There are different different types of phobia listed in DSM IV (American Psychiatric Association, 1994): agoraphobia, social phobia and specific phobia. Within the specific phobia category there are five subtypes of phobic anxiety: animal phobias, situational phobias, blood injection injury types, natural environment type and other type. Animal phobia usually has a childhood onset. Individuals who suffer from animal phobia can normally lead a normal life, but in some instances, a person might develop extreme avoidance and safety behaviours, and in these cases, it is helpful to seek psychotherapeutic support.

 

These are some examples of safety/avoidance behaviours:

1 Not being able to read a newspaper because of an uncontrollable fear that you might come across a cat on one of the pages.

2 Not being able to go on holiday abroad because of fear of seeing a large spider in the wild.

3 Screaming out loud and asking your boyfriend to check every room of the hotel for ants before you can go in.

If these scenarios sound familiar, it might be helpful for you o seek help now. The approach that David Kraft uses combines behaviour techniques with hypnosis. He will use systematic desensitization in order gradually and efficiently to reduce anticipatory anxiety to your feared object. The hypnosis will intensify you feelings of well being and control throughout the process.

 

David Kraft is a fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine and a full member of BSCAH. He runs a successful practice in Harley Street, London. To book a session, please ring 0207 467 8564.

 

London Hypnotherapy UK is the specialist partner of London Psychotherapy.

Offices and consulting rooms ar based at 10 Harley Street, London, W1G 9PF

The psychotherapist David Kraft has written 17 papers in the academic literature. They are as follows:

 

(1) Kraft T & Kraft D (2004). Creating a virtual reality in hypnosis: a case of driving phobia. Contemporary Hypnosis, 21 (2): 79-85.

(2) Kraft T & Kraft D (2005). Covert sensitization revisited: six case studies. Contemporary Hypnosis, 22 (4): 202-209.

(3) Kraft T & Kraft D (2006). The place of hypnosis in psychiatry: its applications in treating anxiety disorders and sleep disturbances. Australian Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 34 (2): 187-203.

(4) Kraft T & Kraft D (2007). An integrative approach to the treatment of hyperhidrosis: review and case study. Contemporary Hypnosis, 24 (1): 38-45.

(5) Kraft T & Kraft D (2007). The place of hypnosis in psychiatry, part 2: its application to the treatment of sexual disorders. Australian Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 35 (1): 1-18.

(6) Kraft T & Kraft D (2007). Irritable Bowel Syndrome: symptomatic treatment approaches versus integrative psychotherapy. Contemporary Hypnosis, 24 (4): 161-177.

(7) Kraft D (2009). Tribute to Dr Thomas Kraft for BSCAH’ British Society of Clinical and Academic Hypnosis Newsletter,3 (1): 11-12.    

(8) Kraft D (2009) Obituary: Thomas Kraft’ British Medical Journal, 338: b265.    

(9) Kraft T & Kraft D (2009). The place of hypnosis in psychiatry, part 3: the application to the treatment of eating disorders. Australian Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 37 (1): 1–20.

(10) Kraft D & Kraft T (2010). Use of in vivo and in vitro desensitization in the treatment of mouse phobia: review and case study. Contemporary Hypnosis, 27 (3): 184-194.   

(11) Kraft D (2010). A tribute to Tom Kraft (1932-2008): psychiatrist, integrative psychotherapist, and teacher. Contemporary Hypnosis, 27 (3): 221-224.   

(12) Kraft D (2011). The place of hypnosis in psychiatry, part 4: its application to the treatment of agoraphobia and social phobia. Australian Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, Vols 38 (2) & 39 (1): 91-110.

(13) Kraft D (2011). Sharing experience: the waiting room. British Society of Clinical and Academic Hypnosis Newsletter, 5 (2): 22-24.

(14) Kraft D & Hawkins PJ (2011). Eating disorders. In Les Brann, Jacky Owens, Ann Williamson (eds.) The Handbook of Contemporary Clinical Hypnosis: Theory & Practice (pp425-440). Wiley-Blackwell: Chichester.

(15) Kraft D (2011). Counteracting resistance in agoraphobia using hypnosis. Contemporary Hypnosis & Integrative Therapy, 28 (3):235-248.   

(16) Kraft D (2012). Panic disorder without agoraphobia. A multi-modal approach: solution-focused therapy, hypnosis and psychodynamic psychotherapy. Journal of Integrative Research, Counselling and Psychotherapy, 1 (1): 4-15.

