What is hypnosis or hypnotherapy for smoking cessation?

Hypnosis is a trance-like state of mind. When you're under hypnosis your attention is more focused, you're deeply relaxed and calm, and you're more open to suggestions. The purpose of hypnosis to help you quit smoking is to help you gain more control over your behavior, emotions and overall lifestyle.

2.

Why and how does hypnosis work?

We may never know exactly why hypnosis works. The Egyptians used hypnosis as early as 3500 years ago. Hypnosis creates a state of deep relaxation and quiets the mind. When you're hypnotized, you can concentrate intensely on a specific thought, memory, feeling or sensation while blocking out distractions. You're mind opens-up to suggestions, and this can be used to change your behavior and  improve your health.

3.

Who is this Hypnosis Smoking Cessation program best suited for?

It works best for those who know they are quitting smoking for their own personal reasons. Of course, we will help you become highly motivated to succeed by discussing exactly what cigarettes have been for you, and the hypnosis therapy treatment itself is very powerful, but nothing is more central to your success than knowing you truly want to have the benefits of being a non smoker for the rest of your life.

4.

Can I be hypnotized?

Typically, yes. We will perform hypnotic testing to determine your hypnotic abilities, and different types of hypnosis are used for different types of smokers.
There are a variety of hypnotic techniques used depending on the client. The approach chosen often depends on your personal preferences. For example, while under hypnosis, the hypnotherapist may suggest specific outcomes, such as reducing urges or stress or helping to eliminate any cravings associated with smoking cessation. Or using another technique, the hypnotherapist could help to stimulate your imagination by suggesting specific mental images for you to visualize. These vivid, meaningful pictures in your mind (mental imagery) is another one of many tools used to bring about change in what you want to achieve.

5.

What Can I expect?

A typical session lasts from 2 to 3 hours. The vast majority of my clients stop smoking after one visit. I'd have no reason to expect you to be an exception. You will generally be able to resume your daily activities shortly after the session. Many people drive themselves home.

6.

Why use hypnosis for quitting smoking?

Scientific research shows that of all ways to quit smoking hypnosis comes out on top, and, again, out of all the professionals available, the highest success rates are attributed to specialists committed to "a brief and effective treatment" is your best bet.

7.

When you're under hypnosis do you surrender all your free will?

Hypnosis is a heightened state of concentration and focused attention. When you're under hypnosis, you do not lose power. Instead, your free will & your personal strength may actually be increased.This elevated sense of personal control is part of the reason people find hypnotherapy very rewarding.

8.

When you're under hypnosis the hypnotherapist controls you, right?

Hypnosis is voluntarily. Successful hypnosis depends on your willingness to experience it. You can't be made to do anything you wouldn't ordinarily agree to do for yourself; you'll always know that you are in-charge and the hypnotherapist is there for you, to serve as a knowledgeable consultant or as your guide to becoming smoke-free!.

9.

How best to choose a qualified professional?

You may wish to ask your friends or co-workers for recommendations. Who did they have success with? As a Certified hypnotherapists, we have years of training and experience in hypnotherapy and in the specialty area of Smoking Cessation (we've been practicing hypnosis for 20 years). There are licensed health care professionals who practice hypnotherapy, such as psychologists, doctors and social workers, but typically they are trained to see you for items they feel will require months or even years to resolve. It is a very common experience to over-think or over-buy and then regret doing so. At the same time, it gives everyone a sense of pleasure to have made up their mind to accomplish a task with just the right amount of action needed. Our single purpose is to help you quickly stop smoking cigarettes and have it be as easy as is possible for you.  

10.

Any negative side effects from hypnosis?

The only side effects associated with hypnotherapy for smoking cessation, other than breaking the nicotine habit, is an increased sense of well-being.Your session will cement the value of quitting and provide help with avoiding any smoking relapse. Each hypnosis session is tailored to the needs of the client. Most clients find that not only was quitting possible or much easier than they feared, but that the session was relaxing and helped them deal with other everyday stressers.

11.

Do audio hypnosis programs claiming a 50 - 66% success rate really work?

In our experience they do not. They promise to be more affordable, but then fall short in effectiveness. In fact, for hypnosis to be highly effective for smoking cessation you must find a well trained and specialized hypnotist who will spend all the time necessary to focus on your particular experiences with cigarettes.
Hypnosis audio programs for home use have become a popular marketing gimmick. However, there is no comparison in effectiveness to seeing a therapist in person. It's like the difference between a squirt-gun and a fire-hydrant.  One could check-out the poor reviews on these products, if it were of further interest.

12.

Does hypnosis in person work better?

When done correctly the success rate in a typical clinical hypnotherapy office for smoking cessation is 85%. Compare that to the success rates of trying to quit on your own, or using behavior therapy 22%, or using Nicotine Replacement Products, 23% and hypnosis looks like the best option out there. There is no other method supported by research that even compares favorably.

13.

Why not  see a psychologist or a type of counselor to help kick my smoking habit?

In the last decade there has been a great effort to medicalize smoking cessation. We have family & friends who are professionals in the fields of psychology and medicine, but even they agree smoking cessation using hypnosis is not part of their scope. Today, some who use hypnotherapy seem to be trying to make it much more complicated and difficult than it really is. This often stems from an attempt to protect or gain a source of income.

What may alarm you if you go to a psychological health professional for stop smoking help is the money and time commitment involved. In general, the average client/counselor relationship in the Kansas City area lasts approximately 2 years. For smoking cessation you probably will be scheduled for 4 to 12 one-hour visits as a start. Most counseling offices automatically place you on their schedule well into the future. After years of helping people beat nicotine addiction with hypnosis therapy, we would suggest that unless their is a mental illness issue or large doses of mood-altering drugs being taken you would probably do better with a hypnotherapist who specializes in help with quitting cigarettes. He is only in this business, and not in the business of looking for other issues.  He has one single interest, providing expert help for you to stop smoking.

14.

Are you a doctor?

Why? Do you need a doctor?

If you do than I think you should see a doctor of clinical psychology, or someone licensed as a psychotherapist or as a Marriage and Family Therapist, or as a professional counselor to stop smoking. Somebody could have a good case for doing that, but it isn't normally necessary for healthy people. 

It is curious for some people why profesionals from other fields would focus on smoking cessation help. Yet I'd believe there is a need for it, especially for the mentally ill or people taking very high doses of mind-altering drugs.

Overall, it really depends on what you need? Do you want counseling about just how bad cigarettes are for you, or do you just want to quit smoking? Is it important for you to see a therapist who wants to build a long-term in-office treatment plan, or are you more interested in making a committment to a brief and effective treatment? (because you really just want a dedicated professional to help you stop smoking with hypnosis in the fewest number of visits possible?)

Seriously, if you need a doctor, it's OK to ignore the $1,200 or more over a series of visits, because it may be your only chance. That's still certainly less costly than smoking cigarettes over the long run, right? Best of luck to you!