=1999|2a1=Maag|2y=2000}} which seeks to achieve behavior change by shifting its ''context'' or ''meaning'',<ref>{{harvnb|Bandler|Grinder|1982}} as cited in {{harvnb|Maag|1999}} and {{harvnb|Maag|2000}}.</ref> for example, by finding the positive connotation of a thought or behavior.

The two main therapeutic uses of NLP are, firstly, as an adjunct by therapists<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Field |first1=E. S. |title=Neurolinguistic programming as an adjunct to other psychotherapeutic/hypnotherapeutic interventions |journal=The American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis |volume=32 |issue=3 |pages=174–82 |year=1990 |pmid=2296919 |doi=10.1080/00029157.1990.10402822}}</ref> practicing in other therapeutic disciplines and, secondly, as a specific therapy called Neurolinguistic Psychotherapy.<ref>Bridoux, D., Weaver, M., (2000) "Neuro-linguistic psychotherapy." In ''Therapeutic perspectives on working with lesbian, gay and bisexual clients.'' Davies, Dominic (Ed); Neal, Charles (Ed). (pp. 73–90). Buckingham, England: Open University Press (2000) xviii, 187 pp. {{ISBN|0-335-20333-7}}</ref>

According to Stollznow, "Bandler and Grinder's infamous ''Frogs into Princes'' and their other books boast that NLP is a cure-all that treats a broad range of physical and mental conditions and learning difficulties, including epilepsy, myopia and dyslexia. With its promises to cure schizophrenia, depression and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and its dismissal of psychiatric illnesses as psychosomatic, NLP shares similarities with Scientology and the Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR)."<ref name="Stollznow-2010" /> A systematic review of experimental studies by Sturt ''et al.'' (2012) concluded that "there is little evidence that NLP interventions improve health-related outcomes."{{sfn|Sturt|2012}} In his review of NLP, [[Stephen Briers]] writes, "NLP is not really a cohesive therapy but a ragbag of different techniques without a particularly clear theoretical basis ... [and its] evidence base is virtually non-existent."<ref>{{cite book|last=Briers|first=Stephen|title=Brilliant Cognitive Behavioural Therapy: How to use CBT to improve your mind and your life|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6BQ2S3F_eDMC&q=ragbag&pg=PT15|date=27 December 2012|publisher=Pearson UK|isbn=978-0-273-77849-3|page=15}}</ref> Eisner writes, "NLP appears to be a superficial and gimmicky approach to dealing with mental health problems. Unfortunately, NLP appears to be the first in a long line of mass marketing seminars that purport to virtually cure any mental disorder ... it appears that NLP has no empirical or scientific support as to the underlying tenets of its theory or clinical effectiveness. What remains is a mass-marketed serving of psychopablum."<ref>{{cite book|first=Donald A.|last=Eisner|title=The Death of Psychotherapy: From Freud to Alien Abductions|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hmcDl6l8uXwC&pg=PA158|year=2000|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-275-96413-9|pages=158–59}}</ref>

André Muller Weitzenhoffer—a friend and peer of Milton Erickson—wrote, "Has NLP really abstracted and explicated the essence of successful therapy and provided everyone with the means to be another Whittaker, Virginia Satir, or Erickson? ... [NLP's] failure to do this is evident because today there is no multitude of their equals, not even another Whittaker, Virginia Satir, or Erickson. Ten years should have been sufficient time for this to happen. In this light, I cannot take NLP seriously ... [NLP's] contributions to our understanding and use of Ericksonian techniques are equally dubious. ''Patterns I'' and ''II'' are poorly written works that were an overambitious, pretentious effort to reduce hypnotism to a magic of words."{{sfn|Weitzenhoffer|1989|p=305}}

Clinical psychologist Stephen Briers questions the value of the NLP maxim—a ''presupposition'' in NLP jargon—"there is no failure, only feedback".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Dilts |first1=Robert |last2=DeLozier |first2=Judith |title=Encyclopedia of Systemic Neuro-Linguistic Programming and NLP New Coding |edition=1st |year=2000 |publisher=NLP University Press |location=Santa Cruz |isbn=978-0-9701540-0-2 |page=1002 |url=http://nlpuniversitypress.com/html2/PrPu25.html |access-date=16 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921060637/http://nlpuniversitypress.com/html2/PrPu25.html |archive-date=21 September 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Briers argues that the denial of the existence of failure diminishes its instructive value. He offers [[Walt Disney]], [[Isaac Newton]] and [[J.K. Rowling]] as three examples of unambiguous acknowledged personal failure that served as an impetus to great success. According to Briers, it was "the crash-and-burn type of failure, not the sanitised NLP Failure Lite, i.e. the failure-that-isn't really-failure sort of failure" that propelled these individuals to success. Briers contends that adherence to the maxim leads to self-deprecation. According to Briers, personal endeavour is a product of invested values and aspirations and the dismissal of personally significant failure as mere feedback effectively denigrates what one values. Briers writes, "Sometimes we need to accept and mourn the death of our dreams, not just casually dismiss them as inconsequential." Briers also contends that the NLP maxim is narcissistic, self-centered and divorced from notions of moral responsibility.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Briers |first1=Stephen |title=Psychobabble: Exploding the myths of the self-help generation |edition=1st |year=2012 |publisher=Pearson Education Limited |location=Santa Cruz |isbn=978-0-273-77239-2 |chapter=MYTH 16: There is no failure, only feedback |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2zsQeth9yRAC}}</ref>

