Neuro-linguistic programming treatment for anxiety: magic or myth?

The neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) treatment for anxiety, claimed to be a single-session cure for unpleasant feelings, was compared with self-control desensitization of equal duration and a waiting-list control group in treating public speaking anxiety. Fifty-five speech-anxious undergraduates underwent pretreatment and posttreatment assessments of anxiety during 4-min speeches. The results indicate that neither treatment was more effective in reducing anxiety than merely waiting for 1 hr. These data suggest that Handler and Grinder's (1979) claim for a single-session cure of anxiety may be unwarranted.