One of the foundational models that I use underneath everything else is Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP). It is especially interesting because it is several things that all get grouped together under the same name.
Techniques Are the Surface, Modeling Is the Core
The techniques are the most common, and in many ways least interesting to me, aspect that people refer to as NLP. These are specific processes, that often involve both conscious and unconscious aspects, with a particular goal. The "Six Step Reframe" or "Fast Phobia Fix" are some examples for changing your reactions to a situation.
The apocryphal story (I treat all of the oral history of NLP as metaphor) of the Fast Phobia "cure" is that they put an ad in the paper (this was 50 years ago) looking for people who used to have a "phobia" (in the common usage of an intense fear, not the clinical use) but no longer do. Then they modeled what those folks did and applied it to other people's fears.
In fact, modeling is what I consider to be the clear differentiator between NLP and any other behavioral change approaches or interventions. NLP took people who were outstanding in making change happen (in themselves or in others) and captured the underlying processes into transferrable understanding. This is where we get the techniques as concrete processes and more abstract models that are all under the NLP umbrella.
Unconscious Modeling
Before we look at some of the models that came from the early NLP explorers, let's take a minute to talk about the original NLP modeling approach: unconscious modeling.
Unconscious modeling starts by the modeler observing an exemplar as they are engaged in their expertise. This is immersive. They are watching and observing and absorbing, not trying to explain anything. At some point, they begin to "try on" the behaviors and see how well they perform compared to the expert. As the unconscious modeler starts to get the same sort of results as the exemplar, they can begin to consciously "unpack" the unconscious behaviors into more conscious understanding. Ideally, their conscious description becomes enough for someone else to begin reproducing the results without having been exposed directly to the exemplar.
If this sounds vague and imprecise, that's because it is.
The whole process is typically learned unconsciously and is highly dependent on the modeler picking up on the important nuances. I believe everyone can do some amount of unconscious modeling (I have a rant about much of schooling being unintentional unconscious modeling), but there is a reason we don't see nearly as many new models from the NLP community as blossomed in the early days.
My bet is that it was a perfect storm with Bandler and Grinder and the exemplars in change work around Santa Cruz at the time. Fritz Perls, Virginia Satir, Milton Erickson, EST and the human potential movement. A spectacularly fertile landscape of exemplars for making changes in our lives and some ambitious young people with just the right combination of skills for unconscious modeling to blossom and lead to harvesting an inordinate amount of that pool of change workers' hidden processes.
We certainly have new models coming from folks since the heady days. And yet, there seems to have been something about Santa Cruz in the 70s that led to a different quality and quantity of models that became NLP.
The NLP Model Bank
A few of the models, frameworks, and concepts that came into NLP from adjacent fields and the modeling of the early days include the Meta Model, Milton Model, meta programs, representation systems and submodalities and metaphor for change work, pacing and leading, anchoring, Sleight of Mouth patterns, hypnotic language patterns, and a pile of techniques representing the application of the models.
And that's not to mention the public models and frameworks that have blossomed in this century from talented NLPers. GeniusMapping (conscious modeling), the LAB Profile (patterns of motivation in work and life), Meta States (states about states), the NLP Research and Recognition Project (scientifically validating NLP, with a focus on treating PTSD). And all the models being used privately that we'll never hear of.
Pragmatic Application
Setting aside the modeling aspects, my pragmatic use of NLP models are as an advanced communication approach. Being aware of how language patterns influence behaviors. Conscious and unconscious communication and how they interact. Belief management. State management. Pattern matching and pattern interrupts. All have impacted the way I interact with the world and with other people in positive ways. They are rarely consciously applied these days because they are just an inherent part of who I am and how I move through the world.
[WLB: This is where I should talk about the mindset and worldview being the real treasure and that we get it by way of learning and internalizing the models (and maybe learn some techniques along the way). And when we're more inspired to capture expertise, we can lean into the modeling -- whether NLP unconscious modeling or more conscious processes like GeniusMapping.]
Like most of the models I know and love, I went deep enough to become licensed as a trainer. Two and three times over with different organizations, but starting with Bandler himself over 20 years ago.
Whatever your ambitions, I believe it is worth taking a step deeper into the pool of mindsets and models of NLP today. Because even those of us playing with all of this for decades have areas to grow and develop!