=== Other uses ===
Although the original core techniques of NLP were therapeutic in orientation their generic nature enabled them to be applied to other fields. These applications include [[persuasion]],<ref>{{cite book | last1=Gass | first1=Robert H | last2=Seiter | first2=John S | title=Persuasion: Social Influence and Compliance Gaining | publisher=Routledge | date=2022-04-06 | isbn=978-1-000-55677-3 | page=}}</ref> sales,<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Zastrow |first1=C. |title=Social Workers and Salesworkers |doi=10.1300/J283v04n03_02 |journal=Journal of Independent Social Work |volume=4 |issue=3 |pages=7–16|year=1990 }}</ref> negotiation,<ref>Tosey P. & Mathison, J., "Fabulous Creatures of HRD: A Critical Natural History of Neuro-Linguistic Programming", University of Surrey Paper presented at the 8th International Conference on Human Resource Development Research & Practice across Europe, Oxford Brookes Business School, 26–28 June 2007</ref> management training,<ref>{{cite journal |last=Yemm |first=Graham |title=Can NLP help or harm your business? |journal=Industrial and Commercial Training |date=1 January 2006 |volume=38 |issue=1 |pages=12–17 |doi=10.1108/00197850610645990}}</ref> sports,<ref>Ingalls, Joan S. (1988) "Cognition and athletic behavior: An investigation of the NLP principle of congruence." ''Dissertation Abstracts International.'' Vol 48(7-B), p. 2090. {{OCLC|42614014}}</ref> teaching, coaching, team building, public speaking, and in the process of hiring employees.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) explained |url=https://www.ionos.com/startupguide/productivity/neuro-linguistic-programming-nlp/ |access-date=2022-04-04 |website=IONOS Startupguide |language=en}}</ref>

== Scientific criticism ==
In the early 1980s, NLP was advertised as an important advance in [[psychotherapy]] and [[counseling]], and attracted some interest in counseling research and clinical psychology. However, as controlled trials failed to show any benefit from NLP and its advocates made increasingly dubious claims, scientific interest in NLP faded.<ref name="Devilly-2005">{{cite journal |last=Devilly |first=Grant J. |title=Power Therapies and possible threats to the science of psychology and psychiatry |journal=Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry |date=1 June 2005 |volume=39 |issue=6 |pages=437–45 |doi=10.1080/j.1440-1614.2005.01601.x |pmid=15943644|s2cid=208627667 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Gelso |first1=C. J. |last2=Fassinger |first2=R. E. |title=Counseling Psychology: Theory and Research on Interventions |journal=Annual Review of Psychology |date=1 January 1990 |volume=41 |issue=1 |pages=355–86 |doi=10.1146/annurev.ps.41.020190.002035 |quote=Neurolinguistic programming, focused on such variables as sensory mode preference and use (''e.g.'', Graunke & Roberts 1985) and predicate matching (''e.g.'', Elich et al 1985; Mercier & Johnson 1984) had shown promise at the beginning of the decade, but after several years of conflicting and confusing results, Sharpley (1984, 1987) reviewed the research and concluded that there was little support for the assumptions of NLP. This research is now clearly on the decline, underscoring the value of thoughtful reviews and the publication of nonsupportive results in guiding empirical efforts. |pmid=2407174}}</ref>

