Practitioner style as ‘Supportive but not Like Lecture‐y’
depression
Participants expressed how important the therapeutic alliance was in making changes to their smoking behaviour, particularly their sense of having the space to talk through their feelings and difficulties, with these being heard and not judged but met with compassion, curiosity and support. This contrasted with descriptions of other people in their lives who tended to adopt a more judgemental and directive approach towards their smoking and was often experienced by participants as unhelpful: ‘lecture doesn't have any impact’ (Participant 6). The IAPT practitioners' understanding and empathy seemed to enable participants' disclosure of when they had struggled with their quit attempt 1 week, as well as participants' openness and receptiveness to suggestions (Table Additionally, participants expressed a sense that IAPT practitioners' understanding of their mental health struggles helped them to feel more able to talk about smoking (Table This nonjudgemental IAPT practitioner stance enabled participants to learn from setbacks that may otherwise have served as a trigger to give up on smoking cessation. Given that levels of self‐criticism are often high in depression,Several participants found it helpful that the IAPT practitioner helped them to confront their avoidance of talking about smoking or attempting to quit (Table Participants also noted the IAPT practitioner's use of guided discovery to empower them to think through decisions themselves (Table One participant expressed that an unhelpful experience was that he felt rushed at times, rather than the IAPT practitioner responding to him in a flexible and person‐centred way (Table 