I meet a lot of hypnotists who won’t do stop smoking hypnosis sessions because they say they never smoked. Hypnotists who are afraid of doing stop smoking hypnosis can overcome this fear, and it is a belief based in fear. Let me assure you, the brain surgeon who removes brain tumors probably never had a brain tumor himself, but he still performs the surgery! Hypnotists who lack confidence because they do not know how to really structure stop smoking sessions, fear the client will come back in the second session and demand their money back. But when you know how to do a session correctly, that just does not happen.

It is a myth that in order to help smokers quit smoking, you too must have smoked at one point. In fact, having been a smoker might actually make you a worse hypnotist than someone who never smoked! The reason is simple: We always bring our own biases and experiences to a session, and a former smokers inclination is to help people quit the way they quit, and to address the same issues they had.  And that can be a real mind trap, keeping a hypnotist from seeing the uniqueness of a client and offering solutions that are different that the biases brought to the session.

Hypnotists who are afraid of doing stop smoking hypnosis

What makes a good hypnotist for smoking cessation? Having good training. Training that follows a tested protocol and incorporates evidenced-based approaches. Tools like mindfulness, and inductions that teach people to end cravings, and post-hypnotic suggestions that last beyond the first cues to smoke that your smoker will encounter in the real world.

When I do stop smoking hypnosis I do 3 sessions. My clients leave the first session a non-smoker. I schedule the second session, about 3 days later, right in the think of what they fear will be a hard time for them.  When they return for this second session, the vast majority are so happy and so surprised that it has been easy!  And for the few that did struggle, or even smoked again, I have a very specific plan for creating success in the second session.  I let clients use that third session for anything they like  (weight control, stress management, etc.) at any time in the next 90 days. Hypnotists who are afraid of doing stop smoking hypnosis can overcome this fear by having a solid plan for success.

The first session is always the most fun. Clients come in fearful that they won’t succeed, and after I teach them the “tootsie roll” trick, and use hypnotic phenomena like age regression and hypnotic amnesia during the suggestive therapy, they leave my office filled with hope. But more importantly they act on that hope, and the belief that they are now a non-smoker. I have never had anyone dissatisfied and ask for their money back, and I have been using the same QuitSuccess techniques since 2006.

The best part? I get paid about $500 in the first session from these clients, and I get to help people create a better life. And smokers who quit, send me their friends and family. For me, it has been a great way to build a thriving private practice.

Do you need a rock-solid foundation based on what really works to start seeing smoking cessation clients? Take the QuitSuccess Certification Program, it is a step-by-step guide to what I have actually been doing with my clients for many years.

Discover more about the QuitSuccess Program

Hypnotists who are afraid of doing stop smoking hypnosis