Neurolinguistic Programming, also known as NLP, is a science that studies mental models, from how they are formed to how they affect behavior and learning. It seeks to bring communication closer to human development and psychotherapy.
Created in 1970 by Richard Bandler and John Grinder in California, United States, according to which there is a connection between neurological processes (“neuro”), language (“linguistics”) and behavioral patterns learned through experience (“programming”), which can be changed to achieve new life goals.
“Neuro refers to our nervous system, the mental paths of our five senses of sight, hearing, touch, taste and smell. Linguistics refers to our “silent language” of attitudes, gestures and habits that reveal our styles of thinking, beliefs and other things. Programming came from informatics, to suggest that our thoughts, feelings and actions are simply habitual programs that can be changed by upgrading our “mental software” (AZEVEDO, 2006).
Its principle is to explain how mental patterns are mobilized to react to situations or make decisions to achieve objectives and goals. Through purposeful conditioning it is possible to create or recreate a desired mental model, evaluating it from thoughts (neuro) to the way we use words (linguistics) and behaviors to influence other people, as well as ourselves.
Let’s look at some basic concepts of NLP:
Metamodel
An “exterior” model through which the individual seeks to translate the interior representations that constitute the “world model”, that is, language is used to represent our representation of experience.
Modeling
It is a kind of descriptive technique on how to do / accomplish things based on unveiled know-how.
World model
It would be a simulacrum or clipping of reality as conceived by the Subject.
Systemic observation
It is the way in which we build a new view on perspectives, without necessarily adopting one of them, creating a more comprehensive view of the Self and the Other. According to systemic observation, it is possible to change the way we approach a particular subject, changing our thinking about the subject and changing our behaviors.
Map
For NLP, “the map is not the territory”, that is, people react to their own perceptions of reality and have an individual map of the world, where the meaning of communication with another person is the reaction it provokes in that person, regardless of the communicator’s intention; the “wisest” and most “supportive” maps are those that make a wider and richer number of choices available, rather than trying to be more “true” or “correct”;
In addition, life and the “Mind” are systemic processes that take place within the person, or between people and their environment and form an ecology of systems and subsystems that interact with each other and influence each other.
Methodology
Neurolinguistic Programming aims to program (or reprogram) the human brain, using verbal and non-verbal codes. It uses techniques that facilitate communication, through which the individual becomes able to elaborate and / or choose the contents (software) to be “installed” in his mind and “delete” undesirable models and content (those that led to inadequate results, commonly referred to as “problems” or “failures”).
Through modeling, it is possible to acquire exceptional skills. It uses a set of techniques that derive from its initial applications, which seek to help the client understand and modify cognitive processes through the identification of patterns in verbal (spoken) and extraverbal (body) language, responsible for reactions to diverse contexts. It is possible to transform the subjective structure so that one can have a more positive attitude towards life, in positive contexts or in the face of adversity.
Interventions
NLP intervenes in the internal structure of thoughts and emotions that directly impact our actions and consequently the results achieved in life. It can be useful to treat problems such as phobias, depression, unpleasant feelings, motor disorders, psychosomatic illnesses, learning disorders (syllabus, reading, etc.), eliminating undesirable habits (such as smoking, drinking, overeating), insomnia, helping with adjustment couples and families, among others.
And that was our introduction to Neurolinguistic Programming!
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References:
AZEVEDO, R. M. Programação neurolinguística: transformação e persuasão no metamodelo. Dissertação de Mestrado. Universidade de São Paulo. 2006:1-188.