What is NLP?

A Brief History of NLP

NLP formally began in California in the 1970s, though, like all schools of thought, its roots stretch further back than that - notably to the philosopher and anthropologist Gregory Bateson (1910 - 1980) and the linguist Noam Chomsky (born 1928).

NLP started as an investigation into therapy. 1970's California was the birth-place of many of the therapies in use today - other therapists such as Carl Rogers and Eric Berne were of huge influence on the two founders of NLP, Richard Bandler and John Grinder.

Bandler was interested in why some therapists were more effective than others, and transcribed sessions conducted by two top therapists, Virginia Satir and Fritz Perls. He was looking for clues as to what made them so successful ('What is the difference that makes the difference?' to quote Bateson). Grinder helped Bandler analyse these transcripts, using his expertise in linguistics: between them, they spotted patterns of 'intervention' which they codified into the first NLP tool, the Meta Model. The next modelling exercise was with Milton Erickson, the noted hypnotherapist. The learning from this both confirmed the power of the Meta Model and gave rise to the second NLP tool, the Milton Model.

From its therapeutic beginnings, NLP developed in many different directions, modelling excellence in other fields, such as business. It has allowed itself to be influenced by many bodies of knowledge, from cybernetics to person-centred therapy. Thinkers such as Robert Dilts, Judith de Lozier, Stephen Gilligan and Steve and Connie Rae Andreas have created a remarkable range of powerful models and techniques.

NLP has not been without critics. It has been associated with exploitative stage hypnosis shows and dodgy selling techniques. However the vast majority of NLP has always been, and continues to be, used in a caring, positive way by individuals keen to improve their own lives and the lives of others around them. Our training is firmly in this tradition.

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