Smoking Cessation Plan for Smokers
There are innumerable choices out there for someone seeking hypnosis to quit smoking and it's often difficult to sort through them to detect which would be best suited for you. I have taken the liberty of posting some information here as to my own approach to smoking cessation and how it may differ from other hypnosis plans out there. Anyone reading this should be careful to note that because the effectiveness of hypnosis is largely dependent upon the individual, I do not make any claims or guarantees that these sessions will definitively end a particular individual's smoking habit.
In a review of 17 studies conducted from 1970-1979, it was found that long-term abstinence from smoking was most effective when several hours of treatment are combined with personalized suggestions that are tailored to the individual's desires for ending the habit, followed up with additional counseling. Given this approach, 55% to 66% of smokers remained abstinent for at least 6 months.
In contrast, when a one-session technique was used, utilizing a brief clinical history of the smoker combined with more general hypnotic suggestions such as "You owe your body this resepct and protection," etc., the follow-up data revealed that only 20% out of the 615 people sampled were not smoking 6 months after the single session.
My Approach
When smokers call me seeking to quit, I am often asked why so many sessions? The simple reason: it works.
Quitting smoking is about far more than fighting a nicotine habit. It is more importantly about a change of outlook; the positive re-inforcement and continued follow-ups tailored to your specific needs to prevent a relapse, and perhaps most importantly, a reduction in stress. One of the reasons people fail so often when they attempt to quit the habit is because they attempt to do so at a time in their life filled with other stressors --- be it work, personal life or finances. The added stress of quitting smoking can then prove to be too much for anyone to handle. Hence, smoking eventually resumes. One thing I do during this program is to give the client methods in which to deal with that stress so that they are less likely to use the crutch of smoking again as a release valve, instead providing you with tools to create your own release valve.
The plan calls for a total of 5 sessions: An initial session at which time a discussion of smoking triggers and behavioral changes will be discussed; a second session consisting of a double-session, wherein the client is put into hypnosis several times. At this point it is often the case that there will no longer be any desire to smoke; a third session as a follow-up in one-month's time and an additional follow-up 6 months after that.
The Cost
Many individuals who come to me seeking to stop smoking often do not follow through because they are concerned about the cost of the program. For that reason, please allow me to put the program into perspective for you.
Here is a very quick and easy way to put the monetary cost of my hypnosis smoking cessation program and the monetary cost of smoking into a simple formula for you.
1 pack of cigarettes per day = approx. $5.00 per day.
$5.00 x 30 days= $150.00
$150.00 x 6 months= $900.00
My smoking cessation program (5 sessions over 6 months) = $750.00
Many people who seek to stop smoking begin first by trying the nicotine chewing gum. Unfortunately, too often smokers become addicted to chewing the gum instead of smoking a cigarette, thus continuing the habit albeit in a different form. The same is true of the popular nicotine patches.
Other things to consider are: The recommended usage chart for nicotine gum recommends a minimum of 518 pieces of gum over a 10-week period, and most people use it for longer or get addicted to it. The cost of 7 refills of nicotine gum or 10 refills of the patch, are no more expensive than my smoking cessation program.
The truth about nicotine (which of course the makers of the patch and the gum will never tell you) is that nicotine leaves the body within 48 hours. Despite popular belief, it is not the nicotine that "hooks" a smoker and causes the cravings so many smokers experience when attempting to quit. It is the psychological conviction that the smoker needs the cigarette.
I would be happy to discuss any questions you may have regarding hypnosis or your specific needs. Please contact me via the Contact page in order to set-up a consultation.