New Code NLP

Domain VI · Brief, integrative, trauma, hypnosis & coaching · John Grinder, Carmen Bostic St Clair, Judith DeLozier · 1980

What it is

New Code NLP is a re-coding of classic neuro-linguistic programming (NLP). John Grinder began it in the 1980s, "initially with Judith Delozier", and later developed it with Carmen Bostic St Clair. Grinder's stated aim was to correct what he called "serious coding flaws" in the classic patterns he…

Format

• New Code has no phase model and no published session count. The only fixed structure is a single change format of four or five steps, whose third step can vary. Grinder calls the six-step reframe the "N-step reframe" because its number of steps varies.
• The New Code change format (generic structure).

Who practises it, and how they are trained or regulated

• Version followed: the New Code of NLP as John Grinder and Carmen Bostic St Clair set it out in Whispering in the Wind (2001) and as it is taught by their approved training route (NLP Academy, UK, led by Michael Carroll, certifying through the ITA). The earlier DeLozier and Grinder book Turtles All the Way Down (1987) is cited for history only.

Evidence status, as the guide reports it

• New Code is best used as an adjunct inside a broader evidence-based treatment plan, not as a stand-alone treatment for a mental disorder.

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Is there physical contact? Was it explained beforehand, and do you feel free to say no or stop at any point?
• Does it involve any substance, plant preparation, remedy or supplement? Has your doctor or prescriber been told, especially about any medication you take?
• Does it involve intense or unusual breathing? Have you been told about the medical conditions for which that is not advised?
• Does it involve fasting, a special diet or 'detox'? Have you discussed this with your doctor?
• Who runs it, and what training or registration do they hold?
• What actually happens in a session or meeting, and how often?
• What does it cost, and is there pressure to commit to more?
• How do you feel afterwards, in the hours and days that follow?
• Does it fit with, or clash with, the work we do here?

What practitioners of it watch for

• Clients losing their own perspective. Always end in a clean first position.
• A trampoline adds an obvious injury risk. It is unsuitable for most clinical rooms.
• Clients who experience indirectness as evasive. Be transparent about why you use stories.
• Harsh self-criticism in the client's voice. Ask for coaching feedback rather than judgement.
• Rapid-fire questioning that feels like interrogation. Pace the questions and use paraphrase between them.

Problems the guide addresses

• Training and certification

When to involve someone else

• New or worsening physical symptoms, or advice to stop or change prescribed medication: involve the client's doctor or prescriber.
• Signs of coercion, isolation from family and friends, escalating costs or secrecy: discuss openly and consider safeguarding.
• A crisis or thoughts of suicide: follow your crisis protocol. In the US, call or text 988; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans on 116 123.

Drawn automatically from the guide's own sections. Stay curious: neither endorse nor dismiss what the client values, and check anything that matters against the full guide and its sources. Not medical advice.