Abstract: Background: Although NLP became a widely used method in
psychotherapy, no general evidence of its impact in everyday practice has been published so far. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine comprehensively the efficacy of individual NLPT.

Method: Based on a prospective design with ratings at 3 time points, 55 therapy clients and 60 persons of a no treatment waiting list participated. Assessments were made with the help of standardised psychological questionnaires concerning individual complaints, clinical symptoms, coping strategies and locus of control tendencies. Ratings of clients and therapists concerning the success of treatment were also included.

Results: As statistical methods the linear rating scale model (LRSM) and the linear partial credit model (LPCM) were used. Comparisons on posttreatment/wait scores indicated that the NLPT group showed significantly greater improvements than the control group. Most of the therapy effects also remained stable 6 months after the end of therapy. The effectiveness of NLPT was found to be significantly influenced by the treatments' duration, and the clients’ age and gender.

Conclusions: In principle, NLPT is an effective method according to
therapeutic objectives.