True Evidence of Change
Over the years many have criticized NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) saying that NLP (& some for hypnosis) is not “evidence-based”.
Guess what?
THEY ARE ENTIRELY WRONG!
Please allow me to explain. :>)
NLP from the get go, was/is based on evidence procedures & continuous testing for the work we do or have done as well as measurement of response in the moment from the beginning to the very end & beyond (in follow-up or next sessions).
It is likely that those who state such non-sense as previously indicated – have no clue what they are talking about, have had no training in NLP or have had substandard training at that. Or worse yet, they are biased & seeking to discredit an approach with over 40 years of evidence of highly valuable & ethical results.
It is a fact, that when we are doing changework with clients professionally, we should be able to calibrate & test for results (measure/calibrate) – find evidence that what we are doing is making a significant, ecological & Positive difference all along the way.
Rapport, Calibration, Sensory Acuity & Well-formedness Conditions (WFC) are key skills in determining if & when a client is accessing desired state (responses). I demonstrate, model, teach & coach each of these skills to elegance in the NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) In Hypnosis courses that I provide. I have & I will always focus on how to evaluate the responses we are getting in changework & trancework. I guarantee you that I can teach you how to do this as well in ways that will help you to erase any doubt or confusion you may have had about whether hypnosis or NLP (& now Neurocise®) & its benefits & whether they are evidence-based.
Clients should display Neutral signs when their subjective rating is neutral & +/(-) signs when either of these responses are rated as such. These seemingly “invisible” signs (indicators of response) are visible to the professionally trained eye & must be calibrated for the client’s responses (+( )/(-) – positive – neutral – limiting/negative). It is via calibration & sensory acuity (as well as deep rapport with the client) that we begin to measure & test for desired responses (evidence procedure as it is referred to in NLP) from our very first contact (even over the phone). This is a dynamic & an integral part of all of the work we do with NLP & hypnosis & now Neurocise® – especially clinical/therapeutic changework that I have done for 30+ years now using NLP & Hypnosis (& Neurocise®).
Therapists need to strongly attend to – CALIBRATE to – client responses (indicators of response) – as evidence-based feedback (sensory-based information – see-hear-sense) they can (& do) track. Evidence Procedure (as it is referred to in NLP) is directly tied to Well-formed Conditions (whether the response is positive, within control of the client, VAK – See-Hear-Feel it, it is ecological/good for the client, & it is testable/measurable – also known as the 5 Well-formed Conditions of NLP).
When doing changework we are continuously eliciting evidence as to what we are doing is working (achieving desired state). This is essential in our testing & assessment processes. IT IS THROUGH EVIDENCE that we define our approach more precisely & the work we proficiently do with clients. Evaluating results & evidence is at the very heart of NLP & Hypnosis changework & now Neurocise®.
With decades of experience in training therapists, it is my observation that therapists have not been effectively taught to conduct this type of evidence procedure, nor do they check or assess or measure – test responses (they are or have gotten with clients) as much as they should – evaluating how the processes or patterns (client’s) actually function or operate (run) & whether they are effectively installed & will operate/run in the context they are desired or required. In my opinion, they have been sold a bill of goods, that rating a response subjectively generated by clients is evidence of good changework AND they have been lead to believe that “research” is proof or evidence for good changework technique. Well, the fact is that it is not. AND it has very little to do with the results trained clinicians get in the field of hard knocks.
SUDS (Subjective Units of Distress Scale), as commonly used in eye movement therapies for instance, is not a calibration tool that is effective on its own. It is a self-assessment mechanism (of subjective distress) that should be backed up by sensory-based observation by the clinician with high sensory-acuity & calibration skills. In NLP, this scale would soon be obsolete… as we are putting forth & focusing most of the effort to get a response that is positive, desirable, pleasurable, powerful, & worthwhile (as a performance). Not to say that that is not the objective for psychotherapeutic interventions – but – It is often the case that the absence of distress (or symptoms) is a good enough outcome for various therapies. Not so for NLP or Hypnosis (& now Neurocise®).
As professional healers & helpers we owe it to our clients to add these additional skills to our “therapeutic repertoire” to enhance the measurement & evaluation of responses we achieve in working with clients in our “private practices” manifold.
Will you go the extra mile & learn to enhance sensory acuity & your calibration skills & learn how to truly assess & measure the results you are getting with your clients on their behalf? I hope & trust that you will/do so. It is the least we can do for the people we serve, is it not?!!
Elvis Lester