Numerous literature reviews and [[meta-analyses]] have failed to show evidence for NLP's assumptions or effectiveness as a therapeutic method.{{efn|See, for instance, the following:
* Sharpley, 1984<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Sharpley |first1=Christopher F. |title=Predicate matching in NLP: a review of research on the preferred representational system. |journal=Journal of Counseling Psychology |volume=31 |issue=2 |year=1984 |pages=238–48 |doi=10.1037/0022-0167.31.2.238}}</ref> and 1987<ref name="Sharpley-1987" />
* Druckman and Swets, 1988<ref name="Druckman-1988">{{cite book | editor1-last=Druckman | editor1-first=D. | editor2-last=Swets | editor2-first=J. | title=Enhancing Human Performance: Issues, Theories, and Techniques | publisher=National Academies Press | publication-place=Washington, D.C. | date=1988-01-01 | isbn=978-0-309-03792-1 | doi=10.17226/1025 | pages=138–149 | chapter=8: Social Processes | chapter-url=https://nap.nationalacademies.org/read/1025/chapter/11#138}}
</ref>
* Heap, 1988<ref>{{cite book |last=Heap |first=M. |year=1988 |title=Neurolinguistic programming – an interim verdict |publisher=Croom Helm |location=London |pages=268–280 |chapter=Hypnosis: Current clinical, experimental and forensic practices |url=http://www.mheap.com/nlp1.pdf |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070615185758/http://www.mheap.com/nlp1.pdf |archivedate=15 June 2007}}</ref>
* von Bergen et al., 1997<ref name="von Bergen-1997" />
* Druckman, 2004<ref name="Druckman-2004" />
* Witkowski, 2010<ref name="Witkowski-2010" />}} While some NLP practitioners have argued that the lack of empirical support is due to insufficient research which tests NLP,{{efn|See the following:
* Einspruch and Forman, 1985<ref>{{cite journal |last=Einspruch |first=Eric L. |author2=Forman, Bruce D. |title=Observations concerning research literature on neuro-linguistic programming. |journal=Journal of Counseling Psychology |date=1 January 1985 |volume=32 |issue=4 |pages=589–96 |doi=10.1037/0022-0167.32.4.589}}</ref>
* Murray, 2013<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Murray |first1=Laura L. |title=Limited evidence that neurolinguistic programming improves health-related outcomes. |journal=Evidence-Based Mental Health |date=30 May 2013 |url=http://ebmh.bmj.com/content/early/2013/05/29/eb-2013-101355.extract |doi=10.1136/eb-2013-101355 |pmid=23723409 |volume=16 |issue=3 |page=79 |s2cid=150295 |archive-date=13 August 2016 |access-date=20 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160813042338/http://ebmh.bmj.com/content/early/2013/05/29/eb-2013-101355.extract |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* Sturt et al., 2012{{sfn|Sturt|2012}}
* ''Neuro-Linguistic Programming and Research''<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.som.surrey.ac.uk/NLP/Research/index.asp |title=Neuro-Linguistic Programming and Research |access-date=22 February 2010 |archive-date=3 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190103034855/http://www.som.surrey.ac.uk/NLP/Research/index.asp |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* Tosey and Mathison, 2010<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Tosey |first1=P. |last2=Mathison |first2=J. |doi=10.1108/17465641011042035 |title=Exploring inner landscapes through psychophenomenology: The contribution of neuro-linguistic programming to innovations in researching first person experience |journal=Qualitative Research in Organizations and Management |volume=5 |pages=63–82 |year=2010 |url=http://epubs.surrey.ac.uk/7448/126/Mathison_Tosey_QROM_final_Oct_2009_amended_Jan_2010.pdf |access-date=28 January 2019 |archive-date=19 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180719120020/http://epubs.surrey.ac.uk/7448/126/Mathison_Tosey_QROM_final_Oct_2009_amended_Jan_2010.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>
}} the consensus scientific opinion is that NLP is [[pseudoscience]]{{efn|See the following:
* Witkowsi, 2010<ref name="Witkowski-2010" />
* ''[[The Skeptic's Dictionary]]'', 2009<ref name="Carroll-2009" />
* Beyerstein, 1990<ref name="Beyerstein-1990">{{cite journal |last=Beyerstein |first=B. L. |year=1990 |title=Brainscams: Neuromythologies of the New Age |journal=International Journal of Mental Health |volume=19 |issue=3 |pages=27–36 (27) |doi=10.1080/00207411.1990.11449169 }}</ref>
* Corballis, in Della Sala and Anderson, 2012<ref>{{cite book| editor1-last =  Della Sala| editor1-first = Sergio| editor2-last =  Anderson| editor2-first = Mike |last1=Corballis |first1=Michael C. |author-link=Michael Corballis |title=Neuroscience in Education: The good, the bad, and the ugly |chapter=Chapter 13 Educational double-think |quote=The notion of hemisphericity is also incorporated into such cult activities as Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP).... In any event, NLP is a movement that is still going strong, but has little scientific credibility. |edition=1st |year=2012 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |isbn=978-0-19-960049-6 |pages=225–26 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pFE5UCaFwEQC}}</ref>
* [[Margaret Singer|Singer]] and [[Janja Lalich|Lalich]]<ref>[[Margaret Singer|Singer, Margaret]] & [[Janja Lalich|Lalich, Janja]] (1997). ''[[Crazy Therapies (book)|Crazy Therapies: What Are They? Do They Work?]]'' Jossey Bass, pp.&nbsp;167–95 (169). {{ISBN|0-7879-0278-0}}.</ref>
* Lilienfeld, Lynn and Lohr, 2004<ref>(Eds.) Lilienfeld, S., Lynn, S., & Lohr, J. (2004). ''Science and Pseudo-science in Clinical Psychology''. The Guilford Press.</ref>
* Della Sala, 2007<ref>{{cite book |last1=Della Sala |first1=Sergio |title=Tall Tales About the Mind and Brain: Separating Fact from Fiction |chapter=Introduction: The myth of 10% and other Tall Tales about the mind and brain |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eftFztxKBAwC&pg=PR20 |page=xx |publisher=Oxford University Press |edition=1st |year=2007 |location=Oxford |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eftFztxKBAwC |isbn=978-0-19-856876-6}}</ref>
* Williams, 2000<ref>William F. Williams, ed. (2000), ''Encyclopedia of Pseudoscience: From Alien Abductions to Zone Therapy'', [[Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers]], {{ISBN|978-1-57958-207-4}} p.&nbsp;235</ref>
* Lum, 2001<ref name=Lum-2001>{{cite book |title=Scientific Thinking in Speech and Language Therapy |publisher=[[Psychology Press]] |last=Lum |first=C. |year=2001 |page=16 |isbn=978-0-8058-4029-2}}</ref>
* Lilienfeld, Lohr and Morier, 2001<ref name=Lilienfeld-2001>{{cite journal |last=Lilienfeld |first=Scott O. |author2=Lohr, Jeffrey M. |author3=Morier, Dean |title=The Teaching of Courses in the Science and Pseudoscience of Psychology: Useful Resources |journal=Teaching of Psychology |date=1 July 2001 |volume=28 |issue=3 |pages=182–91 |doi=10.1207/S15328023TOP2803_03|citeseerx=10.1.1.1001.2558 |s2cid=145224099 }}</ref>
* Dunn, Halonen and Smith, 2008<ref name="Dunn-2008">{{cite book |publisher=Wiley-Blackwell |vauthors=Dunn D, Halonen J, Smith R |title=Teaching Critical Thinking in Psychology |url=https://archive.org/details/teachingcritical00dunn |url-access=limited |year=2008 |page=[https://archive.org/details/teachingcritical00dunn/page/n28 12] |isbn=978-1-4051-7402-2}}</ref>
* Molfese, Segalowitz and Harris, 1988<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Molfese |editor1-first=Dennis L. |editor2-last=Segalowitz |editor2-first=Sidney J. |last1=Harris |first1=Lauren Julius |title=Brain Lateralization in Children: Developmental Implications |edition=1st |year=1988 |publisher=Guilford Press |location=New York |isbn=978-0-89862-719-0 |page=[https://archive.org/details/brainlateralizat0000molf/page/214 214] |quote=NLP began in 1975 and has quickly achieved cult status. |chapter=Chapter 8 Right-Brain Training: Some Reflections on the Application of Research on Cerebral Hemispheric Specialization to Education |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=un-AIyRU328C |url=https://archive.org/details/brainlateralizat0000molf/page/214 }}</ref>
}}{{efn|For a description of the social influence tactics used by NLP and similar pseudoscientific therapies, see Devilly, 2005<ref name="Devilly-2005" />}} and that attempts to dismiss the research findings based on these arguments "[constitute]s an admission that NLP does not have an evidence base and that NLP practitioners are seeking a post-hoc credibility."<ref name="Roderique-Davies-2009">{{Cite journal |last1=Roderique-Davies |first1=G. |year=2009 |title=Neuro-linguistic programming: Cargo cult psychology? |journal=Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education |volume=1 |issue=2 |pages=58–63 |doi=10.1108/17581184200900014}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20120905075141/http://jarhe.research.glam.ac.uk/media/files/documents/2009-07-17/JARHE_V1.2_Jul09_Web_pp57-63.pdf]</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Rowan |first1=John |title=NLP is not based on constructivism |journal=The Coaching Psychologist |volume=4 |issue=3 |date=December 2008 |pages=160–163 |doi=10.53841/bpstcp.2008.4.3.160 |s2cid=255903130 |issn=1748-1104 |url=http://www.sgcp.org.uk/sgcp/publications/the-coaching-psychologist/the-coaching-psychologist-4.3$.cfm|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

