Considering hypnotherapy to stop smoking?
If you are considering hypnotherapy to help you stop smoking there are a few things you may want to know, such as:
- What to expect
- Does it work
- How to get the right therapist
What to expect from hypnotherapy to stop smoking?
Hypnotherapy is the art of using imagery and suggestion to create unconscious change, it can be very powerful and is most effective when the unconscious change reflects the person’s conscious desire. Most hypnotherapists use relaxation or focusing exercises to guide the client into a trance before delivering personalised suggestions to help;
1) Break habits
2) Enhance motivation
In addition, most hypnotherapists will look at your personal history of smoking and address any aspects of this as well as addressing any concerns you have about life when become a non-smoker.
Practical matters
- How much should it cost? Work to stop smoking is usually £100-150 in the UK with the exception of London.
- How long will it take? Most therapists do either an intense 1 session intervention, of about 1.5hrs or 2 sessions of 45-60 minutes each.
Can hypnotherapy help me to stop smoking?
Thousands of people in the UK have used hypnotherapy to help them stop smoking. A recent study found hypnotherapy to be more successful than Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) (Hasan et al 2014), and there is broad evidence from Randomised Controlled Trials (RTCs) in support of it (Tahiri et al 2012)
Hypnotherapy is however not a miracle cure; it usually builds on your own motivation and drive to succeed, helping rather than doing the whole job for you, you will need;
- To have some idea of why you want to stop smoking.
- To have some idea of what you are gaining when you stop smoking.
How to get the right therapist
To get the therapist who is right for you should consider;
- Are they a member of a professional body such as the British Society of Clinical Hypnosis (BSCH)?
- Do they talk about hypnotherapy to help you stop smoking on their website?
Best of luck in finding the hypnotherapists for you and in your decision to stop smoking.
The author – Matt is a Hypnotherapist in Birmingham with 16 years experience helping people to stop smoking.
Reference
Hasan, F. M., Zagarins, S. E., Pischke, K. M., Saiyed, S., Bettencourt, A. M., Beal, L., … & McCleary, N. (2014). Hypnotherapy is more effective than nicotine replacement therapy for smoking cessation: results of a randomized controlled trial. Complementary therapies in medicine, 22(1), 1-8.