Hypnotherapy to stop smoking

Quitting smoking (male hand crushing cigarette)Tobacco is Australia's leading cause of preventable death (Aust Inst of Health and Welfare, 2021). In 2004-2005 Tobacco caused the deaths of almost 15,000 people. Smoking is also very expensive. At only a pack a week smoking can cost approximately $10,000 per year and that doesn't include all the additional cost such as increased insurance premiums for smokers and other health care costs.

Nicotine is an addictive substance, but more than that, a smoking habit  often becomes an aid for stress, boredom, nervousness and emotional management. This makes trying to quit very difficult. The Melbourne Clinical Hypnotherapy Program is more than just hypnosis to reject cigarettes, it is a comprehensive program that incorporates healthy and positive strategies and techniques  to cope with these stressful situations.

For the past 20 years, hypnotherapist Dr Bruce Alexander has been successfully helping people to stop their smoking addiction using clinical hypnotherapy in Melbourne.

Melbourne Clinical Hypnotherapy Program -Stop Smoking

To help you quit, the Melbourne Clinical Hypnotherapy Stop Smoking Hypnotherapy Program consists of 3 weekly x 50 minute sessions. The program aims to stop smoking and prevent remission.

The first session involves setting a goal for an initial smoke free week. The session begins with a  20 minute pre-hypnosis interview follow by a 30 minute hypnotherapy session. The pre-hypnosis interview addresses two issues: Motivation and Substitution.

  • Motivation: It is important to deeply connect with why you want to stop smoking. Many people are motivated by health reasons or a fear of cancer and heart disease. This is well justified with Tobacco causing almost 15,000 deaths in 2004-2005 (Quit, 2018). Other people are motivated by the realisation how much smoking costs them financially. Pack a day smokers could save almost $10,000 a year if they quit. What is important is that your motivations are your own. Attempting to quit smoking because your partner, parent or someone else wants you to will usually result in failure. Hypnotherapy cannot make you do something you don't really want to do.
  • Substitution: Often smoking is used to manage stress stress, boredom, emotions or just an excuse to take a break. Clients and therapist will work together to identify new and healthy ways to manage these issues.  Hypnosis is used to support the client to adopt these new healthy practices which could include exercise

After the first session, the client returns for a second session a week later. Hypnosis is always stronger with repetition. This second session reinforces the motivation to quit and the client is left with a goal of a further two smoke-free weeks.

The third and final session of stop smoking occurs after three weeks and helps prepare clients for situations where the mind is affected by severe stress (loss of job, death of relative etc.) or by alcohol or drugs. In these situations a client may succumb to the thought that it would be 'OK to have just one cigarette'. If this occurs, the smoking habit usually returns over a short period of time. Post-hypnotic suggestions are provided to help them make the correct decision at these times.

Disclaimer: Hypnotherapy is dependant on the individual and their unique motivations, experiences and situation. Therefore results can vary for each client. We are unable to make any guarantees that you will experience the same results as clients who have provided testimonials.

Booking information

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Private Health Insurance: Hypnotherapy can often be included as part of private health insurance coverage. A list of private health insurance providers that are known to include hypnotherapy in some of their products is provided here. Please check your individual cover to confirm if you are eligible for reimbursement or rebate.