Surveys in the academic community have shown NLP to be widely discredited among scientists.{{efn|In 2006, Norcross and colleagues found NLP to be given similar ratings as [[dolphin-assisted therapy]], [[equine-assisted therapy]], [[psychosynthesis]], scared straight programmes, and [[emotional freedom technique]].<ref>{{cite journal |last=Norcross |first=John C. |author2=Koocher, Gerald P. |author3=Garofalo, Ariele |title=Discredited psychological treatments and tests: A Delphi poll. |journal=Professional Psychology: Research and Practice |date=1 January 2006 |volume=37 |issue=5 |pages=515–22 |doi=10.1037/0735-7028.37.5.515|s2cid=35414392 }}</ref> In 2010, Norcross and colleagues listed it as seventh out of their list of ten most discredited drug and alcohol interventions.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Norcross |first=John C. |author2=Koocher, Gerald P. |author3=Fala, Natalie C. |author4=Wexler, Harry K. |title=What Does Not Work? Expert Consensus on Discredited Treatments in the Addictions |journal=Journal of Addiction Medicine |date=1 September 2010 |volume=4 |issue=3 |pages=174–180 |doi=10.1097/ADM.0b013e3181c5f9db |pmid=21769032|s2cid=41494642 }}</ref> Glasner-Edwards and colleagues also identified it as discredited in 2010.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Glasner-Edwards |first=Suzette |author2=Rawson, Richard |title=Evidence-based practices in addiction treatment: Review and recommendations for public policy |journal=Health Policy |date=1 October 2010 |volume=97 |issue=2–3 |pages=93–104 |doi=10.1016/j.healthpol.2010.05.013 |pmid=20557970 |pmc=2951979}}</ref> }} Among the reasons for considering NLP a pseudoscience are that evidence in favor of it is limited to [[anecdotal evidence|anecdotes]] and personal testimony<ref name="Bradley-1985" /><ref name="Tye-1994">{{cite journal |last1=Tye |first1=Marcus J.C. |title=Neurolinguistic programming: Magic or myth? |journal=Journal of Accelerative Learning & Teaching |volume=19 |issue=3–4 |pages=309–42 |year=1994 |issn=0273-2459 |id=2003-01157-001}}</ref> that it is not informed by scientific understanding of [[neuroscience]] and [[linguistics]],<ref name="Bradley-1985" /><ref>{{cite journal |author-link=Willem Levelt |last1=Levelt |first1=Willem J.M |title=u voor neuro-linguistische programmering |journal=Skepter |volume=9 |issue=3 |year=1996 |language=nl |url=http://www.skepsis.nl/nlp.html }}</ref> and that the name "neuro-linguistic programming" uses jargon words to impress readers and obfuscate ideas, whereas NLP itself does not relate any phenomena to neural structures and has nothing in common with linguistics or programming.<ref name="Witkowski-2010" /><ref>{{cite book |last=Corballis |first=M.C. |title=Mind Myths: Exploring Popular Assumptions About the Mind and Brain |year=1999 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |location=Chichester, UK |isbn=978-0-471-98303-3 |page=41 |edition=Repr. |editor=S.D. Sala |chapter=Are we in our right minds?}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Drenth |first1=Pieter J.D |title=Growing anti-intellectualism in Europe; a menace to science |journal=Studia Psychologica |volume=45 |pages=5–13 |year=2003 |url=http://www.allea.org/Pages/ALL/4/881.bGFuZz1FTkc.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110616080310/http://www.allea.org/Pages/ALL/4/881.bGFuZz1FTkc.pdf |archive-date=16 June 2011}}</ref><ref name="Beyerstein-1990" />{{efn|For more information on the use of neuroscience terms to lend the appearance of credibility to arguments, see Weisburg et al., 2008<ref>{{Cite journal |doi=10.1162/jocn.2008.20040 |title=The Seductive Allure of Neuroscience Explanations |journal=Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience |volume=20 |issue=3 |pages=470–77 |year=2008 |last1=Weisberg |first1=D. S. |last2=Keil |first2=F. C. |last3=Goodstein |first3=J. |last4=Rawson |first4=E. |last5=Gray |first5=J. R. |pmid=18004955 |pmc=2778755}}</ref>}} In education, NLP has been used as a key example of pseudoscience.<ref name="Lum-2001"/><ref name="Lilienfeld-2001"/><ref name="Dunn-2008"/>

== As a quasi-religion ==
Sociologists and anthropologists have categorized NLP as a quasi-religion belonging to the [[New Age]] and/or [[Human Potential Movement]]s.{{sfnm|1a1=Cresswell|1a2=Wilson|1y=1999|1p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=egbKOokRqB0C&pg=PA64 64]|2a1=Edwards|2y=2001|2p=573|3a1=Clarke|3y=2006|3pp=440–41|4a1=Walker|4y=2007|4p=235|5a1=Hammer|5a2=Rothstein|5y=2012|5p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=XnD-fAPCb2UC&pg=PA247 247]}}

