Cigarette smoking is the single greatest preventable cause of death, disease, and disability in the United States. It is the number one cancer killer of women, surpassing breast cancer. More than 70% of smokers have expressed a desire to quit, but are unable to do so alone. Independent cessation is extremely difficult, with a long-term success rate of 3-9%.Couple this difficulty with the fact that many female (and some male) smokers do not even try to quit because they are afraid of the resulting weight gain, and it seems a near impossibility for smokers to quit alone. Any amount of counseling, from even one ten-minute session, drastically improves a person's chances for cessation success. Many therapists have clients who smoke, yet they do not encourage them to quit because they feel under-equipped to help them. There are very few books for mental health workers that teach smoking cessation techniques; almost all of the books on the market are self-help based. Of those that are for the clinician, most are not user-friendly at all, and none discuss the secondary concerns of weight gain. This guide teaches therapists, in easy to follow session modules, proven methods for their clients to stop smoking, and to avoid the resulting weight gain. Structured as a 16-week group program, this treatment teaches clients to break their smoking habit first, then to avoid replacing that habit with unhealthy eating. Using cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), this treatment emphasizes skill-building and the use of self-monitoring forms (found in the accompanying workbook) to help clients take control of their health.
--- from the publisher About the Author: Bonnie Spring, Director of Behavioral Medicine, Co-Program Leader in Cancer Prevention, Department of Preventive Medicine, Northwestern University |
