Book Description
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), general anxiety disorder (GAD), and major depression disorder (MDD) are common debilitating disorders with a lifetime prevalence rate of approximately 12%, 2.6%, and 8% of Canadians, respectively. In addition to pharmacologic treatment, different treatment modalities such as psychotherapy, electroconvulsive therapy, transcranial magnetic stimulation, vagus nerve stimulation, deep brain stimulation, and neuro-linguistic programming (NLP), have been suggested for these disorders. NLP is a therapeutic technique used to detect and re-program unconscious patterns of thoughts and behavior in order to alter psychological responses. The creators of NLP have claimed that there is a connection between the neurological processes (neuro), language (linguistic) and behavioral patterns learned through experience (programming), and as such, it can be used in business, education, and medicine for conditions such as phobias, anxiety and depression. NLP is a multi-dimensional process usually comprised of steps such as building rapport between physician and patient, information gathering and desired health outcome definition, and use of techniques and tools such as sets of questions to facilitate a change in thinking and behavior of patients. Therapy sessions can take place weekly with the total number of sessions depending on individual needs. This Rapid Response report aims to review the clinical evidence of NLP for PTSD, GAD and depression. Evidence-based guidelines on the use of NLP for these disorders will also be examined.