Medical anthropologist Jean M. Langford categorizes NLP as a form of [[folk magic]]; that is to say, a practice with symbolic efficacy—as opposed to physical efficacy—that is able to effect change through nonspecific effects (e.g., placebo). To Langford, NLP is akin to a syncretic folk religion "that attempts to wed the magic of folk practice to the science of professional medicine".{{sfn|Langford|1999}}

Bandler and Grinder were influenced by the [[shamanism]] described in the books of [[Carlos Castaneda]].{{sfnm|1a1=Grinder|1a2=DeLozier|1y=1987|1p={{page needed|date=May 2024}}|2a1=Grinder|2a2=Bostic St. Clair|2y=2001|2p={{page needed|date=May 2024}}}} Concepts like "double induction"{{citation needed|date=May 2024}} and "stopping the world", central to NLP modeling, were incorporated from these influences.{{sfn|Grimley|2013|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=ncPP-6AGIJkC&pg=PA31 31]}}

Some theorists characterize NLP as a type of "psycho-shamanism", and its focus on modeling has been compared to ritual practices in certain syncretic religions.<ref name="Tye-1994"/>{{sfn|Fanthorpe|Fanthorpe|2008|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=c2xkzYS1z_AC&pg=PA112 112]}} The emphasis on lineage from an NLP [[guru]] has also been likened to similar concepts in some [[Eastern religions]].{{sfn|Hunt|2003}} Aupers, Houtman, and Bovbjerg identify NLP as a New Age "psycho-religion".{{sfn|Aupers|Houtman|2010|p={{page needed|date=May 2024}}}} Bovbjerg argues that New Age movements center on a transcendent "other".{{sfn|Bovbjerg|2011|p={{page needed|date=May 2024}}}} While monotheistic religions seek communion with a divine being, this focus shifts inward in these movements, with the "other" becoming the unconscious self. Bovbjerg posits that this emphasis on the unconscious and its hidden potential underlies NLP techniques promoting self-perfection through ongoing transformation.{{sfn|Bovbjerg|2011|p={{page needed|date=May 2024}}}}

Bovbjerg's secular critique echoes the conservative Christian perspective, as exemplified by [[David Jeremiah]]. He argues that NLP's emphasis on self-transformation and internal power conflicts with the Christian belief in salvation through divine grace.{{sfn|Jeremiah|1995}}

== Legal disputes ==
===Founding, initial disputes, and settlement (1979–1981)===
In 1979, Richard Bandler and John Grinder established the Society of Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) to manage commercial applications of NLP, including training, materials, and certification.  The founding agreement conferred exclusive rights to profit from NLP training and certification upon Bandler's corporate entity, Not Ltd. Around November 1980, Bandler and Grinder had ceased collaboration for undisclosed reasons.<ref name="Clancy-1989" />

On September 25, 1981, Bandler filed suit against Grinder's corporate entity, Unlimited Ltd., in the [[Superior Court of California, County of Santa Cruz]] seeking injunctive relief and damages arising from Grinder's NLP-related commercial activities; the Court issued a judgment in Bandler's favor on October 29, 1981.<ref>{{cite court|litigants=Not Ltd v. Unlimited Ltd et al (Super. Ct. Santa Cruz County, 1981, No. 78482)|vol=|reporter=|opinion=|pinpoint=|court=Super. Ct. Santa Cruz County|date=29 October 1981|url=http://63.197.255.150/openaccesspublic/civil/casereport.asp?casenumber=CV078482&courtcode=A&casetype=CIS}}{{Dead link|date=October 2020|fix-attempted=yes}}<!-- might be able to find it by searching the court's cases - https://www.santacruz.courts.ca.gov/online-services/case-lookup --></ref> The subsequent settlement agreement granted Grinder a 10-year license to conduct NLP seminars, offer NLP certification, and utilize the NLP name, subject to royalty payments to Bandler.<ref name="Legal1997">{{cite web |title=Summary of the Legal Proceedings January 1997 – June 23, 2003 |url=http://www.steverrobbins.com/nlpschedule/random/lawsuit-text.html |access-date=12 June 2013 |archive-date=10 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150410011826/http://www.steverrobbins.com/nlpschedule/random/lawsuit-text.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Further litigation and consequences (1996–2000)===
Bandler commenced further civil actions against Unlimited Ltd., various figures within the NLP community, and 200 initially unnamed defendants in July 1996 and January 1997. Bandler alleged violations of the initial settlement terms by Grinder and sought damages of no less than US$10,000,000.00 from each defendant.<ref name="Legal1997"/>

In February 2000, the Court ruled against Bandler. The judgment asserted that Bandler had misrepresented his exclusive ownership of NLP intellectual property and sole authority over Society of NLP membership and certification.<ref>{{cite court |litigants=Richard W Bandler et al v. Quantum Leap Inc. et al (Super. Ct. Santa Cruz County, 2000, No. 132495) |vol= |reporter= |opinion= |pinpoint= |court=Super. Ct. Santa Cruz County |date=10 February 2000 |url=http://63.197.255.150/openaccesspublic/civil/casereport.asp?casenumber=CV132495&courtcode=A&casetype=CIS }}{{Dead link|date=June 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=NLP Matters 2 |url=http://www.anlp.org/anlpnews2.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010210021504/http://www.anlp.org/anlpnews2.htm |archive-date=10 February 2001 |access-date=12 June 2013}}</ref>

