High-impact therapy for smoking cessation

Cigarette smoking is the leading cause of preventable death and disability-and thus an issue of considerable importance to psychotherapists. The majority of smoking-cessation programs available to the public uses an effective group format, but it remains underused. Many smokers who seek treatment request individual counseling; however, empirically based individual treatments are still in the early stages of development. High-impact therapy is a form of short-term dynamic psychotherapy adapted by the authors for the treatment of the hard-core smoker. It recognizes that the relationship among smoking, life stressors, personality factors, and psychological disorders is complex, and it intervenes using motivational and defense-challenging techniques. One of the main and distinctive features of this model is the emphasis on emotional arousal to facilitate the mastery of emotional conflict, making this a high-impact form of psychotherapy.