A little something to include in your 'quit smoking' routines.

The 'quit smoking' session can be one of the more boring aspects of the professional hypnotherapist's working day. Yet it is an established fact that if you cannot be successful with this, many people believe that you simply 'haven't got it' - after all, if you can't stop somebody smoking, you probably are not a proper hypnotist at all! On the other hand, when you are successful you will find that those who you help will readily recommend you to others who suffer from anxiety, claustrophobia, agoraphobia, insomnia - you get the picture. So, I thought I'd show you something to help with the craving... a reframe.

A reframe is simply a way of presenting a situation that is already understood within a different frame of reference, to allow a different psychological viewpoint, so that a change of thought processes or behaviour can be made. A simple example may help: if somebody complained about his/her partner snoring every night, we could ask them to imagine that their partner had suddenly disappeared, and that they had searched the streets frantically before finally returning home. Then, just as soon as they open the front door, they can hear their partner snoring...

My own quit smoking session - and I only give the one - lasts for a little under two hours, 90 minutes of which are given over to preparation, presentation, education, and enlightenment, and it is towards the end of this time that I use this reframing module. I certainly would not use it within the hypnotic state. At first sight, it might seem to be an unpleasant way of working, but we must remember the future possibilities for our client if we are not successful. The contract with our client is help them quit and we should do everything we can to achieve that end.

This is what I say to my client:

"Ok, now I'd like you to imagine something for me... just a little game of imagination. I'd like you to imagine that in spite of our best efforts today, you have somehow managed to continue to smoke for a while... and eventually found yourself in a hospital bed. On this particular morning you realise that something is wrong the moment you wake up, and you stretch out a hand to press the emergency call button. No sooner has the nurse arrived than she quickly closes the curtains and screens around your bed and rushes off to call the doctor, and of course, this is the point at which you begin to feel distinctly uneasy. The doctor is there in no time at all, it seems. He takes one look at you, glances at the nurse and gives a little theatrical shake of the head, then gently pats the back of your hand and says: 'We'll see if we can't make you feel a little more comfortable'. He turns to leave and is just about to go through those curtains around your bed, when he pauses and says: 'Actually, there might be something we could do...'"

At this point, I pause for a moment or two, before continuing:

"Well, I don't know about you, but I'd offer him everything I had!"

Again, I pause just long enough for my client to agree, then continue:

"But then he shakes his head and says: 'No... you'd have to put up with wanting a cigarette for a few days...'." To properly 'make the point', I then laugh and continue: "Wouldn't you just LOVE that feeling of wanting a cigarette! It'd mean you were alive to feel it!"

It is essential that you keep the atmosphere as light as possible throughout, almost theatrical - there is no need to be 'heavy' and your client should not believe for one moment that we are making a prediction of the future. We are not attempting to scare him/her into submission, neither are we trying to create an aversion. We are simply seeking a different viewpoint on the craving for tobacco smoke.

Currently, it is more fashionable to work on the positive aspects of quitting smoking than it is to focus on the possible negativities; I'm convinced, though, that the reframe I've presented here is of considerable help to those who retain some craving after the session.

As with all methods of therapy, you need to put your own self into it; anything that you use should blend seamlessly with everything else, so that your client accepts without question that it is all your own work. And of course, the golden rule always applies: if you don't feel happy with it, don't use it!