===Trademark revocation (1997)===
In December 1997, a separate civil proceeding initiated by Tony Clarkson resulted in the revocation of Bandler's UK [[trademark]] of NLP. The Court ruled in Clarkson's favor.<ref>{{cite web |title=NLP Matters |url=http://www.anlp.org/anlpnews.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010406091232/http://www.anlp.org/anlpnews.htm |archive-date=6 April 2001 |access-date=12 June 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Case details for trade mark UK00002067188 |url=http://www.ipo.gov.uk/tmcase/Results/1/UK00002067188 |date=13 June 2013 |access-date=25 July 2015}}</ref>

===Resolution and legacy (2000)===
Bandler and Grinder reached a settlement in late 2000, acknowledging their status as co-creators and co-founders of NLP and committing to refrain from disparaging one another's NLP-related endeavors.{{sfn|Grinder|Bostic St. Clair|2001|loc=Appendix A}}

Due to these disputes and settlements, the terms "NLP" and "neuro-linguistic programming" remain in the [[public domain]].  No single party holds exclusive rights, and there are no restrictions on offering NLP certifications.{{sfn|Hall|2010}}<ref>{{cite web |title=3.5. Who Owns NLP? |website=NLP Archives – Frequently Asked Questions about NLP |url=http://users.telenet.be/merlevede/nlpfaq35.htm |access-date=12 June 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130624042934/http://users.telenet.be/merlevede/nlpfaq35.htm |archive-date=2013-06-24}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=((This page contains the ruling in the case of Richard Bandler against many others in the NLP community)) |website=NLP Archives – Frequently Asked Questions about NLP |url=http://users.telenet.be/merlevede/lawsuit.htm |access-date=12 June 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130627031836/http://users.telenet.be/merlevede/lawsuit.htm |archive-date=2013-06-27}}</ref><ref name="Trademark Status and Document Retrieval-2013">{{cite web |title=75351747 |website=Trademark Status and Document Retrieval |publisher=United States Patent and Trademark Office |url=http://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=75351747&caseType=SERIAL_NO&searchType=statusSearch |date=13 June 2013 |access-date=14 June 2013 }}</ref><ref name="Trademark Status and Document Retrieval-2013a">{{cite web |title=73253122 |website=Trademark Status and Document Retrieval |publisher=United States Patent and Trademark Office |url=http://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=73253122&caseType=SERIAL_NO&searchType=statusSearch |date=13 June 2013 |access-date=14 June 2013 }}</ref>

The designations "NLP" and "neuro-linguistic programming" are not owned, trademarked, or subject to centralized regulation.<ref>{{cite web |title=NLP FAQ |url=http://users.telenet.be/merlevede/nlpfaq35.htm |date=27 July 2001 |access-date=14 June 2013 |archive-date=24 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130624042934/http://users.telenet.be/merlevede/nlpfaq35.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=NLP Comprehensive Lawsuit Response |url=http://www.steverrobbins.com/nlpschedule/random/lawsuit-nlpc.html |access-date=14 June 2013 |archive-date=17 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190717201129/http://www.steverrobbins.com/nlpschedule/random/lawsuit-nlpc.html |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="Trademark Status and Document Retrieval-2013"/><ref name="Trademark Status and Document Retrieval-2013a" /> Consequently, there are no restrictions on individuals self-identifying as "NLP master practitioners" or "NLP master trainers".<ref name="Roderique-Davies-2009" /> This decentralization has led to numerous certifying associations.

===Decentralization and criticism===
This lack of centralized control means there is no single standard for NLP practice or training. Practitioners can market their own methodologies, leading to inconsistencies within the field.<ref name="Carroll-2009" /><ref>{{cite book |last1=Moxom |first1=Karen |title=The NLP Professional: Create a More Professional, Effective and Successful NLP Business |edition=|year=2011 |publisher=Ecademy Press |location=Herts |isbn=978-1-907722-55-4 |pages=46–50 |chapter=Three: Demonstrating Best Practice |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7KEYurmAA8sC}}</ref> This has been a source of criticism, highlighted by an incident in 2009 where a British television presenter registered his cat<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8303126.stm |title=Cat registered as hypnotherapist |publisher=[[BBC]] |date=12 October 2009 |access-date=6 November 2009}}</ref> with the British Board of Neuro Linguistic Programming (BBNLP), demonstrating the organization's lax credentialing. Critics like Karen Stollznow find irony in the initial legal battles between Bandler and Grinder, considering their failure to apply their own NLP principles to resolve their conflict.<ref name="Stollznow-2010"/> Others, such as Grant Devilly, characterize NLP associations as "[[granfalloon]]s"—a term implying a lack of unifying principles or a shared sense of purpose.<ref name="Devilly-2005"/>

== See also ==
* [[Avatar Course]]
* [[Family systems therapy]]
* [[Frank Farrelly]]
* [[List of New Age topics]]
* [[List of unproven and disproven cancer treatments]]
* [[Solution-focused brief therapy]]

'''Notable practitioners'''
* [[Steve Andreas]]
* [[Paul McKenna]]

