Neuro-Linguistic Programming Definition

Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) is an approach to communication, personal development, and psychotherapy created by Richard Bandler and John Grinder in California, United States in the 1970s. NLP’s creators claim there is a connection between neurological processes (‘neuro’), language (‘linguistic’) and behavioral patterns learned through experience (‘programming’) which affect how we communicate, perceive and make meaning of the world around us.

NLP is sometimes described as a ‘pseudoscience’ because some of its key assumptions are not supported by scientific evidence and because it has been used to make unsubstantiated claims. Nevertheless, NLP has been adopted by some psychologists, therapists and coaches as a useful way to understand and change human behavior.