Training: a new approach to helping people out of addiction

You can have a qualification, years of practice, and still feel at a loss in front of someone who has relapsed for the third time in six months. It is not a lack of skill. It is often a sign that the behaviour is being treated while the need behind it keeps looking for a way out.

This training in addiction support is for therapists, and for those on the way to becoming one, who sense that standard protocols are not always enough. It does not replace a university course. It offers something else: a method for understanding what the addiction provides, and for helping the person meet that need in another way, without staking everything on willpower.

Key takeaways

• The next cohort is planned for January 2027, which leaves time to find out more, talk it through and sign up without any rush.
• The training is 100% by video call, in a small group of 4 people at most (or one-to-one), with plenty of practice in pairs.
• It draws on 10 years of professional experience and 25 years of personal experience with addiction: a method shaped both in the field and from the inside.
• It combines interactive hypnosis (for emotional needs) and coaching (for practical needs).
• It does not confer a state-recognised title of addiction specialist: it adds to your practice, it is not a state qualification.

Who this addiction support training is for

It is for anyone in a helping role who is looking for an approach that complements the classic methods: psychologists, addiction specialists, hypnotherapists, sophrologists, coaches, and therapists in the making.

Professionals who are already established

Sometimes we see people whose addiction holds out despite regular follow-up and a solid working relationship. That can create a shared sense of powerlessness, between the practice and the person being supported.

This training offers another way of reading these situations: the symptom is no longer the enemy, it becomes a signal. What it is trying to regulate becomes the starting point for the work.

Therapists retraining or just starting out

We also welcome those who are starting out, or moving into a helping profession, and who want to build a practice centred on meaning rather than on removing the behaviour from day one.

It is a way of laying solid foundations, without years of wandering between methods.

A method born in the field, and from the inside

The method rests on a simple premise: addiction is a solution, not the problem. Instead of fighting it, you learn to decode what it is trying to provide: relief, calm, connection, energy, confidence, a reward.

It comes from two paths. Ten years of professionally supporting people affected by addiction, and twenty-five years of a personal relationship with it, from adolescence to adulthood (bulimia, gambling, tobacco, cannabis, alcohol, cocaine). That lived experience gives the method something particular: it was tested before it was taught.

Understanding the need behind the symptom

Every addictive behaviour serves one or more functions: easing a tension, filling a void, quietening the mind, feeling less alone. To understand the mechanisms of addiction, you have to be willing to look at what the substance or behaviour soothes, even temporarily.

So you learn to identify these needs precisely, before any attempt to change the behaviour.

Interactive hypnosis as a lever for change

Interactive hypnosis is not a script applied mechanically: it is a space for dialogue, simple and intuitive, where new resources are built together with the person. It makes it possible to work with painful emotions and to get round the resistance that often blocks more conventional work.

You learn to adapt your language and suggestions in real time. Every session becomes unique, at the person's own pace.

Coaching to anchor change in everyday life

Understanding is not always enough. Coaching meets the practical needs: new rituals, new habits, how daily life is organised. The aim is for pleasure to stay, but in other forms that leave no regrets.

Why classic approaches sometimes fail

Methods that rely on willpower alone, or on telling people what to do, ignore the function the addiction serves. When only the symptom is treated, without hearing the need it masks, the person often looks for another form of compensation.

That is not a lack of courage on their part. It is information: the need has not yet found an answer that suits it.

How it works in practice, and the January 2027 cohort

The training takes place by video call, so you can follow it from anywhere. It is made up of 11 modules, one-to-one or in a small group (4 people at most), with time for practice in pairs. A certificate is awarded at the end of the course.

Format and content of the modules

Each module alternates method, demonstrations and practice, so that you try things out yourself before using the tools with the people you support. The programme covers how addiction works, assessment (mapping needs and blocking emotions), the practical approach, the emotional approach, as well as case studies and practice sessions.

It also looks at the particular features of modern addictions, such as screens or compulsive shopping. The outward forms change, but the deeper mechanisms stay the same.

Joining the January 2027 cohort

The next cohort is planned for January 2027. That timing leaves room to discover the workshops and training in hypnosis and addiction, ask your questions and sign up without rushing.

A conversation beforehand lets you see whether the content fits your practice, your level of experience and what you are looking for.

What this training brings in concrete terms

Beyond the concepts, the idea is to leave with reference points and tools you can use in session, along with renewed confidence in your ability to support people in situations that resist.

Tools you can use as soon as the course ends

You gain a way of assessing that is centred on needs, sessions structured in three stages (identify, create, move beyond), and interactive hypnosis practices that adapt to each person.

You also learn to welcome difficult moments and relapses without drama or guilt. That deeply changes the dynamic of the support.

A stance and a practice that are more aligned

Mastering this approach means being able to offer a credible alternative to people who are tired of repeated failures. For the therapist, it is also a way of working with more coherence and calm in the face of situations that are often heavy.

The method was built on experience: more than 15,000 hours of research and practice, and concrete feedback from the people supported (4.9/5 from 98 Google reviews).

Limits and ethical framework

This training does not confer a state-recognised title of addiction specialist, and does not replace medical or psychiatric training. It is not suitable for those seeking an official certification to work in public hospitals or to prescribe treatment.

It does not require a therapy qualification, but it does assume a real sensitivity to helping relationships, and respect for an ethical framework: referring people for medical care when the situation calls for it, particularly for certain withdrawals.

Talking it through before committing

Before you sign up for the January 2027 cohort, it is best to check together whether this approach resonates with your practice. You can contact Antoine Arnoult for a simple conversation, with no commitment, to see whether the programme suits you.

That conversation lets you commit knowing what you are signing up for, at your own pace.

Frequently asked questions about the training

Do I need to be a psychologist or a doctor to take this training?

No. The training welcomes therapists from different backgrounds (psychologists, hypnotherapists, sophrologists, coaches and so on) as well as people still in training. A conversation beforehand lets you check that the content fits your situation.

How does this method differ from university courses in addiction medicine?

University courses mainly train you in medical diagnosis and treatment. This training focuses on decoding the emotional and practical needs that keep the addiction going, using interactive hypnosis and coaching. It is meant as a complement, not a substitute.

How can I tell whether this approach fits my practice?

A conversation with Antoine Arnoult lets you weigh up how well the programme matches your situation. It saves you from committing to a training course that would not meet your expectations.

What practical tools do you come away with after the training?

You come away with a method of assessment centred on needs, a three-stage structure (identify, create, move beyond) and interactive hypnosis practices you can adapt, as well as a way of welcoming relapses without guilt.

Is the training held in person?

No, it is 100% by video call, so you can follow it from anywhere, one-to-one or in a small group of 4 people at most.