The TLT special issue on NLP was not intended as a primer in NLP. The issue offered sample applications--not a coherent introduction or a defense of it. In the introduction to the volume, we attempted to make that clear. Also for that reason, we intentionally included an extensive bibliography and a resources list.

NLP has been around for about 25 years. The sources of contemporary NLP are indeed quite varied, including cognitive psychology, clinical hypnosis, NLP-based research, motivational training, etc. The word "programming" today does have a negative ring to it which it did not have two decades ago. Many in NLP, in fact, have suggested changing the term "Neuro Linguistic Programming" to "Neuro Linguistic Psychology."