As my one–year anniversary was approaching last month, I was reflecting on how this has been the longest I have been quit, and I wanted to write about my experience with the CBQ programme. I will be reviewing it as a cognitive behavioural therapist.

I’ve been an accredited CBT therapist for over 20 years, and until 1 year and 27 days ago, I was also an avid smoker. I came across the name CBQ Method after watching the TEDx video by Nasia Davos, which led me to the CBQ Method website. I had mixed feelings at the outset. The cognitive behavioural quitting, CBQ method is named after cognitive behavioural therapy, CBT. I wished to find out, was the CBQ method in line with the science of CBT, and was anything about it was novel.

After watching almost all of the free material on the CBQ method on YouTube and reading numerous emails and articles, I could discern that the CBQ Method kept in line with some fundamental CBT axioms. The most significant is that our way of thinking affects our emotional, behavioural, and physiological reactions. However, the CBQ Method introduced novel ideas such as ‘mindpower’ or ‘mental cravings as thoughts’, and I became interested in learning more.

I bought the CBQ programme out of professional curiosity, and two days in, I felt compelled to stop smoking. I now recognise that I’ve been wanting to stop smoking all along but took me two days to admit it to myself. Getting the green light from the support team that I could take more time in the programme proved pivotal as it allowed me to focus. As a therapist, it helped that I approached the CBQ programme as a course of personal therapy, and I believe this made a world of difference. I also did the programme twice back-to-back and noticed I gained more understanding each time I rewatched a video. I am proud to say I was successful, and it hasn’t been nearly as difficult as I had experienced in prior attempts. I have been feeling great. Despite being knowledgeable in CBT, I gained further knowledge and changed my way of thinking about smoking.

I can attest that the CBQ programme worked for me and offer my professional review on how the CBQ programme and CBQ method align or deviate from traditional cognitive behavioural therapy.

CBT is focused on solving a problem or improving certain aspects of an individual’s mental health by changing the related thoughts (cognitions) and actions (behaviours), taking on the name cognitive-behavioural therapy. CBT has been shown effective in treating anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder, eating disorder, and drug use.

The CBQ Method is a novel adaptation of CBT that combines classic behavioural science with the branches of life coaching, neuroscience, and neurolinguistic programming, NLP, and focuses on breaking habits.

The CBQ programme is not strictly a CBT programme. It is aligned to CBT and employs core teachings delivered masterfully and creatively in a non-therapeutic setting: beliefs, situations, thoughts and behaviours, journaling, and behavioural experiments all hold true to CBT and are adjusted to stopping smoking. The CBQ programme deviates from CBT by deriving techniques and theories from other areas of psychology and disciples like neuroscience and coaching and NLP. Even though I do not hold NLP in high regard, it was incorporated effectively into the CBQ programme.

I found that the four stages of change of the CBQ method were more relevant and explanatory than the stages of change of the Transtheoretical Model, which is often used by CBT therapists.

The CBQ programme is not therapy, but rather a self-help course and a novel method focused on changing habits. It is well-developed and easy to implement. The videos alongside the exercises allow individuals to understand some of their obstacles beyond the surface. I can see how the CBQ programme can aid people in other areas of their lives, something I’ve seen in other reviews and got to experience for myself too. For those reasons, I find the programme price fair. Though not therapy, I can imagine the CBQ programme adjusted in a therapy setting, and I would comfortably recommend it to my patients.