Mentoring minds.

This is information I shared in this column about 18 months ago but new members and opportunities make these hints always timely. I hope they improve your Small Group Smoking Cessation sessions.

One of the most common questions I receive is, What is the best way to do group sessions for smokers? And the answer is, ANY WAY THAT WORKS FOR YOU AND YOUR CLIENTS. I would like to share a few very simple ideas and tips for SMALL GROUP smoking cessation sessions.

Advertising outlets are varied and fall in a wide range of costs. If you are just getting into this area of work I suggest looking at what you are comfortable with in your current advertising plan and expand your perception of market coverage up and out one more level. That means if you only advertise through word of mouth, then add a flyer campaign, or a newspaper ad, but unless you want to go great guns on your first outing or two I would suggest getting your feet wet a bit to see what small advertising works for you. You will soon find what works for you and you will then expand on it and add new levels to increase your business. The new level can be very. inexpensive if you are creative.

My office can comfortably hold 10 to 12 people when the furniture is arranged correctly and I like that size for small group sessions because the group dynamic is very good but it feels small enough for participants to be personally involved. I save large group sessions for organizations that provide space for the sessions.

Your pricing for group sessions can be a BIG DRAW. I have great success with charging half the regular cost of a private session. I make that fact clear in any mailings, flyers or advertisements I produce. Even at this reduced rate you make your regular session fee with only two participants and the profit margin is tremendous when you bring in a dozen people. Think of what you will do when you are filling large rooms?!?!

With smoking clients I always offer a free return within a certain amount of time on the off chance that someone might want a tweak session. They will return to the next available group session. I sometimes also have private smoking clients come to group sessions if they require a free return visit, it fills empty seats if needed and saves the cost of a free private session time slot.

In the group setting I talk about hypnosis and answer any questions first, and then I do a short "primer" induction that barely touches on the evening's focus. It is more designed to get people into a hypnotic mood and understand how easy it is and how good it feels. We then take a short restroom break and return to enjoy the smoking cessation induction to end the evening.

I like to collect everyone's lighters after the evening is over and put them all in a jar. This is a great tool for convincing later clients of the success of the programs and it also takes away a tool for the current clients to easily fall back into smoking.

I hope these simple ideas are helpful. Many of our members and mentors are very willing to share tips on group sessions. Get involved in the online discussion group and utilize the wealth of knowledge.

For information on the Mentoring Program, please contact Jim Duncan at 248-635-2935 or by e-mail at [e-mail]. Be sure to visit our web site at www.geocities.com/hypnosismentor Download enrollment forms and subscribe to our FREE Mentoring Program Discussion Group.

James Duncan, CHt--IMDHA Fellow and Mentor Chairman