First, I'll post this brief article from Harvard Professor Dr. Michael Craig Miller that appears today in the Denver Post. Afterwards, I'll comment.
Here's the letter (click here for the original story at the Denver Post):
Q: I've smoked for 20 years and want to quit. A friend recommended a hypnotist but it scares me. Does hypnosis work? How can I find out if this hypnotist is qualified and reliable?
A: Hypnosis is one of the oldest forms of psychotherapy in the Western world. It may also be the most misunderstood, given its association with entertainers and charlatans. But, in fact it is a specialized form of meditation and a relaxation technique.
Hypnosis involves focusing attention inward and using your imagination and positive mental images to alter your perceptions. It's similar to what happens when you daydream or meditate, and are unaware of what's going on around you. It may seem as if you're in a trance, but hypnosis is actually a heightened state of concentration.
The aim is to focus the mind on a specific image, sensation or goal while ignoring distractions. This tends to make you more open to suggestions that can help with treatment. Clinicians have proposed many uses, but it is most helpful for treating pain and anxiety. The studies evaluating the effectiveness of hypnosis for smoking cessation show a mixed picture.
Some studies suggest that hypnosis might help you stop smoking by reducing cravings, bolstering willpower or increasing motivation to take care of your health. Hypnosis can be used to soothe yourself while you have a craving. It also can help you replace your preoccupation with smoking with thoughts like, "I feel good about taking care of my body."
But a comprehensive review found that most of the current evidence is based on case reports or poorly designed studies. It concluded that hypnosis is no better than other interventions — or even no treatment at all — for increasing six-month quit rates.
I support your desire to find out more about the person who's doing the hypnotism. Many states do not regulate hypnotherapy. To make sure a therapist is qualified, ask if he or she is licensed (not just certified) to practice. Or check for membership in the American Society of Clinical Hypnosis or the Society for Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, two nationally recognized organizations for licensed professionals in this field.
Remember that the technique of hypnosis, which is intended to induce a meditative, focused state of mind, is easy to learn. You don't need any specialized training to invoke a soothing voice or to suggest focusing on some repetitive stimulus or a relaxing image. But a hypnotherapist does need specialized mental health training to understand emotional and behavioral problems, to evaluate them and plan a treatment.
Most therapists who practice hypnosis employ it as one tool among many that they are trained to use. Hypnosis, after all, is not magic. Rather, it's a specialized technique that may help you harness your brainpower to solve problems. And smoking cessation may be one of them.
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I would have to say that I agree with most of what Dr. Miller writes, right up to the point where he says that a "comprehensive review" (which he does not name or specify) "concluded that hypnosis is no better than other interventions - or no intervention at all," etc.
First of all, the methods used in the comprehensive review are extremely important. Who was doing the hypnotizing? How experienced or skilled was the hypnotist? What specific methods were used? Was NLP (neuro-linguistic programming) employed as well? Who were the subjects? What did subjects invest in the study? How many sessions were provided? Did subjects use self-hypnosis or a CD to reinforce the sessions?
Without knowing the answers to these and other important questions, the conclusions of this "comprehensive study" are questionable themselves.
Furthermore, by stating that hypnosis is "no better than other interventions," Dr. Miller is making a very grand statement. Nearly every other intervention used for smoking cessation involves taking harmful or addictive drugs that have dangerous side-effects. The patch, gum and lozenges all inject more addictive nicotine into your system, in spite of the fact that it may be in smaller amounts. You only need to do a quick Google search (or simply search this blog) to find that Chantix has been linked to seizures, violent tendencies, depression and suicide, as well as other side-effects. Wellbutrin is another powerful drug that produces a wide array of psychological effects on users.
Therefore, I'd have to say that hypnosis is most certainly better than other interventions, simply due to the fact that it has absolutely no dangerous side-effects. The only thing you risk with hypnotherapy is the possibility of losing a few hundred bucks. This is a far lesser risk than the possibility of becoming depressed or suicidal. Additionally, you just might learn something useful about how you can influence yourself through focused concentration.
Other inteventions promise a solution that comes from outside yourself... a shot, a drug, a patch, a pill, a laser, etc. Hypnosis is the only intervention that gives you the power to make the change yourself, and encourages you to take the responsibility for that change.
No one who quits via other methods will ever know what it feels like not only to be successful and free of the habit, but also to enjoy the sense of pride and accomplishment that goes along with being completely responsible for that success.
As for the question of a hypnotherapist being licensed by the state, your odds of finding such a hypnotherapist may not be so great. There are very few state-licensed therapists who specialize in hypnosis or smoking cessation. In fact, the reality is that if you do find a licensed therapist who also happens to practice hypnosis, it's likely they spend a very small percentage of their time actually hypnotizing people. It's not their bread-and-butter.
You are better off finding a hypnotherapist who hypnotizes people on a daily basis, and does nothing else. This is the kind of person who has the experience necessary to help you.
There's a grand misconception in this society that says you can't trust anyone who doesn't have a degree and fancy letters next to their name. The truth is that there are many competent people in all walks of life who do things exceedingly well. They may not have paid a university a hundred thousand dollars for the priviledge of being licensed, but they have the experience and the training that produce results.
I have no state license (there is no such requirement in the state of Georgia), and yet I have clients who haven't touched a cigarette in more than five years after one session of hypnosis... and those were my very first clients.
But a hypnotherapist does need specialized mental health training to understand emotional and behavioral problems, to evaluate them and plan a treatment.
Maybe, but what if you don't have "emotional and behavioral problems?" What if you're a well-adjusted, capable human being who just wants to stop smoking?
Most therapists who practice hypnosis employ it as one tool among many that they are trained to use.
This one is demonstrably false. "Most therapists who practice hypnosis" are hypnotherapists. One only need to attend the yearly National Guild of Hypnotists Conference to see that. Hypnotherapists may indeed have many tools, but they almost always use hypnosis.
Who would you want to hypnotize you -- a licensed therapist who does hypnosis only on rare occasions, or someone who hypnotizes people several times every day?
Hypnosis, after all, is not magic. Rather, it's a specialized technique that may help you harness your brainpower to solve problems. And smoking cessation may be one of them.
True and true. There is no sure way to do anything, and there is no magic fix. But don't mistake the headline of this letter as a statement that hypnosis can't help you. It can, if you have a sincere desire to quit and you find a therapist who knows what he or she is doing.
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