(17) Kraft D (2012). Successful treatment of heavy smoker in one hour using split screen imagery, aversion, and suggestions to eliminate cravings. Contemporary Hypnosis & Integrative Therapy, 29 (2): 175-188.

 

These are the articles written by David Kraft to date. There is one in press which should come out in November.

 

David Kraft is a fellow of the RSM and a member of BSCAH.

Panic disorder is a chronic condition and an ongoing health problem (Milrod et al., 2007; Kraft 2012), and affects approximately 5% of the world’s population (Bienvenu, 2006). Individuals suffering from panic often go to accident and emergency departments in hospitals with a variety of unexplained symptoms including migraine, stabbing chest pains, heart fluttering, irritable bowel syndrome, dyspnea difficulty breathing, hyperhidrosis and insomnia.

David Kraft, a specialist Harley Street psychotherapist, uses a multi-modal approach to treatment. And, unlike many psychotherapists, who often take a great length of time to treat this condition, his solution-focussed approach helps a number of clients to take control of their life and to recover quickly from this problem.

If you would like an appointment, please ring 0207 467 8564 today.

 

David Kraft has publsihed many papers in the academic literature–in the UK and in Australia–and is a member of BSCAH.  

Smoking has a deleterious effect on nearly every organ in the body and is responsible for many life threatening diseases, thus reducing quality of life and life expectancy (Mikhailidis et al.,1998; Balbi et al., 2010; ASH, 2011), says Harley Street psychotherapist David Kraft.

If you would like to give up smoking, please phone 0207 467 8564 for an appointment today.

 

Reference

Kraft D (2012). Successful treatment of heavy smoker in one hour using split screen imagery, aversion, and suggestions to eliminate cravings. Contemporary Hypnosis & Integrative Therapy, 29 (2): 175-188. 

 

 

More and more therapists have been employing an integrative approach to treatment, and they have seen favourable and long-lasting results in clinical practice. The advantage of using an integrative approach is that you can tailor-make the therapy to suit the needs of the client–one can combine behaviour techniques with hypnosis, or behaviour therapy with some analysis, or even cognitive techniques with something else.

 

Integrative therapy has moved on over the last twenty years. David Kraft and Tom Kraft have spoken time and time again about the benefits of using a multi-modal approach–see the references below. John Gruzelier (2012) recently pointed out that,

‘The integrative approach was part of the new millennium’s zeitgeist in all fields of science, especially neurobiology with its explosion of discoveries, inculcating a more flexible, openminded orientation in scientists’.

 

He also said that this integrative approach has become more present in clinical practice-for example in the articles and presentation by Kraft and Kraft and others.

 

References

JH Gruzelier (2012). Editorial Commentary. Contemporary Hypnosis and Integrative Therapy, 29 (2): 133-135.

Kraft T & Kraft D (2004). Creating a virtual reality in hypnosis: a case of driving phobia. Contemporary Hypnosis, 21 (2): 79-85.

Kraft T & Kraft D (2005). Covert sensitization revisited: six case studies. Contemporary Hypnosis, 22 (4): 202-209.

Kraft T & Kraft D (2007). An integrative approach to the treatment of hyperhidrosis: review and case study. Contemporary Hypnosis, 24 (1): 38-45.

Kraft T & Kraft D (2007). Irritable Bowel Syndrome: symptomatic treatment approaches versus integrative psychotherapy. Contemporary Hypnosis, 24 (4): 161-177.

Kraft D & Kraft T (2010). Use of in vivo and in vitro desensitization in the treatment of mouse phobia: review and case study. Contemporary Hypnosis, 27 (3): 184-194.   

Kraft D (2012). Panic disorder without agoraphobia. A multi-modal approach: solution-focused therapy, hypnosis and psychodynamic psychotherapy. Journal of Integrative Research, Counselling and Psychotherapy, 1 (1): 4-15.

Kraft D (2012). Successful treatment of heavy smoker in one hour using split screen imagery, aversion, and suggestions to eliminate cravings. Contemporary Hypnosis & Integrative Therapy, 29 (2): 175-188.  

 

 

David Kraft is a fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine and a member of the British Society of Clinical and Academic Hypnosis (BSCAH).

 

For an appointment, please phone 0207 467 8564.

