Hypnotherapy and Smoking Cessation How Effective Is It - Essay Example

It is not considered useful for physical problems but is said to help if there is any kind of psychological aspect, for instance, phantom pain from an amputated leg. It can help, but it is not a cure. According to one advocate of hypnotherapy, the process is more than hypnosis. It is a partnership between practitioner and patient (Annamalay 1). Even so, the willingness of the client to share control with the practitioner is paramount. The main question becomes: Is hypnotherapy a useful technique or is it actually a profession, a business set up for profit with no real guarantees, even though money-back guarantees are rampant Is it considered a legitimate process in the health field This essay will attempt to explore the hypnotherapist's role in smoking cessation, how much depends on the client personally, how effective the process has been and whether it is a proven source of help for the smoker to cure his or her addiction.

Can one discuss hypnotherapy in the 21st century without acknowledging it as part of holistic health The debate continues as to whether or not hypnotherapy is a preferred treatment for tobacco addiction. It must be noted that smoking is an addiction developed over time, basically through dependence on nicotine, a known addictive drug. This physical need, however, can be overcome if a person truly wants to stop smoking and is determined to benefit from any treatment offered. In the area of hypnotherapy, the ability of a person to be hypnotised is based on the willingness of the subject to allow himself or herself to be hypnotised.

Therefore the success or failure of such a process is entirely up to the person being hypnotised. Once the hypnosis is successful, the therapist can be helpful in treating phobias, weight problems, insomnia, anxiety and stress in addition to bringing about smoking cessation. Current Development of Hypnotherapy in Smoking Cessation In modern therapy, Ericksonian hypnotherapy is well known in the field. The process was instituted by Milton H. Erickson, an MD who treated many patients using hypnotic techniques and did his best to document his achievements (Hypnotherapy: History, par. 4). He is highly respected in his field, and the process he developed truly can be called a technique.

This type of therapy treats the client based on the unique qualities of the individual's needs. Erickson considered the experience of trance or hypnosis a natural, everyday experience; similar to learning to drive or ride a bicycle and finding it has suddenly become a reflexive action. One can also relive or re-experience an event by bringing it into the present through memory. Erickson further challenged the notion that some people could not be hypnotised and believed that interaction with the client would give them the ability to enter into their own treatment, thereby allowing hypnosis to take place (Johnson, 2, 4).

The availability of hypnotherapy at present pretty much depends on the financial status of the person wishing to engage a therapist. Most clinics offering the service are privately owned, and the cost can be anything from 30 to 200 an hour. To get hypnotherapy treatment under National Health Service (NHS), it