NLP Modelling
NLP Modelling
Why has NLP been rejected by psychologists?
Aspects of NLP such as VAK and the Meta-Model of thinking have helped me understand how people communicate and understand the world, and I believe they have helped me to improve my communication.
Apart from the abuse of NLP in advertising, what are some reasons that NLP has remained a controversial theory?
Thanks in advance.
There are many reasons that NLP is controversial. Katies answer seems somewhat wide of the mark to me. Its rather odd to suggest that NLP doesn't work and that its borrowed from else where. Which is it?
As to proving NLP, yes its difficult to test many areas simply because it is impossible to test without involving people and therefore the testing becomes subjective. One day maybe someone will come up with a good test for something like a phobia cure.
One major reason for the controversy is the way in which NLP is presented. Its very easy to see it as being a little like scientology in that you pay a lot of money for course after course. I have commented myself (see link below) that NLP is a bit like a pyramid scheme.
There is also a lack of quality control - too many people with practitioner certificates who can do nothing at all. Personally I hate the NLP community because of this.
As to psychologists, there is another reason they don't like it - like many acedemics they update and change their ideas slowly and rarely. Also its not in the interest of someone whos done years of study to become a high paid professional to endorse something that appears to be 10 times quicker, easier and more effective than what they do themselves.
NLP is a sprawlling mess of techniques and models, and like you there are areas I find very useful and other areas I just am not interested in. Stick with what works for you and you can't go far wrong whether the acedemics are willing to endorse it or not.
Dr. John Grinder explains more about Modelling in NLP