== Notes ==
{{notelist|30em}}

==References==
===Citations===
{{Reflist|30em}}

===Works cited===
;Primary sources
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book |last1=Bandler |first1=Richard |last2=Grinder |first2=John |title=The Structure of Magic I: A Book about Language and Therapy |year=1975 |publisher=Science and Behavior Books Inc. |isbn=978-0-8314-0044-6 |title-link=The Structure of Magic}}
* {{cite book |last1=Bandler |first1=Richard |last2=Grinder |first2=John |title=The Structure of Magic II |edition=1st |year=1976 |publisher=Science and Behavior Books |location=California |isbn=978-0-8314-0049-1 |title-link=The Structure of Magic}}
* {{cite book |last1=Bandler |first1=Richard |last2=Grinder |first2=John| editor1-last =  Andreas| editor1-first = Steve |title=Frogs into Princes: Neuro Linguistic Programming |edition= |year=1979 |publisher=Real People Press |location=Utah |isbn=978-0-911226-19-5 |title-link=Frogs into Princes}}
* {{cite book |last1=Bandler |first1=Richard |last2=Grinder |first2=John |title=Trance-formations: Neuro-linguistic Programming and the Structure of Hypnosis |year=1981 |publisher=Real People Press |isbn=978-0-911226-22-5 |chapter=Appendix II: Hypnotic Language Patterns: The Milton-Model}}
* {{cite book |last1=Bandler |first1=Richard |last2=Grinder |first2=John |year=1982 |title=Reframing: Neuro-Linguistic Programming and the Transformation of Meaning |publisher=Real People Press |isbn=0-911226-25-7}}
* {{cite book |last1=Bandler |first1=Richard |editor1-last=Andreas |editor1-first=Steve |editor2-link=Connirae Andreas |editor2-last=Andreas |editor2-first=Connirae |year=1985 |title=Using Your Brain–for a Change |publisher=Real People Press |isbn=0-911226-27-3}}
* {{cite book |last=Bandler |first=Richard |title=Time for a Change |year=1993 |publisher=Meta Publications |isbn=978-0-916990-28-2 |url=https://archive.org/details/timeforchange00band |url-access=registration }}
* {{cite book |last1=Dilts |first1=Robert |last2=Grinder |first2=John |last3=Bandler |first3=Richard |last4=DeLozier |first4=Judith |title=Neuro-Linguistic Programming |volume=I: The Study of the Structure of Subjective Experience |edition=Limited |year=1980 |publisher=Meta Publications |location=California |isbn=978-0-916990-07-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CwsRAQAAIAAJ }}
* {{cite book |last1=Grinder |first1=John |last2=DeLozier |first2=Judith |title=Turtles All The Way Down: Prerequisites To Personal Genius |edition=1st |year=1987 |publisher=Grinder & Associates |location=California |isbn=978-1-55552-022-9 |url=https://archive.org/details/turtlesallwaydow00grin|url-access=registration }}
* {{cite book |last1=Grinder |first1=John |last2=Bostic St. Clair |title=Whispering in the Wind |year=2001 |publisher=J & C Enterprises |isbn=978-0-9717223-0-9}}
{{refend}}

;Secondary sources
{{refbegin}}
*{{cite journal| editor1-last = Aupers| editor1-first = Stef| editor2-last = Houtman| editor2-first = Dick |title=Religions of Modernity: Relocating the Sacred to the Self and the Digital | journal = International Studies in Religion and Society|edition=1st |year=2010 |publisher=Brill |location=Leiden |issn=1573-4293 |isbn=978-90-04-18451-0 |pages=115–132 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=l85zsiTI28sC&pg=PA115}}
*{{Cite journal |last=Bovbjerg |first=Kirsten Marie |date=2011-05-01 |title=Personal Development under Market Conditions: NLP and the Emergence of an Ethics of Sensitivity Based on the Idea of the Hidden Potential of the Individual |url=https://doi.org/10.1080/13537903.2011.573333 |journal=Journal of Contemporary Religion |volume=26 |issue=2 |pages=189–205 |doi=10.1080/13537903.2011.573333 |s2cid=145148234 |issn=1353-7903|url-access=subscription }}
*{{cite book| editor1-last = Clarke| editor1-first = Peter B. |title=Encyclopedia of New Religious Movements |edition=1st |year=2006 |publisher=Routledge |location=London |isbn=978-0-203-48433-3}}
*{{cite book| editor1-last = Cresswell| editor1-first = Jamie | editor2-last = Wilson| editor2-first = Bryan |title=New Religious Movements: Challenge and Response |edition=1st |year=1999 |publisher=Routledge |location=London |isbn=978-0-415-20049-3}}
*{{cite book |last1=Edwards |first1=Linda |title=A Brief Guide to Beliefs: Ideas, Theologies, Mysteries, and Movements |edition=1st |year=2001 |publisher=Westminster John Knox Press |location=Kentucky |isbn=978-0-664-22259-8 |url=https://archive.org/details/unset0000unse_s5t3|url-access=registration }}
*{{cite book |last1=Fanthorpe |first1=Lionel |last2=Fanthorpe |first2=Patricia |title=Mysteries and Secrets of Voodoo, Santeria, and Obeah |edition=1st |year=2008 |publisher=New Page Books |location=New Jersey |isbn=978-1-55002-784-6}}
<!-- G -->
*{{cite book |last1=Grimley |first1=Bruce |title=Theory and Practice of NLP Coaching: A Psychological Approach |edition=1st |year=2013 |publisher=Sage Publications Ltd |location=London |isbn=978-1-4462-0172-5}}
*{{cite book |last1=Hall |first1=L. Michael |last2=Belnap |first2=Barbara P. |title=The Sourcebook of Magic: A Comprehensive Guide to the Technology of NLP |orig-year=1999 |year=2000 |publisher=Crown House Publishing Limited |location=Wales |isbn=978-1-899836-22-2}}
*{{cite web |last=Hall |first=L. Michael |title=The lawsuit that almost killed NLP |url=http://www.neurosemantics.com/nlp/the-history-of-nlp/the-lawsuit-that-almost-killed-nlp |date=20 September 2010 |access-date=12 June 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130627130505/http://www.neurosemantics.com/nlp/the-history-of-nlp/the-lawsuit-that-almost-killed-nlp |archive-date=27 June 2013}}
*{{cite book| editor1-last = Hammer| editor1-first = Olav| editor2-last = Rothstein| editor2-first = Mikael |title=The Cambridge Companion to New Religious Movements |edition=1st |year=2012 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge |isbn=978-0-521-14565-7}}
*{{cite book |title=Alternative Religions: A Sociological Introduction |publisher=Ashgate Publishing Ltd |location=Hampshire |last1=Hunt |first1=Stephen J. |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-7546-3410-2}}
*{{cite book |last1=Jeremiah |first1=David |title=Invasion of Other Gods: The Seduction of New Age Spirituality |edition=1st |year=1995 |publisher=W Publishing Group |isbn=978-0-8499-3987-7 |chapter=Chapter 9: Corporate Takeovers}}
*{{cite journal |last1=Langford |first1=Jean M. |title=Medical Mimesis: Healing Signs of a Cosmopolitan "Quack" |journal=American Ethnologist |volume=26 |issue=1 |pages=24–46 |date=February 1999 |jstor=647497 |doi=10.1525/ae.1999.26.1.24|doi-access=free }}
<!-- M -->
*{{cite journal |last=Maag |first=John W. |year=1999 |title=Why they say no: Foundational precises and techniques for managing resistance |journal=Focus on Exceptional Children |volume=32 |page=1 |url=http://altcommtechniques.com/publications/why_they_say_no.pdf |access-date=27 May 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120417095148/http://altcommtechniques.com/publications/why_they_say_no.pdf |archive-date=17 April 2012 |url-status=dead }}
*{{cite journal |last=Maag |first=John W. |year=2000 |title=Managing resistance |journal=Intervention in School and Clinic |volume=35 |page=3 |doi=10.1177/105345120003500301 |issue=3|s2cid=220927708 }}
*{{cite journal |last1=Sturt |first1=Jackie |display-authors=etal |title=Neurolinguistic programming: a systematic review of the effects on health outcomes |journal=British Journal of General Practice |volume=62 |issue=604 |pages=e757–64 |date=November 2012 |doi=10.3399/bjgp12X658287 |pmid=23211179 |id=23211179|pmc=3481516 }}
<!-- W -->
*{{cite book |last1=Walker |first1=James K. |title=The Concise Guide to Today's Religions and Spirituality |edition=1st |year=2007 |publisher=Harvest House Pubslishers |location=Oregon |isbn=978-0-7369-2011-7 |url=https://archive.org/details/conciseguidetoto0000walk|url-access=registration }}
*{{cite book |last1=Weitzenhoffer |first1=André Muller |title=The Practice of Hypnotism |volume=2: Applications of Traditional an Semi-Traditional Hypnotism. Non-Traditional Hypnotism |year=1989 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |location=New York |isbn=978-0-471-62168-3 |chapter=Chapter 8: Ericksonian Hypnotism: The Bandler/Grinder Interpretation}}
{{refend}}

