We’re often asked if Allen Carr’s Easyway is quit smoking hypnotherapy or quit smoking hypnosis…but it’s not. It’s really quite different.   

Sadly, it’s actually ridiculously easy to gain a qualification as a quit smoking hypnotherapist.

A friend of mine who’s never smoked a single cigarette in her life did a 1day course and is now fully qualified. There’s even a cat who is a qualified hypnotherapist. Google it ?

I’m not saying they’re all charlatans; far from it. I’m just saying you should be very careful before you spend your hard-earned money.

So here’s 7 tips to help you choose your quit smoking therapist/counsellor:

1.       Choose someone who has been there

How can a counsellor empathise with you, with your smoking history, with your previous attempts to quit smoking if they have never smoked, and more importantly, never escaped from smoking themselves?

2.       Choose someone who doesn’t smoke now!

Any quit smoking therapists, hypnotherapists, or counsellors who claim they enjoy smoking and don’t want to stop is kidding themselves. No part of addiction involves “choosing” whether you take the drug or not, and those people cannot be trusted to help you.

3.       Choose someone who has used their own method to quit

Anyone can charge you a lot of money to simply regurgitate glossy marketing material. Your therapist or counsellor must walk the walk. They should practise what they preach and lead you gently along the path that they themselves walked towards freedom.

4.       Choose someone who has a positive view on the quit smoking process

Be wary of a quit smoking hypnotherapist or counsellor who claims that quitting smoking is going to be really, really hard. This type of counsellor or therapist will always blame the poor smoker for their lack of success saying, “you obviously don’t want to stop enough” or “you really aren’t ready to quit smoking, are you?”

5.       Choose someone who will guarantee results

If you asked someone to fix your car and they failed – you wouldn’t expect to pay them! A meaningful guarantee offers more than repeat sessions. If free sessions are included, that’s fine, as long as the guarantee includes GETTING YOUR MONEY BACK IF THEY DON’T WORK! It’s worth paying more – if the results are guaranteed.

6.       Choose someone who is recommended by happy non-smokers

There is nothing better than personal recommendation. If a stop smoking therapist comes recommended by friends or friends of friends who used the therapist to stop smoking successfully – it’s a no-brainer.

 7.       And of course, choose someone who is a human-being and not a cat!!

You probably think that the above checklist is a big ask for any quit smoking therapist or counsellor or hypnotherapist. You might be surprised to know – that every single Allen Carr’s Easyway® therapist, in every single Allen Carr’s Easyway® clinic in the world – ticks every single one of those boxes.

So when you decide it’s time to quit smoking, choose wisely.