NLP, or Neuro-Linguistic Programming, is the study of the structure of subjective experience. Or, put more simply, NLP enables us to determine how and why we do what we do and are who we are so that we can do it better and be a better version of ourselves.
The name Neuro-Linguistic Programming comes from:
N = Neuro - The nervous system through which our experience is processed, how we re-present the world to ourselves via our five senses.
L = Linguistics - Language and other non-verbal communication systems through which our neural representations are coded, ordered and given meaning, including...
P = Programming - The sequence of our actions and the mental patterns that we run that create our behaviours
In other words, Neuro-Linguistic Programming is how to use the language of the mind to consistently achieve our specific and desired outcomes.
The roots of (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) NLP can be traced back as far as Aristotle and to the great philosopher Alfred Korzybski. But it wasn't until Gregory Bateson introduced Richard Bandler and John Grinder, the co-developers of NLP, to each other that the model of communication, coaching and therapy that we know today as NLP came about.
In the early 1970s, as a student at the University of California at Santa Cruz, Richard Bandler, a mathematician, therapist and computer expert, met John Grinder, a transformational grammarian and language professor at the university.
Influenced by the work of Fritz Perls (founder of Gestalt Therapy) and inspired by the work of Gregory Bateson (British anthropologist and linguist) they worked on a number of interesting projects in the field of human change. One of which was a study of the patterns and techniques of two leading therapists of the time, Virginia Satir and Milton H. Erickson.
At the time Virginia Satir was a very successful family therapist practicing in Palo Alto in California and still today her work continues to receive critical acclaim around the globe. She was able to affect change and achieve resolution for her clients by being very specific and targeted in the questions she used.
Milton H. Erickson was a world-renowned therapist who has become commonly known as the Father of Indirect Hypnotherapy. He was able to achieve behaviour change with his clients by being extremely ambiguous and vague with his use of language.
Whilst each of these therapists had a very different style and approach Bandler and Grinder found that each of them shared a similar structure and pattern to the way in which they practiced.
It was from these studies that two very important NLP models emerged - the Meta Model and the Milton Model. This was the start of NLP. With an insatiable curiosity to find out more Bandler and Grinder gathered together a group of eight talented and like-minded individuals to continue this process of modelling excellence.
And so Bandler and Grinder, along with this group of people (who have become known collectively as 'The Original Eight'), developed further philosophies, principles, models and tools, and NLP grew.
NLP has continued to expand throughout the years. In addition to therapy, NLP is now used widely and successfully in sales, business, education and the arts as a way of achieving excellence.
At Learning, Behaviour & Change we are proud of the 'leading lights' we have studied with, attended training by, listened to, and read about.
Here are some of them...
