Why habits and addictions aren’t about willpower

A habit runs on autopilot, so willpower alone often isn’t enough. Many people who call me have tried to stop before, often many times. That says nothing bad about you.

A habit lives in the automatic part of your mind. It’s linked to times, places and moods. And willpower tends to fade right when those show up: the long afternoon, the empty house, the tense phone call.

Hypnotherapy works on that automatic layer. Together we look at what the habit does for you, what sets it off, and what you’d like instead. Then, while you’re relaxed and focused, we rehearse the new way until it comes more easily. Life is a journey, and challenges like this can be worked on, one moment at a time.

With alcohol, drugs and gambling, hypnotherapy is one piece of your support, never the whole thing. I’ll always want your GP and the free services in your corner. Each page below explains how they fit together.

Habit and addiction hypnotherapy pages

I work with seven habits, each on its own page, from smoking and vaping to hair pulling.

• Quit smoking3 Steps to a Smoke Free Life: one 90-minute session and a year of support.
• Quit vapingFor the vape that’s in your hand all day, from the couch to the car.
• AlcoholWhen one drink to relax has become most of a bottle. Beside your GP.
• GamblingThe urge and its triggers, next to the free gambling help services.
• Drug addictionStress, cravings and habits around staying off, beside medical care.
• Nail bitingSpotting it sooner, and giving your hands a new job.
• Hair pulling and skin pickingTrichotillomania and skin picking: noticing the urge earlier and easing what drives it.

For an overview of everything I help with, see the Hypno Coach home page.

How habit hypnotherapy works: by video or in Adelaide

Quitting smoking or vaping takes one 90-minute session. Other habits take a 4-session program, by video or in Adelaide by arrangement.

1. A free phone chat

   Fifteen minutes. You tell me what’s happening. I tell you plainly if I think I can help. No pressure. You can also ask me anything about hypnosis, like what it feels like or whether you stay in control.

2. Your first session

   By video from home, or in person in Adelaide by arrangement. For smoking or vaping, it’s one 90-minute session. For other habits, it’s the first of four, where we map your triggers and what you want in their place.

3. Follow-up, and something to play at home

   The smoking and vaping programs come with 12 months of calls, SMS and top-up sessions. The other programs carry on with sessions two to four. You take a recording home and learn quick self-hypnosis, so you keep moving forward between appointments.

What habit and addiction hypnotherapy costs in Adelaide

Four sessions for $1,000 paid at the start, or $300 a session as you go. Plans for ongoing worry, trauma or low mood run 6 to 12 sessions at $250 each prepaid, $1,500 to $3,000 in total. Free 15-minute call first.

Questions about habit and addiction hypnotherapy in Adelaide

Here are five questions I often hear about habits, with honest answers.

Hypnotherapy is a complementary therapy. It is not medical care, a diagnosis or a stand-in for your doctor. If your symptoms are severe or don’t ease, please see your GP. Last updated 7 October 2026.