NLP and Covert Hypnosis

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NLP And Covert Hypnosis Prepared by: Ziad Cassim Last Updated: 30 December 2014 (edited title page) Number of pages: 11

Contents

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Introduction to Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP)

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Covert Hypnosis  Types of covertness  Definition of covert hypnosis  Ericksonian (covert) Hypnosis and NLP therapy  Milton H. Erickson’s research and methods

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NLP, Hypnosis and Ethics  Crossing the Ethical Line

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Scientific Criticism of NLP

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Introduction To Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP): NLP is an alternate form of therapy that was founded by American academics Richard Bandler and John Grindler in the 1970s. NLP has for many years now been practised and taught in South Africa. It is not an isolated form of therapy adopted by fringe communities. NLP is growing in South Africa as it is in other parts of the world. It has entered the Muslim community to the extent that there are Muslim NLP practitioners that have visited Muslim schools and have conducted their therapies/processes on other people’s children, most likely without full and directly parental consent. If you were to approach the school principal you will be most likely served with general consent forms, containing all the necessary disclaimers duly signed by parents at the beginning of the school year or when their child was enrolled at that school but if you were to ask parents if they knew that their child was exposed to practitioners, who are trained in COVERT hypnosis, while at the school you would most likely get a blank face from the parent.

The following descriptive statements of NLP are taken from the Wikipedia Encyclopedia: 

Founders Richard Bandler and John Grinder say that NLP is a model of interpersonal communication and a system of alternative therapy which seeks to educate people in self-awareness and effective communication, and to change their patterns of mental and emotional behaviour.[1]

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The term "Neuro-Linguistic Programming" refers to a stated connection between the neurological processes ("neuro"), language ("linguistic") and behavioral patterns that have been learned through experience ("programming") and can be organized to achieve specific goals in life. [2][3]

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Bandler and Grinder say that NLP is capable of addressing problems such as phobias, depression, habit disorder, psychosomatic illnesses, and learning disorders, and helps people attain fuller and richer lives"[9] [10]

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NLP has been adopted by private therapists, including hypnotherapists, and those who undertake training in NLP and apply it to their practice. It has also been promoted as a "science of excellence", and applied within management training, life coaching, alternative medicine, large group awareness training, and the self-help industry.[12]

Wikipedia’s notes and references:

1. Bandler,R. Grinder,J. (1975). The Structure of Magic I: A Book About Language and Therapy. Palo Alto, CA: Science & Behavior Books. 2. Tosey, P. & Mathison, J., (2006) "Introducing Neuro-Linguistic Programming Centre for Management Learning & Development, School of Management, University of Surrey. 3. Dilts, R., Grinder, J., Delozier, J., and Bandler, R. (1980). Neuro-Linguistic Programming: Volume I: The Study of the Structure of Subjective Experience. Cupertino, CA: Meta Publications. p. 2. ISBN 0916990079. 9. From the book jacket of Bandler and Grinder (1975b) 10. It was even alleged (Grinder & Bandler, 1981, p. 166) that a single session of NLP combined with hypnosis can eliminate certain eyesight problems such as myopia, and can even cure a common cold (op.cit., p. 174)...(Also, op.cit., p. 169) Bandler and Grinder make the claim that by combining NLP methods with hypnotic regression, a person can be not only effectively cured of a problem, but also rendered amnesic for the fact that they had the problem in the first place. Thus, after a session of therapy, smokers may deny that they smoked before, even when their family and friends insisted otherwise, and they are unable to account for such evidence as nicotine stains. 12. Heap (1988) states, "How widespread or popular NLP has become in practice is difficult to say with precision, though. As an indication the number of people to have been trained to 'Practitioner' level in the UK since NLP's inception seems likely to number at least 50,000. Trainings in NLP are found across the world, principally in countries where English is the first language, but including Norway, Spain and Brazil. There is no unified structure to the NLP practitioner community. Probably in common with other emergent fields, there is diversity in both practice and organisation, and there are resulting tensions".

