Smoke Cessation

I have been working with smoke cessation clients very successfully for 10 years and get doctor referrals with regularity due to my clients success rate. I have run across my toughest client in those 10 years. i am writing this to gather some new ideas and techniques from the vast source of educated individuals that I know are here on Hypnothoughts. My "Kick Your Butts Forever" smoke cessation program utilizes recorded CD or MP3 copies of the actual hypnosis sessions. Psycho-visual video which incorporates color therapy and subliminal messaging. Reinforcement over the period of at least one month.Behavior modification, regression, as well as talk and cognitive techniques. He is very emotional about wanting to quit and I know from working with him that he truly wants to and it is not just his wife (and the upcoming birth of his first baby) that is sparking this. He has tried everything before seeking hypnosis but is a very open and spiritual man. I am going to be incorporating some Reiki techniques because I have been working with him for a month and a half in Florida and I have just moved to Florida. He is very open to doing more work long distance and I have worked with many clients long distance in the past, since I put a lot of my work into creating rich custom audios that also incorporate hypnotic tonals and subliminal messaging. He has an addictive personality but was able to let go of his alcohol and cocaine addictions in the past. I know that he is subconsciously holding on to his last match or vice and would be very appreciative of any new ideas that may be of help with this individual. He has quit for days at a time with my program but he has allowed his withdrawal symptoms to be increasingly uncomfortable. His mind gets confused, he can't think straight and he owns his own brokerage business, and he even begins dropping things and his anger completely consumes him. I also quit smoking with Hypnosis and have a good personal understanding although my withdrawals were mild and non existent after my second session. Many of my clients have had absolutely none and been amazed. I want to assist this individual to escape his misery. SOS!

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Permalink Reply by Melina Johnson on June 20, 2011 at 7:42am

I agree with you, Michael. Secondary gain is not a treatment, is simply a label to the question "what is preventing the change?". It is only by finding the cause that we can give the client a healthy replacement for smoking (again, I was replying to the question "What are the possible secondary gains for continuing to smoke?").

I am not sure what you meant by "impose old fashioned beliefs about the mind, brain and healing", but I do agree that behavioral therapy is the way to go.

Regards,

Melina

Michael Ellner said:

I believe that the easiest and most effective way to assist a smoker who is using cigs to self-medicate is to give the client a healthier way to get their desired effect...

I do not think it is a good idea to impose old fashioned beliefs about the mind, brain and healing on modern clients. Secondary gain and repressed trauma/memories was/is a big part of Freudian psychoanalysis which has been pretty much replaced by the cognitive and behavioral schools of therapy. An alternative view is that if a client believes that they are unable to change they are likely in a stuck state and it is their learned helplessness/hopelessness that needs to be addressed in order to help them reach their goals.

FYI - I have helped many young bedwetters stop wetting their beds using a combo of direct suggestion and metaphor very effectively.

Melina Johnson said:

Secondary gains are the subconscious reasons to hold into the "problem". Please note that the key word is subconscious. Say a 8 year old child has a problem with bed-wetting. He might be 1000000% committed to stop this, maybe because he is looking forward to have sleep-overs. He might feel embarrassed about the fact he can't control his bladder, and his parents might have tried stop giving him liquids by 6pm, etc etc. Everyone is frustrated, there is no medical cause for the problem, and the child is taken to see you. During the interview process you might find out that is mom always lets him sleep in her bedroom when his bed is wet, or that when he wakes up wet in the middle of the night mom is the one getting up and changing his sheets. It is very possible that subconsciously he might be associating bed-wetting with getting attention from mom. In order to help the child with this problem you must first end the trigger for the secondary gain (for example, by telling mom to give him a sleeping bag, so that he can get into a dry bed without having mom in the bedroom changing the sheets in the middle of the night). Needless to say, there is much more to the therapy than an isolated event and one single approach to the solution.

Regardless of what a client is seeing you for, you must always consider the secondary gain. Most of our clients WANT to change. So... what is preventing them to do so? Maybe he is afraid of confrontation, or maybe a cigarette is his way to control his anger (if he lights a cigarette every time he is about to have a heated discussion, you might want strengthen his confidence first).

Our subconscious is complex. Answers are not always at the surface. I would start by asking your client what does he FEELS when he smokes? When does he feels compelled to light up a cigarette? What kind of memories does he have from smoking? (i.e., does he usually smoke around friends? or to get away from a discussion?). Does he smoke for identification (usually when others lead the client to start smoking) or replacement (clients that smoke usually for oral or visual gratification)? You could use guided imagery to get those answers if your client can't seem to find them by himself. Remember, the subconscious uses IMAGES, not words. Metaphors are not to be ignored. If he says that he sees a light at the end of a tunnel, for example, ask him what does the light means to him. To me, there is a clue in the sentence "He is very emotional about wanting to quit and I know from working with him that he truly wants to and it is not just his wife (and the upcoming birth of his first baby) that is sparking this" - Not "just his wife"? So, is he also trying to please her? Does he feel guilty for possibly causing damage to the new baby? I would look more into this. Also, "he has quit for days at a time with my program but he has allowed his withdrawal symptoms to be increasingly uncomfortable. His mind gets confused, he can't think straight and he owns his own brokerage business, and he even begins dropping things and his anger completely consumes him." Ask, ask, ask! Why? Why he feels that he cannot think straight? Why is he angry? What is triggering the anger? I bet it is not the presence or absence of the cigarette!

Last but not least, EFT is very helpful too!!!

Melina

Michael Ellner said:

Julia, Melina, Ricky, et al,

What are the possible secondary gains for continuing to smoke?

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Permalink Reply by Bruce Taylor on June 20, 2011 at 9:44am

Julia,

Maybe he has a secondary gain issue. Secondary gain can effect in my opinion the outcome even when you have eliminated the emotion and cause to why the behaviour has been there. He might need a session using parts therapy to find the part that may not want to give it up or is hindering the letting go of the habit. I find that when a client is just not moving towards there goal or has some progress and reverts back and I feel I have done everything correct, I find a part of them does not want to change for some reason or another. Usually makes some sort of sense when you uncover it. Just a thought. I usually do not need this very often but have a few times.

Bruce Taylor

www.taylorhypnosiscenter.com