== Further reading ==
{{Refbegin}}
* {{Cite book |editor1-last=Andreas |editor1-first=Steve |editor1-link=Steve Andreas |editor2-first=Charles |editor2-last=Faulkner |title=NLP: the new technology of achievement |location=New York |publisher=HarperCollins |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-688-14619-1 |url=https://archive.org/details/nlpnewtechnology00andr |url-access=registration |ref=none}}
* {{Cite book |last=Austin |first=A. |title=The Rainbow Machine: Tales from a Neurolinguist's Journal |location=UK |publisher=Real People Press |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-911226-44-7 |ref=none}}
* {{cite book |last1=Bandler |first1=R. |last2=Grinder |first2=J. |author3-link=Virginia Satir |last3=Satir |first3=V. |year=1976 |title=Changing with Families: A Book about Further Education for Being Human |publisher=Science and Behavior Books |isbn=0-8314-0051-X |ref=none}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Bradbury |first1=A. |title=Neuro-Linguistic Programming: Time for an Informed Review |journal=Skeptical Intelligencer |volume=11 |year=2008 |ref=none}}
* {{Cite book |last=Burn |first=Gillian |title=NLP Pocketbook |location=Alresford, United Kingdom |publisher=Management Pocketbooks Ltd |year=2005 |isbn=978-1-903776-31-5 |ref=none}}
* {{cite book |last=Dilts |first=R. |year=1990 |title=Changing Belief Systems with NLP |publisher=Meta Publications |isbn=978-0-916990-24-4 |ref=none}}
* {{cite book |last1=Dilts |first1=R. |last2=Hallbom |first2=Tim |last3=Smith |first3=Suzi |year=1990 |title=Beliefs: Pathways to Health & Well-being |publisher=Crown House Publishing |isbn=978-1-84590-802-7 |ref=none}}
* {{Skeptoid | id=4155 | number= 155| title= NLP: Neuro-linguistic Programming| date=26 May 2009 | last= Dunning| first=Brian |ref=none}}
* {{Cite book |last=Ellerton |first=Roger |title=Live Your Dreams, Let Reality Catch Up: NLP and Common Sense for Coaches, Managers and You |location=Ottawa, Canada |publisher=Trafford Publishing |year=2005 |isbn=978-1-4120-4709-8 |ref=none}}
* {{cite book |last=Grinder |first=M. |year=1991 |title=Righting the Educational Conveyor Belt |publisher=Metamorphous Press |isbn=1-55552-036-7 |ref=none}}
* {{cite book |last=O'Connor |first=Joseph |year=2007 |title=Not Pulling Strings: Application of Neuro-Linguistic Programming to Teaching and Learning Music |publisher=Kahn & Averill |place=London |isbn=978-1-871082-90-6 |ref=none}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Platt |first=Garry |title=NLP – Neuro Linguistic Programming or No Longer Plausible? |series=May |journal=Training Journal |year=2001 |volume=2001 |pages=10–15 |ref=none}}
{{Refend}}

==External links==
*{{Wiktionary inline|Neuro-linguistic programming}}
*{{Commons category-inline|Neuro-linguistic programming}}
*{{Wikiquote-inline|Neuro-linguistic programming}}

{{Seduction community}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Neuro-linguistic programming| ]]
[[Category:Hypnotherapy]]
[[Category:Pseudoscience]]
[[Category:Pickup artistry]]