The effect of neuro-linguistic programming on occupational stress in critical care nurses

The use of coping strategies in reducing the adverse effects of stress can be helpful. Nero-linguistic programming
(NLP) is one of the modern methods of psychotherapy. This study aimed to determine the effect of NLP on occupational stress
in nurses working in critical care units of Urmia.
Materials and Methods: This study was carried out quasi-experimentally (before–after) with control and experimental groups. Of
all the nurses working in the critical care units of Urmia Imam Khomeini and Motahari educational/therapeutic centers, 60 people
participated in this survey. Eighteen sessions of intervention were done, each for 180 min. The experimental group received NLP
program (such as goal setting, time management, assertiveness skills, representational system, and neurological levels, as well
as some practical and useful NLP techniques). Expanding Nursing Stress Scale (ENSS) was used as the data gathering tool.
Data were analyzed using SPSS version 16. Descriptive statistics and Chi-square test, Mann–Whitney test, and independent
ttest were used to analyze the data.
Results: The baseline score average of job stress was 120.88 and 121.36 for the intervention and control groups, respectively
(P = 0.65). After intervention, the score average of job stress decreased to 64.53 in the experimental group while that of control
group remained relatively unchanged (120.96). Mann–Whitney test results showed that stress scores between the two groups
was statistically signifcant (P = 0.0001).
Conclusions: The results showed that the use of NLP can increase coping with stressful situations, and it can reduce the adverse
effects of occupational stress