Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Smoking Cessation ─ A Practical Guidebook to the Most Effective Treatments

Practitioners helping smokers to quit can be more effective by learning key therapeutic techniques aimed at increasing any smoker’s chances of success. Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Smoking Cessation is a valuable guidebook to an empirically based CBT approach to smoking cessation that has been shown to be effective with or without the use of medications. This approach emphasizes techniques for enhancing the smoker’s motivation and confidence to quit, and teaching the smoker steps for preparing to quit, coping with the difficulties that emerge after quitting, and transitioning to become a long term nonsmoker.

Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Smoking Cessation offers the fundamental counseling strategies and interventions that have been established, researched, and refined over the past decade. This program outlines essential components that should be included in the treatment of any smoker, as well as steps to take when faced with smokers likely to have particular difficulty quitting. Unique to this volume is the inclusion of a specifically tailored CBT model designed to address weight gain concerns in the smoker. Perkins, Conklin, and Levine are leading researchers on effective smoking cessation intervention for those concerned about the potential gain in weight that accompanies quitting, and offer a flexible approach that allows the practitioner to tailor interventions to each individual. An invaluable addition to any health professional’s repertoire, the treatment model presented in this book provides practitioners with the tools necessary to help their clients to quit smoking.

Dr. Perkins received his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Iowa and is currently Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh. He has served on the editorial boards of several journals and on NIH grant review committees and advisory boards. Dr. Perkins has published over 150 scientific articles and chapters, mostly on the addictive effects of nicotine or smoking. He is a past-President of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco (SRNT) and is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association and of the Society of Behavioral Medicine.

Dr. Conklin received her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Purdue University and is currently Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Conklin has contributed book chapters on understanding and treating addiction, and has numerous journal articles investigating the effects of drug-related cues in smokers. Dr. Conklin’s research is funded primarily by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, and she is the 2006 recipient of the APA Wyeth Young Psychopharmacologist award.

Dr. Levine received her Ph.D. from the University of Pittsburgh and is currently Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh. A licensed clinical psychologist, Dr. Levine studies the relationships among mood, weight and health behaviors. She has published journal articles on the roles of mood and weight concerns in smoking postpartum, the prevention of weight gain among women, and the treatment of pediatric obesity. Her research is funded by the National Institutes of Health.