Note: emphasis in red is mine. (Source website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuro_Linguistic_Programming, Dated: 11 November 2011)

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Covert Hypnosis: In my research of NLP I have come across information about how covert hypnosis is used in NLP therapy. A form of covert hypnosis called Eriksonian hypnotherapy is taught by NLP coaches. The way I will present this information on NLP’s use covert hypnosis is as follows: 1. Firstly, I will begin with an explanation of covertness. 2. Secondly, from the Wikipedia encyclopaedia, I will quote a few statements regarding covert hypnosis and its relation to Eriksonian Hypnotherapy. 3. Thirdly, I will quote from 3 different South African NLP coaches, showing how Eriksonian hypnosis is in fact covert in substance. Here you will see that some NLP coaches use vague language to hide the full force of Eriksonian (covert) hypnotic methods, while other are very brazen about adopting deceitful methods to manipulate people. 4. Fourthly, I will discuss Milton H. Erikson and some of research findings and methods.

Types of Covertness: Covert hypnosis can be used in two ways: 1. The invisible hypnotiser: In this scenario the hypnotiser whispers his hypnotic suggestions from a place you cannot see him /her and his whisperings go directly into the subconscious. 2. The visible hypnotiser who uses covert methods: a person comes along to you and begins a conversation or is trying to sell you something or some idea and his speech and body language is carefully orchestrated to induce hypnosis in ways that are not apparent to the targeted person if he is untrained/uneducated in covert hypnosis, which is generally true for most people. These methods of inducing hypnosis are different from the standard script type of induction where the therapist informs the client/patient of the hypnosis and begins with full permission from the client/patient. This form of covert hypnosis is when the hypnotist is a person you can see but he/she uses deceptive and manipulative methods to induce hypnosis, without informing the targeted person that he/she will be hypnotised. Wikipedia defines covert hypnosis as follows: Covert hypnosis is a phenomenon not too different from indirect hypnosis (as derived from Milton H. Erickson popularised as The Milton Model[1]) in style[2] but the defining feature is certainly the act of an individual subject becoming hypnotised and taking part in hypnotic phenomena without conscious effort/choice - covert hypnosis like "Ericksonian Hypnosis operates through covert and subtle means... to reach deeper levels of consciousness than are touched by the surface structure of language";[3] it is the concept that an individual, 'the hypnotist,' can control another individual's behavior via gaining rapport (co-operation of their attention - as without rapport covert hypnosis does not take place) [4] with the subject and then making suggestions which the subject isn't fully consciously aware the meaning of.

Wikipedia’s References:

1. Dilts, Robert (1999). Sleight of Mouth: The Magic of Conversational Belief Change. ISBN 0-916990-43-5. 2. Erickson, Milton H. (December 1976). Hypnotic Realities: The Induction of Clinical Hypnosis and Forms of Indirect Suggestion. 3. Cohen, Michael H.. A Question of Time. p. 8. 4. a b c d Trancework: An Introduction to the Practice of Clinical Hypnosis. p. 37.

Note: emphasis in red is mine. (source website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Covert_hypnosis, Dated: 9 March 2010)

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In the above quotation you have come across terms such as: 1. The Milton Model, 2. Ericksonian hypnosis What is the Milton Model and what is Ericksonian Hypnosis? The Milton model is method used within the profession of Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP). The name is derived from an American Psychiatrist Erick H. Milton. His Eponymous name also lends itself to the other term, from above quotation, which is a type of hypnosis called Ericksonian hypnosis. The Milton Model is beyond the scope of this essay and will not be discussed here. The next section will explain Ericksonian Hypnosis, its uses as a form of therapy and the controversy surrounding it because it can be used deceitfully.

Ericksonian (covert) Hypnosis and NLP Therapy: The NLP training coaches who teach NLP do in fact use and teach Eriksonian hypnotherapy in their training centres. Here in South Africa a leading hypnotherpist and NLP trainer from Cape Town, Min McClough (c/o AHT or Advanced Human Technology) has written an essay on Ericksonian hypnotherapy. The following statements are from that essay: Milton Erickson (1901-1980) was an exceptional therapist. He used a naturalistic and flexible method for trance induction that worked with the client, not on the client. He varied his approach all the time, depending on the client's individual problem and personality. He would gather information about his client by questions and observation to find what they wanted and what sort of person they were. He would then know the best way to induce trance for that person and would be able to work with them on their own terms. This is why Ericksonian hypnotherapy is known as "permissive" hypnosis as opposed to other schools of "authoritarian" hypnosis. It is not about one script to use on all clients, but about learning enough about the client and their needs to create an induction that will be best suited to them. It is about assisting the client to get the outcomes they are looking for. It is not about following a prescribed script and expecting the client to "do what they are told". It is extremely pragmatic as opposed to authoritarian. … It has been made possible to teach Erickson's unique and incredibly successful form of Hypnotherapy to hundreds of thousands of people thanks to the modelling work done by Bandler and Grinder and to the plethora of books that he co-wrote in his lifetime. The core of his work is the use of artfully vague language; this allows the client to take whatever meaning from what is said that is most appropriate for them.

