Catastrophic impulsivity can lay waste to whole lives. And yet if we can just wait a little, the seemingly overwhelming urge to blow out on drink, drugs, or food; buy uncontrollably; or blow up in a fiery ball of rage will, like dew on a summer morning, evaporate fast. So what can we do about […]
Articles on: Smoking Cessation and Addiction
Addiction ruins lives. It steals relationships, health, sometimes even life. It takes self respect, autonomy, money and precious time. In its worst form it can turn the addicted client into a kind of slave. And yet we know that clients can leave addiction behind and rebuild their lives and health. We practitioners need to know how to help the best we can. I offer hypnotic and other approaches in these articles and approaches used for smoking can be applied to all other addictions too.
How to Externalize an Addictive Pattern From Your Client’s Core Identity
When we externalize a pattern, whether through story or simply the way we talk to our clients about their problems, we encourage mastery over the problem by separating it from who they essentially are. Here I present my reply to a question from a Q&A call, where I discuss the art of removing the problem […]
How to Use Hypnotherapy to Treat Overeating
Here I want to give you three scientific approaches I use to help clients deal with cravings, and an idea of how I convert these tips into hypnotic procedures. Ultimately, when clients meet their needs adequately, the raison d’être of snacking falls by the wayside.
Four Vital Principles for Addiction Therapy
There are many and varied reasons why someone might become addicted. But the reasons always come back to missing needs. It’s easy to see one thing as many things, but all addictions share a common root or set of principles.
How to Treat Compulsive Shopping
It’s useful to ask when the out-of-control spending began and what, if anything, changed during that time. So often a problem pattern is a sloppy and unconscious way of trying to meet a primal emotional need.
Treating Cannabis Addiction
Under the guise of meeting human needs, marijuana steals a great many things. Read, and listen to, my tips for treating cannabis addiction.
How to Help Smokers Believe They Can Quit in One Session
During a Q-and-A call as part of our How To Stop Anyone Smoking course, I discuss the psychology behind preparing smokers to quit quickly.
Is Addiction Physical or Psychological?
What are the differences between physical and psychological addiction? In actual fact, many so called physical addictions are really just learned associations. Here’s how to challenge the erroneous beliefs that cause clients to feel trapped by their addictions.
“Do you have any advice for a therapist doing her first session?”
My quick advice for a new therapist with perfectionist tendencies who is nervous about seeing her first client.
“If a client says they are stressed should one first help them gain control, prior to helping them stop smoking?”
What to do when stressed clients want to stop smoking, and you’re concerned about other areas of their lifestyle health
