NLP is not therapy. Period!
If NLP Is NOT Therapy – Then What Exactly Is It?
The Official Pure NLP® Position – Directly from Dr. Richard Bandler and His Longest-Standing Team
The Single Most Important Distinction You Must Know
Neuro-Linguistic Programming™ is NOT therapy.
It never was. It never will be.
NLP is an educational meta-discipline: the study of the structure of subjective experience and what can be calculated from it.
It is a set of precise, mathematically formulated models that teach you how to run your own brain — more effectively, elegantly, and powerfully — in any area of life.
It is a set of precise, mathematically formulated models that teach you how to run your own brain — more effectively, elegantly, and powerfully — in any area of life.
Why the “Therapy” Myth Still Exists
Richard Bandler first modeled Fritz Perls & Virginia Satir
They were therapists only because they were conveniently nearby — pure coincidence
They were therapists only because they were conveniently nearby — pure coincidence
Milton Erickson was modeled later
A master communicator, not chosen because NLP was meant for therapy
A master communicator, not chosen because NLP was meant for therapy
Early demos looked “therapeutic”
Needed fast, visible change — but the technology itself is completely context-free
Needed fast, visible change — but the technology itself is completely context-free
What Pure NLP® Actually Is (According to Its Co-Creator)
Meta-discipline
Works everywhere humans have brains: business, sports, education, sales, parenting
Works everywhere humans have brains: business, sports, education, sales, parenting
Educational tool
Teaches you how your brain codes experience and how to re-code it deliberately
Teaches you how your brain codes experience and how to re-code it deliberately
Two clear parts
1. Core Models/Skills 2. Applications (e.g., Fast Phobia Cure, Persuasion Engineering®)
1. Core Models/Skills 2. Applications (e.g., Fast Phobia Cure, Persuasion Engineering®)
Model-based, not technique-based
Master the models → generate unlimited new techniques instantly
Master the models → generate unlimited new techniques instantly
Defies science & statistics
Works 100 % when the model is applied correctly — no averages needed
Works 100 % when the model is applied correctly — no averages needed
What Is NOT Pure NLP (Common Misrepresentations)
Mixing NLP with CBT, psychology, or therapy
Dilutes the pure models and violates the original intent
Dilutes the pure models and violates the original intent
Requiring Practitioner before Master Practitioner
Dr. Bandler has never had prerequisites — learning NLP is non-linear
Dr. Bandler has never had prerequisites — learning NLP is non-linear
Teaching only online or via videos
Impossible to install unconscious competence without live, real-time feedback
Impossible to install unconscious competence without live, real-time feedback
Calling any certificate “official”
Only certifications personally signed by Richard Bandler are authentic
Only certifications personally signed by Richard Bandler are authentic
Train the Way the Co-Creator Intended – Only at Pure NLP®
- 100 % live, in-person events with Dr. Richard Bandler, John La Valle, and Kathleen La Valle (together nearly 40 years)
- Skills installed unconsciously — the original method
- No prerequisites · No filler · No mixed disciplines
- Certifications personally signed by Richard Bandler (Society of Neuro-Linguistic Programming™)