Min uses the term ‘“permissive” hypnosis’. She describes this permissive hypnosis as being personalised and cooperative with the client. Further down she states that Erickson’s methods were modelled by the founders of NLP and that core of his work (Erickson, or the NLP founders Bandler and Grinder?) is ‘the use of artfully vague language’. Min is contrasting traditional clinical permission hypnosis, where a hypnotist induces a client using a standard script. In this traditional approach the client obviously knows full well that the hypnotist/psychologist/psychiatrist is going to hypnotise him/her. She calls this “authoritarian” and she also states that Ericksonian hypnotherapy is opposed to “authoritarian” hypnosis and she calls this “permissive” hypnosis. The truth is that even so called “authoritarian” hypnosis is also permissive. The real secret to Ericksonian (“permissive”) hypnosis is the clever us of artfully vague language. Artfully vague language is by nature ambiguous and ambiguity easily lends itself to deceit. This is why the Wikipedia article is correct to associate covert hypnosis to the works of Milton Erickson. The Wikipedia article states that rapport is essential to Erickson’s method of

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hypnosis. Rapport means to get friendly with someone. Building rapport will gradually lower a person’s natural psychological defences to external influence. Hence Min quotes Erickson as stating "I invent a new theory and a new approach for each individual"[1]

In Ericksonian hypnotherapy there is no standard ‘I am going to hypnotise you and when I count to…’ script. Everyone’s friendliness is different and so Erickson had to adapt to each client, befriend them in their own personal way to build rapport and then using artfully vague language induce hypnosis. An NLP practitioner may tell a client before hand and then use the Ericksonian method instead of the standard script method. However, Ericksonian hypnosis can be done outside the consulting room. I can visit a school principal befriend him/her in their office and then using artfully vague language induce hypnosis. NO PERMISSION from the school principal. The standard script ‘I am going to hypnotise you and when I count to…’ is permissive but Ericksonian hypnosis, in substance, is not permissive, though min calls it permissive. A better choice of words would have been to say that the so-called authoritarian script based hypnotherapy is rigid and that Ericksonian hypnotherapy is flexible in that the practitioner (not the patient/client) gives himself/herself permission to be covert at will. Semantically the words rigid and flexible are better opposites than stating that permissive is the opposite of authoritarian. A reader who is unfamiliar with covert hypnosis could easily mislead himself/herself if the word permissive is not understood in the right context. Min may be using the tools of her trade in her own essay. Is she intentionally being (in her own words) artfully vague? Further on in Min's essay it is written: There is no such thing as a resistant client, only an inflexible communicator. In Ericksonian hypnotherapy the onus is on the therapist to be flexible enough in their approach to allow the client to tap into their unconscious and access the resources that they have available to them at an unconscious level.

Here is an open invitation to be deceitful. If the client can be induced don't blame the client’s mind or stance. You (the NLP practitioner) are at fault. You (the NLP practitioner) need to wise up and be flexible (by deceit). Try, try, in deceit, until you get the result. Going back to the school principal scenario, my success in hypnotising the principal depends on how big my smile is, how friendly I am, how confident I am, how spirited and motivated I am, and how agreeable I am. Even my dressing and some body language can go a long way. With these tools I would stand a better chance of gaining the level of rapport I want to induce covert hypnosis. Min’s References: 1.

Milton H Erickson, M.D. quoted in "The Answer Within - A Clinical Framework of Ericksonian Hypnotherapy by Stephen R Lankton and Carol H Lankton.

Note: Emphasis in red is mine. (Source website: http://www.nlpsa.com/what-is-ericksonian-hypnotherapy.html, accessed on: 6 October 2011).