 

 

 

David Kraft PhD

 

David Kraft runs a successful psychotherapy practice in Harley Street. London. He has a diploma in Clinical Hypnosis (DCHyp) and an Advanced Certificate in Clinical and Strategic Hypnosis (A.Cert.CSHyp). He is also a fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine and a member of The British Society of Clinical & Academic Hypnosis (BSCAH). In addition, he has completed the first year course in Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy at the London Centre for Psychotherapy. David’s psychiatric placement was at the Pembroke Centre—an early intervention service which is part of the Central & North West London NHS Foundation Trust.  

 

 

David has been researching psychotherapy and clinical hypnosis for several years now, publishing regularly in academic journals. He has written articles on driving phobia, mouse phobia, covert sensitisation, anxiety disorders, sleep disturbances, hyperhidrosis, sexual disorders, IBS, anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa, agoraphobia, social phobia and panic disorder.  

 

David also has a Diploma in Clinical Psychology (Dip.Cl.Psy), both a degree (BMus) and doctorate (PhD) in classical music, a Post Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE), a Certificate in Psychoneuroimmunology and a level 5 certificate in teaching English to speakers of other languages (CELTA). At present, David is studying at the National College of Hypnosis and Psychotherapy in order to gain accreditation with the UKCP—at the end of this training, if successful, he will also gain a diploma and an advanced diploma in psychotherapy. He is also studying the language component of a degree (BA) in Thai at SOAS, University of London: he is in the third year of this degree, and is enjoying being part of the South East Asian Studies faculty.

 

Tom Kraft’s Publications (total =67)

 

Al-Issa  & Kraft, T. Personality factors in behavioural therapy. (1967) Canadian Psychologist, 8a: 218-222.

 

Kraft D & Kraft T. Use of in vivo and in vitro desensitization in the treatment of mouse phobia: review and case study. In press.

 

Kraft, T & Al-Issa, I. The application of learning theory to the treatment of traffic phobia. (1965) British Journal of Psychiatry, 111, 277-279.

 

Kraft, T & Al-Issa, I.Behaviour therapy and the recall of traumatic experience: a case study. (1965), Behaviour Research & Therapy, 3, 55-58.

 

Kraft, T & Al-Issa, I. Brief behaviour therapy for the general practitioner. (1966) Journal of the College of General Practitioners, 12, 270-276.

 

Kraft, T & Al-Issa, I. Behavior therapy and the treatment of frigidity. (1967) American Journal of Psychotherapy, 21, 116-120.

 

Kraft, T & Al-Issa, I. Alcoholism treated by desensitization: a case report. (1967) Behaviour Research & Therapy, 5, 69-70.

 

Kraft, T & Burnfield, A. Treatment of neurosis by behaviour therapy. (1967) London Hospital Gazette Supplement 70, No. 2, 12-16.

Personality factors in behaviour therapy. (1967) Canadian Psychologist, 8a, 218-

222.

 

Kraft, T & Al-Issa, I. Desensitization and reduction in cigarette consumption. (1967) Journal of Psychology, 67, 323-329.

 

Kraft, T. Behaviour therapy and the treatment of sexual perversions. (1967) Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, 15, 351-357.

 

Kraft, T.  A case of homosexuality treated by systematic desensitization. (1967) American Journal of Psychotherapy, 21, 815-821.

 

Kraft, T. Treatment of the housebound-housewife syndrome. (1967) Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics15, 446-453.

 

Kraft, T & Al-Issa, I. The use of methohexitone sodium in the systematic desensitization of premature ejaculation. (1968) British Journal of Psychiatry, 114, 351-352.

 

Kraft, T & Al-Issa, I. Desensitization and the treatment of alcohol addiction. (1968), British Journal of Addiction, 63, 19-23.

 

Kraft, T. Experience in the treatment of alcoholism. (1968) In Progress in Behaviour      Therapy (Edited by H Freeman) Wright: Bristol (Pp 25-33.)

 

Kraft, T. Successful treatment of a case of drinamyl addiction. (1968) British Journal of      Psychiatry, 114, 1363-1364.

 

Kraft, T. Social anxiety and drug addiction. (1968) British Journal of Social Psychiatry, 2, 192-195.

 

Kraft, T. Behavior therapy and target symptoms. (1969) Journal of Clinical Psychology,      25,105-109.

 

Kraft, T. Treatment of drinamyl addiction. (1969) International Journal of Social of Addictions, 4, 59-64.

