CONCLUSIONS
depression/anxiety
Several key factors were identified by participants to be important in quitting smoking: gaining an increased awareness of smoking patterns; developing individualized strategies; having a practitioner with an empathic, nonjudgemental and motivational stance; regular sessions to promote a sense of accountability and solve problems as they arise; and being given the opportunity at a time when individuals feel ready to change. If similar results are found in more diverse samples, these aspects should be embedded and emphasized within practitioner training and integrated interventions for smoking cessation and depression/anxiety. Future research could use the current findings to inform the constructs that should be targeted for study in research exploring mechanisms of change within a randomized‐controlled trial design.