I understand that Anthony Robbins has been successfullay curing
phobics, depressives and sex-crime victims for many years. At a recent
Robbins seminar I saw him achieve apparently miraculous results in a
very short time (less than 30 minutes per case), using a mix of
hypnosis, NLP and techniques developed during his own research.

Has there been any scientific investigation the real effectiveness
(long term, as well as immediate) of this kind of rapid intervention
approach in general, and of Robbins' work in particular? Is there any
proof that these or equivalent techniques work?
 
I got the impression that Robbins has trained and worked with many
eminent therapists and psychologists to achieve similar results - is
this true? Who are the leading scientific practitioners and
researchers in this area of "mental re-programming" and where can a
non-psychologist find out about the latest research?

While there is research published on the efficacy of brief
psychotherapies, even single-session psychotherapies, these
interventions are markedly different than that Tony Robbins does. 
There is no peer-reviewed published research on what you are
discussing.

However, try to keep in mind the old research axion, "absence of
evidence is not evidence of absence."  It is possible that what
Robbins does works, and it's possible that it doesn't work any better
than a placebo.  We just don't know.

That said, however, there is a great deal of research available on the
efficacy of brief psychotherapies.  They can work very well for some
problems.  However, Robbins does not do these therapies.

I would encourage you to be extremely skeptical of any miracle cure,
particularly when it is achieved through techniques known only to a
very few, and available at a very high price.  True science isn't
proprietary.

Best wishes.

-Albanada (I am a PhD clinical psychologist)