Jimmy Kyriacou, another leading South African NLP coach, offered a course in 2012 titled NLP Master’s Certification Training in Ericksonian Hypnosis and Advanced Language Patterns. The course breakdown and contents was published in pdf format on his website (referenced below). The opening paragraph of the course breakdown (the pdf document referenced below) states the following: This twenty-day training begins with four weekends on the hypnotic approaches of Milton Erickson, M.D. The material taught in this training is based on the book Training Trances: Multi-level Communication in Therapy and Training by John Overdurf and Julie Silverthorn. The next three weekends focus on Advanced

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Language Patterns based on the NLP modelling of Milton Erickson, M.D., also incorporating the more recent ‘Sleight of Mouth’ patterns. The course concludes with two weekends on Therapeutic Metaphor and a final integration weekend based on the Self-Relations work of Stephen Gilligan.

Note: Emphasis in red is mine. (Source website of referenced pdf: http://www.inlp.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Ericksonian-HypnosisMasters-2012.pdf, accessed on: 10 November 2011)

Sleight of Hand is defined by Encarta Dictionary as follows:

sleight of hand Noun

1. skill with the hands: skill or dexterity with the hands in conjuring, card tricks, or juggling 2. Deceptive skill: any kind of skill by which something happens without it being obvious how it is done (Microsoft® Encarta® Premium Suite 2005. © 1993-2004 Microsoft Corporation.)

So then sleight of mouth is here understood to be a variant of sleight of hand by way of language. This is the smoking gun of covert hypnosis, which is now known in NLP circles as Ericksonian Hypnosis. But perhaps the most revealing admission that Ericksonian Hypnosis is Covert hypnosis comes from yet another South African NLP coach, Chris Adlam, who heads up the NLP Training Centre nlptransformation.co.za. His webpage titled Covert Hypnosis Exposed brazenly states the following upfront: You're not supposed to know about this but... "Master Hypnotist Reveals Forbidden Secret Of How To Control People's Minds (Without Their Knowledge) And Make Them Obey Covert Commands During Normal Conversation!" Best Part: Subjects won't have a clue what's going on as you quickly and easily put them in a hypnotic trance... implant your specific suggestions... and...direct their thoughts and actions to do exactly what you want all while they are wide awake and talking with you... Keep reading to find out what the American Medical Association, the "Greatest Hypnotist of All Time" and the current hypnosis establishment kept hidden under "lock and key" for decades and hoped you'd never discover... Why hypnosis is a perfectly natural state we all experience from time to time! Hypnotic Rapport: Why this is the most powerful formula for making people feel comfortable in your presence! Learn easy steps to building an instant connection with almost any person.

Note: emphasis in red is mine. (Source website: http://www.nlptransformation.co.za/7901.html, accessed on: 22 November 2011)

Milton H. Erikson’s research and methods: Wikipedia’s article on Milton H. Erickson states as follows: Milton Hyland Erickson, (5 December 1901 in Aurum, Nevada – 25 March 1980 in Phoenix, Arizona) was an American psychiatrist specializing in medical hypnosis

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and family therapy. He was founding president of the American Society for Clinical Hypnosis and a fellow of the American Psychiatric Association, the American Psychological Association, and the American Psychopathological Association.

Under the sub section titled Hypnotism the last paragraph states: He was an important influence on neuro-linguistic programming (NLP), which was in part based upon his working methods.[5]

The next sub section titled Trance and the unconscious mind opens with these statements: Erickson believed that the unconscious mind was always listening, and that, whether or not the patient was in trance, suggestions could be made which would have a hypnotic influence, as long as those suggestions found some resonance at the unconscious level. The patient can be aware of this, or can be completely oblivious that something is happening. Erickson would see if the patient would respond to one or another kind of indirect suggestion, and allow the unconscious mind to actively participate in the therapeutic process. In this way, what seemed like a normal conversation might induce a hypnotic trance, or a therapeutic change in the subject. It should be noted that "[Erickson's] conception of the unconscious is definitely not the one held by Freud."[6] Erickson was an irrepressible practical joker, and it was not uncommon for him to slip indirect suggestions into all kinds of situations, including in his own books, papers, lectures and seminars. ... Erickson maintained that trance is a common, everyday occurrence. For example, when waiting for buses and trains, reading or listening, or even being involved in strenuous physical exercise, it's quite normal to become immersed in the activity and go into a trance state, removed from any other irrelevant stimuli. These states are so common and familiar that most people do not consciously recognise them as hypnotic phenomena.

