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Great request! Thanks for giving me a opportunity to address the information and similar articles you may find if you surf the web long enough.

First let me agree with you that every theory and discipline have their detractors, and add that those who speak loudest often have the most to gain.

After reading the article I did a little research on the source. The information you found was on the site of a trainer/coach who in his own words “withdrew from NLP in 1994.” He also went on to develop and promote his own model of coaching and training, as the web site shows.

Now let's deal with the content (a piece by a third party, translated into English by yet another person.) I found the article's description of both the Visual Squash and Six Step Reframe so convoluted that without the labels, I wouldn't have recognize what the author was attempting to describe. It bares little resemblance to the techniques we teach, and you learned to use.

Here's a quote by John Grinder, co-creator of NLP on ecology: “Ecology in NLP is about respecting the integrity of the system as a whole when assessing a change to the system, in this case a person's model of the world.”

Most trainers will tell you ecology is about consequence and congruency. Will the desired outcome have a negative consequence for the individual or negatively affect the system they are part of—their family, community or in the case of career, the organization etc. Congruence could be called compatibility and alignment with other values and goals. In other words, the absence of conflict.

The change techniques as taught by Innergize and most other INHNLP™ training institutes, integrate ecology checks and test for conscious and unconscious congruence as key steps in any change process. And all begin with a ‘well formed’ outcome - itself an ecology check.

Even in the hands of a ‘less than highly skilled Practitioner’ (and like every worthwhile skill, there is a learning curve) where an ‘incongruency’ is missed—perhaps a secondary gain to be handled—the unconscious mind will simply refuse to complete a process.

As for ecology, the protocols you were taught included instructing the unconscious to develop strategies ‘at least as effective and more ecological than the existing behaviour.’

And the unconscious is fully capable of rejecting any change that is not in someone's best interest. This is built into the process as we teach it.

Specifically in the Visual Squash, the hands will only come together if the change is congruent and ecological, often serving a higher purpose. With the Six-Step-Reframe, the unconscious is instructed (see above) as to the quality of new strategies and the final question ‛is there anything else we need to do for this work to be complete?’ is also a test for ecology.

I can tell you from 16 years experience using and teaching these techniques, that they work. They are safe because they place control and choice in the hands of the subject and their (own) unconscious mind. Who knows them better?

The fact that you have been successful using these techniques for yourself and with others – getting good results – is the best demonstration of the efficacy. And when the results are less than totally perfect ... it simply means you're not finished yet.

Removing the blocks to achieving a desired outcome can be like peeling away layers of an onion. After you peel away one layer you find another waiting to be dealt with. Does that mean the technique you used didn't work? No. All it really means is you are one step closer to the outcome you're seeking. Keep going.

As well it's probably useful to acknowledge that there are people in the world who want someone else to take responsibility for their actions. People who will look for groups and relationships that are designed to create a dependence — on the group, a leader, or even a coach.

For me, this miss-matches the true value of NLP. What draws many people to NLP is the offer of simple, do-it-yourself tools you can use to create your own results. Manage your emotions, your behaviour and respond more effectively to events in your life. And especially, enjoy more choice and control.

Paste the link below in your browser for a few interesting facts about John Grinder:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Grinder