Corporate Wellness Programs: Hypnosis Smoking Cessation

Smokers are a financial drain on their employers, as a result of health care costs and missed work time.  Employees who smoke have higher rates of absenteeism, higher life insurance premiums, and higher disability costs than their non-smoking colleagues (Rogers, 1997).  In addition, smokers spend approximately 35 minutes per workday engaging in smoking or smoking-related activities (Ryan, 1992).  Furthermore, the US Dept. of Labor found in 1993 that employers absorb almost $5,000 a year in additional costs per employee who smokes.  Amongst the sources of these costs are increased absenteeism and medical care, lost earnings, property depreciation, and problems associated with second-hand smoke.

Thus, it goes without saying that employers have an intrinsic motivation to help their employees quit smoking.  Many employees who smoke do want to quit, but need some additional assistance to rid themselves of their harmful smoking habit.  In sum, this corporate wellness program is a great way to align employer and employee interests in a manner that is beneficial for all parties.

Program Summary:

Part 1 - "Getting Ready to Stop Smoking with Hypnosis"

During this 1 hour informational group seminar, several important goals are addressed.  First, this seminar systematically reviews the research on the harmful effects of smoking.  This information is reviewed with the audience in a serious but engaging manner.  Interactive trivia involves participants in this portion of the presentation and enhances experiential learning.  One of the critical factors in the success of hypnosis for smoking cessation is individual motivation - that is, how motivated is a person to stop smoking?  The education is a vital piece of enhancing motivation prior to the hypnotherapy.  Second, Dr. Spiegel addresses the common "voids" that smoking fills, and works with participants on establishing new, adaptive replacement behaviors and strategies to replace smoking.  Common reasons for smoking will be covered, and participants will be taught several basic relaxation strategies that they can use to regulate their emotions and stress in place of smoking.  Finally, participants are educated about the facts and myths regarding hypnosis.  By the end of the presentation, they will understand what hypnosis is, how it works, and how it can help them with their smoking habit.  At that time, interested individuals will have the opportunity to sign up for Part 2, which is the individualized hypnotherapy component.  These individuals will be asked to fill out a screening form, the information from which will be used to determine suitability for hypnosis.  Please note that no hypnosis is used during the group presentation.  Dr. Spiegel never utilizes clinical hypnosis for entertainment purposes.  It is ethically problematic to hypnotize multiple individuals in a group setting because their individual responses cannot be tracked; group variables have the potential to adversely affect outcome (e.g peer pressure, social anxiety); and standardized hypnosis "scripts" that are not tailored to the individual are often less effective than hypnosis which is based on personally relevant history and imagery.     

Part 2 - Individual 1-Hour Smoking Cessation Hypnotherapy

These 1-hour individual smoking cessation hypnotherapy sessions begin with a brief, intake interview.  This interview, along with the information from the screening form, is used to personally tailor the hypnosis to the individual.  Every individual has her or his own strengths, resources, growth edges, smoking history, factors motivating her or him to stop smoking, goals for the future, etc.  The interview taps into these areas in order to incorporate them into the imagery and suggestions utilized during the clinical hypnosis.  The hypnotherapy intervention follows the interview, and generally runs approximately 30 minutes.  The final 10 minutes of the hour is used to discuss reactions to the hypnosis, review post-session planning, and answer any remaining questions.

Pricing - Please call or e-mail Dr. Spiegel for more information on pricing for this program.  Different pricing packages are available based on employer budgets and number of participating employees.