Note: emphasis in red is mine. Wikipedia’s References: 5. Gorton, Gregg E (2005). Milton Hyland Erickson The American Journal of Psychiatry. Washington. Vol.162, Iss. 7; pg. 1255, 1 pgs 6. Andre M. Weitzenhoffer (1976) Introduction/forward in Hypnotic Realities Erickson & Rossi

The above statements from Wikipedia’s article show us that the mind has a natural inclination to slip into auto-trance states and that this natural inclination of the mind can be manipulated by a skilled person. Hence covert hypnosis is possible. Proving this, further down in the same article, we come across the sub section titled Handshake Induction. The first 3 paragraphs state the following: Among Erickson's best-known innovations is the hypnotic handshake induction, which is a type of confusion technique. The induction is done by the hypnotist going to shake hands with the subject, then interrupting the flow of the handshake in some way, such as by grabbing the subject's wrist instead. If the handshake continues to develop in a way which is out-of-keeping with expectations, a simple, non-verbal trance is created, which may then be reinforced or utilized by the hypnotist. All these responses happen naturally and automatically without telling the subject to consciously focus on an idea. This induction works because shaking hands is one of the actions learned and operated as a single "chunk" of behavior; tying shoelaces is another classic example. If the behavior is diverted or frozen midway, the person literally has no mental space for this - he is stopped in the middle of unconsciously executing a behavior that hasn't got a "middle". The mind responds by suspending itself in trance until either something happens to give a new direction, or it "snaps out". A skilled hypnotist can often use that momentary confusion and suspension of normal processes to induce trance quickly and easily. The various descriptions of Erickson's hypnotic handshake, including his own very detailed accounts, indicate that a certain amount of improvisation is involved, and that watching and acting upon the subject's responses is key to a successful outcome.

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Note: emphasis in red is mine. So again the above statements reinforce the Wikipedia article on covert hypnosis (and my argument) that Ericksonian hypnosis, in substance, is covert hypnosis. After giving a point form breakdown of the handshake induction technique the Wikipedia article concludes with these 2 paragraphs: Richard Bandler was a keen proponent of the handshake induction, and developed his own variant, which is commonly taught in NLP workshops. Any habitual pattern which is interrupted unexpectedly will cause sudden and light trance. The handshake is a particularly good pattern to interrupt because the formality of a handshake is a widely understood set of social rules. Since everyone knows that it would be impolite to comment on the quality of a handshake, regardless of how strange it may be, the subject is obliged to embark on an inner search (known as a transderivational search, a universal and compelling type of trance) to identify the meaning or purpose of the subverted pattern.

So now we know that the handshake induction technique, covert as it patently is, was used and taught by one of the founders of NLP, namely Richard Bandler. Further down in the same Wikipedia article, under the section Controversy, is the following: The author Jeffrey Masson dedicated a whole sub-section of his book Against Therapy to criticism of Milton Erickson.[15] Masson questions the accuracy of Erickson's case reports. Regarding Erickson's report of a female patient who was allegedly hypnotised to have spontaneous orgasms throughout the day, Masson writes, "The whole thing is tinged with fantasy and has a feeling of unreality about it." [16] Masson was particularly concerned by Erickson's own reports of cases in which he acted in a manner he felt might be construed as sexually inappropriate. He even goes so far as to suggest that Erickson may have obtained "sexual pleasure" from cases like the following, where he reports asking a young female client to gradually strip naked in his office, allegedly as a psychotherapeutic exercise. "Now you need to know how to undress and go to bed in the presence of a man. So start undressing." Slowly, in an almost automatic fashion, she undressed. I had her show me her right breast, her leaft breast, her right nipple, her left nipple. Her belly button. Her genital area. Her knees. Her gluteal [buttock] regions. I asked her to point where she would like to have her husband kiss her. I had her turn around [naked]. I had her dress slowly. She dressed. I dismissed her.[16]

Note: emphasis in red is mine. Wikipedia’s References:

15. Masson, Jeffrey (1988). Against Therapy: Emotional Tyranny and the Myth of Psychological Healing, pp. 268-279 16. a b Masson, Jeffrey (1988). Against Therapy: Emotional Tyranny and the Myth of Psychological Healing, p. 276 (Source website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milton_H._Erickson, Dated: 2 September 2011)

NLP, Hypnosis and Ethics: The issues I raised in this report on NLP do not mean that NLP is evil. I welcome NLP as a valid field of scientific research. One of the realisations that a reader should derive from this report is the extent to which the public, including school principals and parents are ignorant in respect of Ericksonian/covert hypnotherapy and of the scope of NLP and related practices. We should all take this report as a starting point to further our knowledge of hypnosis, the mind and NLP. This report is not any kind of finality in respect of Hypnosis and NLP.

