It has been shown that cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), combined with a smoking cessation medication (such as the nicotine patch, nicotine gum, and Chantix®, for example), is quite effective for smokers who are motivated to quit. CBT is an evidenced-based psychological treatment that focuses on identifying and changing maladaptive thoughts, emotions, and behaviors that trigger, worsen, and/or maintain a range of problems (such as depression, anxiety, addiction, etc.). Because changing your smoking-related behaviors – and restructuring your thoughts related to smoking urges – is essential to quitting, CBT can effectively be applied to smoking cessation.
An intensive CBT program is typically composed of three phases: preparation, quitting, and maintenance (or relapse prevention).