Janice Burgess
Saskatchewan Health Region, Canada
Title: Infusing mindfulness and mastery into tobacco cessation
Biography
Biography: Janice Burgess
Abstract
Despite declines in smoking prevalence in many western countries, tobacco use continues to grow in global importance as a leading preventable cause of illness, disease, and death. Best-practice in cessation is an effective way to increase abstinence rates, but now, several years later, could we do more to enhance the success, and experience of clients, and create fulfilling careers in cessation using this revised coaching model? Early analysis of a tobacco cessation program offered in a Primary Health Care Site is revealing that infusing transformational mastery and mindfulness into cessation services provides clients with better, more rewarding, and lasting results. Clients are encouraged to be more mindful about their tobacco use. They are taught to visualize and feel what it would be like to be 100% committed to being tobacco free. They are provided a new way of thinking and being so that smoking becomes very unfamiliar and not smoking becomes familiar. It’s all about creating a personalized quit plan specific to each client’s needs, including how to manage self-sabotage. Using just “best practice” in cessation is a disservice to our clients because they are not getting the care they deserve or the freedom from addiction they want. Allow me to introduce you to mindfulness and mastery in cessation work. You’ll love this new coaching method, and you’ll love the results. Let’s collectively make a larger global impact on abstinence, and let’s explore incorporating these methods into recovery from all addictions so our clients will stay the course.