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NLP is seen as a new and fast growing alternative to mainstream psychology and psychiatry. New developments in NLP are taking place on a yearly basis and whenever a new development surfaces it is marketed as a technological breakthrough because NLP is marketed as a kind of advanced mind technology. But this is the mind we talking about not a new micro chip from Intel or a new version of the iPhone from Apple. Have you noticed that medical/biological researchers are also making new discoveries every year in respect of the human body's biological systems and how the body sustains itself? Look at the difference in the ways these new discoveries/developments are greeted by scientists, politicians and lay people. Stem cell research could hold the potential to cure life threatening diseases but it is controversial and its controversy has received due attention in the media and from politicians. New food technologies are also being developed by the manipulation of fruit, vegetable and grain DNA. But scientists are very cautious in their approach and they have to take into consideration the greater environmental impact of introducing new strains of DNA into nature. There are also many ethical concerns in respect of food consumption when it comes to genetically manipulated foods (GM foods) verses natural organic foods. In a doctor patient relationship the patient gives the doctor permission to examine, touch (if necessary) and treat a physical/biological condition. In short access is given to the body. When a doctor accesses a person’s body he does not control their thinking and ability to choose and make decisions. In NLP all this comes into play. The P in NLP is programming which opens up the possibility that a NLP practitioner could re-programme a person’s thinking and state of mind. It must also be noted that the effect of hypnosis does not necessarily end when the client leaves the consulting room. Ericksonian hypnotherapy, or even the other form of hypnotic induction, may be designed by the practitioner to have a permanent post hypnotic effect on the client’s life, thinking and behaviour. Here is a typical example of how Ericksonian techniques can affect behaviour covertly long after the interaction between practitioner and client. This example from the Wikipedia article on Milton H Erickson is chosen because it involves religious devotion: INTERVIEWER: Suppose someone called you and said there was a kid, nineteen or twenty years old, who has been a very good boy, but all of a sudden this week he started walking around the neighborhood carrying a large cross. The neighbors are upset and the family's upset, and would you do something about it. How would you think about that as a problem? Some kind of bizarre behavior like that. ERICKSON: Well, if the kid came in to see me, the first thing I would do would be to want to examine the cross. And I would want to improve it in a very minor way. As soon as I got the slightest minor change in it, the way would be open for a larger change. And pretty soon I could deal with the advantages of a different cross - he ought to have at least two. He ought to have at least three so he could make a choice each day of which one. It's pretty hard to express a psychotic pattern of behaviour over an ever-increasing number of crosses. (Source website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milton_H._Erickson, Dated: 2 September 2011)

So what we have here is a situation where Erikson could influence religious devotion using his covert, sleight of mouth forms of suggestion and/or hypnosis.

Crossing the Ethical Line: In NLP therapy and Ericksonian hypnotherapy the patient may be unaware that the practitioner has accessed the sub conscious and has made suggestions thereto covertly using artfully vague language and/or trained body language. For example, A client that consults a NLP practitioner could be told that the therapy is called regression therapy or journey therapy and then the NLP

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practitioner goes ahead with explicit permission from the patient to proceed with this therapy but the patient does not know the full extent of the practitioners skills and practises and at the very least he does not know that a covert form of hypnosis was applied under a more attractive name. Above in this report I quoted statements from Min Mcloughlin’s published essay on Eriksonian hypnotherapy. Here reproduced below is what Min said in her Ericksonian hypnotherapy essay in respect of inducing the hypnosis: 'There is no such thing as a resistant client, only an inflexible communicator. In Ericksonian hypnotherapy the onus is on the therapist to be flexible enough in their approach to allow the client to tap into their unconscious and access the resources that they have available to them at an unconscious level. ' (Source website: http://www.nlpsa.com/what-is-ericksonian-hypnotherapy.html, accessed on : 9 December 2008)

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Can a NLP practitioner use sexual overtures to loosen up a client and make them more flexible to be induced?

