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Is NLP for Real or is it Balderdash?

Balderdash:  Stupid or illogical talk; senseless rubbish

A woman I know found herself in one rehab center after another during ten years of drug use, a total of seven rehabilitation centers.  The people there knew, NLP is balderdash!  

A friend of mine who has a Doctorate in Psychology and in Theology is a practicing Psychotherapist.  He works with homeless vets.  He had 100 clients with issues that went  from post traumatic stress disorder and beyond.  His associates can tell you, NLP is not accepted as "traditional" psychology, it must be balderdash!

A genius computer programmer and mathematician I have known for many years found it hard to do the work he loves.  Two traumatic events from his past would not "go away."  His gift was being left to waste.  His colleagues could tell you, NLP is balderdash!

Can NLP help with sciatica?   Can NLP make you look and feel younger?  Can NLP take the emotional charge out of past events that just "won't go away?"  How could that be?  Must be balderdash. 

After four hours of using NLP with my programmer friend, he was able to break free of his blocks from the past, and is now prolific in the field he loves.

The Psychotherapist who works with homeless veterans?  The last time I spoke with him, which was six months after his NLP Practitioner course, he only had 12 clients left.  What happened to the rest of them?  They got better.  According to the American Psychological Association, by their own admission, only 4% (four percent) of patients actually get better using traditional methods. 

The woman who was using drugs…she went to one last rehab center.  It was there that she found relief from her cravings.  It was there that she started a new life.  She now is happily married with two children and a thriving business.  What does she do?  This amazing lady uses NLP to help others become free from their addictions. That eighth rehab center used…you got it…NLP.  

After studying NLP with great focus for two years, including my NLP Practitioner, NLP Master Practitioner and NLP Trainer's certification, I have found that even at this level there is so much more to learn. 

NLP consists of a considerable body of knowledge of "what works" in psychology with:

1. How you think on a conscious and subconscious level (Neuro),

2. How you communicate with others and yourself (Linguistic), and

3. Your patterns of action, beliefs and emotions (Programming)

The people who have negative comments about NLP, in every case that I have run into, do not know about NLP.  Before I went to the trainings, I had only read about it and listened to CDs.  I knew about it intellectually.  It was at the trainings that I experienced the power of the whole range techniques on myself, and saw how they worked on others, in a large group setting.  I did not find anything this powerful during my undergrad and graduate studies in Psychology.  Nothing.  Why isn't this taught in the Universities?   What or who is the idea of "balderdash" protecting? 

There are sub-groups of NLP practitioners who use it for, lets say, unecological uses.  As with anything of power, it may be misused.  There is a fringe element in any field.  It is this element that may contribute to the misperception of the field. 

What truly is the significance of NLP?  Consider the fact that the US government has been using NLP since its inception in the 70's. 

Look around you, look at advertising, watch and listen carefully when the "polished" politicians speak.  Notice how large corporations are spinning their frame of reality for you.  If you are not aware of the linguistic part of NLP, you may be influenced without your knowledge.  Balderdash?   Hmmm…

- Nannette DiMascio

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