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Where do you draw the line in gaining rapport with the client?

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How do you draw up an ethical code of conduct when trainers advocate unrestricted ‘flexibility’ (unrestricted deceit) in their practice?

Though Ericksonian hypnotherpy may use covert means to induce hypnosis it does not means that once induction is achieved that what comes after it is evil. I am not skilled in hypnosis but from my own research of hypnosis I have come to believe that the means is the ends. That is to say, the rigid standard script method of induction may produce a different kind of trance than when flexible covert induction is used. Then the success of the therapy and the response of the client’s mind (in particular the client’s subconscious) will differ based on the induction method. It may be that under Erickson's sleight of mouth/covert method of induction the subconscious is more cooperative and quicker personal/psychological breakthroughs can be achieved. Min alludes to this at the end of her essay on Ericksonian hypnotherapy: Erickson also believed that clients came to him because their conscious and unconscious brains were out of rapport. So Ericksonian hypnotherapy is about enabling the client’s conscious and unconscious brain to come into rapport with each other – to work towards the same outcome, to pull in the same direction, to see that they are part of the same team and to listen to the small voice that adds information to the given scenario. (Source website: http://www.nlpsa.com/what-is-ericksonian-hypnotherapy.html, Date: 9 December 2008)

Nevertheless, though this may be beneficial to the client’s therapy, it does not diminish the ethical concerns of the induction methods, which in fact is through sleight of mouth and is covert in substance.

Scientific Criticism of NLP: Beyond the revelations concerning the uses of covert Hypnosis in NLP therapy, academics have come forward to criticise the scientific validity of NLP. The following statements are drawn from Wikipedia’s article on NLP under the subheading Scientific Criticism. Criticism of NLP extends beyond a lack of reliable experimental evidence to support its claimed effectiveness. The title of "neuro-linguistic programming", has been described as pseudo-scientific because the claims, concepts and

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terminology may appear scientific but are not grounded in scientific research. NLP appeared on a list of discredited psychological interventions in related research that investigates what does not work. The term "Neuro-linguistic programming" has been characterized as pseudoscientific. Witkowski (2010) writes that "NLP represents pseudoscientific rubbish, which should be mothballed forever." Roderique-Davies (2009) states that "neuro" in NLP is "effectively fraudulent since NLP offers no explanation at a neuronal level and it could be argued that its use fallaciously feeds into the notion of scientific credibility". Witkowski (2010) also states that at the neuronal level NLP provides no explanation at all and has nothing in common with academic linguistics or programming. Similarly, experimental psychologist Corballis (1999) in his critique of lateralization of brain function (the left/right brain myth), states that "NLP is a thoroughly fake title, designed to give the impression of scientific respectability".[6] Witkowski (2010) states that NLP uses impressive sounding yet questionable expressions such as; pragmagraphics, surface structure, deep structure, accessing cues, non-accessing movement etc. Canadian skeptic and psychologist Barry Beyerstein (1995) also says that NLP contains terms such as, eye accessing cues, the metamodeling, metaprogramming, neurological levels, representational systems, and submodalities, intended to obfuscate and to give false impression of a scientific discipline. He says "though it claims neuroscience in its pedigree, NLP's outmoded view of the relationship between cognitive style and brain function ultimately boils down to crude analogies."[62] Furthermore Beyerstein (1995) believed that NLP has helped popularize myths about the brain and neurology. He believes that the aphorism, “you create your own reality”, promotes a relativistic perspective and only seeks to gain immunity from scientific testing.

Note: emphasis in red is mine. Wikipedia’s References:

6. a b c Corballis, MC., "Are we in our right minds?" In Sala, S., (ed.) (1999), Mind Myths: Exploring Popular Assumptions About the Mind and Brain Publisher: Wiley, John & Sons. ISBN 0-471-98303-9 (pp. 25–41) see page p.41 62. Beyerstein.B.L (1990). Brainscams: Neuromythologies of the New Age. International Journal of Mental Health 19(3): 27–36, 27. (Source website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuro_Linguistic_Programming, Dated: 11 November 2011)

Document History:   

6 January 2013 (First uploaded on Scribd) 10 April 2013 (minor editing of text) 30 December 2014 (edited title page)