 

Kraft, T. Successful treatment of a case of chronic barbiturate addiction. (1968) British Journal     of Addiction, 64, 115-120.

 

Kraft, T. Desensitization and the treatment of sexual disorders. (1969) Journal of Sex Research,      5, 130-134.

 

Kraft, T. Erotisierte Übertragung in der Verhaltenstherapie. (1969) Zeitschrift für      Psychosomatische Medizin und Psychoanalyse,15, 126-130.

 

Kraft, T. Psychoanalysis and behaviorism: a false antithesis. (1969) American Journal of Psychotherapy, 23, 482-487.

 

Kraft, T. Alcoholism treated by systematic desensitization. A follow-up of eight cases.

(1969) Journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners, 18, 336-340.

 

Kraft, T. Behaviour therapy or personality therapy? (1969) Psychotherapy and        Psychosomatics, 17, 217-225.

 

Kraft, T. Drug addiction and personality disorder. (1970) British Journal of Addiction,

64, 403-408.

 

Kraft, T. Systematic desensitization using emotional imagery only. (1970) Perceptual and Motor Skills, 30, 293-294.

 

Kraft, T. Treatment of drinamyl addiction. Two case studies. (1970) Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 150, 138-144.

 

Kraft, T. Sexual factors in the development of the housebound housewife syndrome. (1970) Journal of Sex Research, 6, 59-63.

 

Kraft, T & Wijesinghe B. Successful treatment of drinamyl addicts and associated personality changes. (1970) Canadian Psychiatric Association Journal, 15, 223-227.

 

Kraft, T. Systematic desensitization of social anxiety in the treatment of alcoholism: a psychometric evaluation of change. (1970) British Journal of Psychiatry, 117, 443-444.

 

Kraft, T. Psychotherapy and behaviour therapy: a combined technique. (1970) London Hospital Gazette, October, 8-12,

 

Kraft, T. Social anxiety model of alcoholism. (1971).Perceptual and Motor Skills, 33, 797-798.

 

Kraft, T. A case of homosexuality treated by combined behaviour therapy and psychotherapy. (1971) Psychotherapy and Psychosomiatics, 19, 342-358.

 

Kraft, T. The use of behavior therapy in a psychotherapeutic context. Chapter in Clinical      Behavior Therapy (Edited by A A Lazarus) Brunner/Mazel: New York.(1972)

 

Kraft, T. The treatment of phobias by systematic desensitization: a follow-up of three cases. (1973) London Hospital Gazette, October, 2-6.

 

Kraft, T. Behaviour therapy and personality change. (1975) International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 21, 111-116.

 

Kraft, T. In vivo desensitization of a phobic shop steward. (1975) Psychotherapy and      Psychosomatics, 26, 294-302.

 

Kraft, T. Long-term effects of behaviour therapy. (1976) British Journal of Psychiatry, 129, 510-511.

 

Kraft, T. The combined behaviour therapy-psychotherapy approach. (1976) Projective Psychology, 23,15-29.

 

Kraft, T. The quality of recovery after behaviour therapy: a nine year follow-up study.

 (1980) Proceedings of the British Society of Medical and Dental Hypnosis, January, 3-26.

 

Kraft, T. Systematic desensitization in a patient with poor visual imagery. ((1984)

Proceedings of the British Society of Medical and Dental Hypnosis, 5, 45-47.

 

Kraft, T. Injection phobia: a case study. (1984) British Journal of Experimental and Clinical Hypnosis, 1, 13-18.

 

Kraft, T. A reply to Heap’s comments on “Injection phobia: a case study”. (1984) British Journal of Experimental and Clinical Hypnosis, 1, 39-40.

 

Kraft, T. Successful treatment of a case of hyperhidrosis. (1985) Proceedings of the British Society of Medical and Dental Hypnosis, 6, 11-13.

 

Kraft, T. The successful treatment of a case of night terrors (pavor nocturnus). (1986) British Journal of Experimental and Clinical Hypnosis, 3, 113-119.

 

Kraft, T. Brief hypnotherapy. (1986) Proceedings of the British Society of Medical and Dental Hypnosis, 6, No. 2, 15-20.

 

Kraft, T. The treatment of avoidance reactions. Two case studies. (1988)

Proceedings of the British Society of Medical and Dental Hypnosis, 6, No. 3,

18-21.

 

Kraft, T. Use of hypnotherapy in anxiety management in the terminally ill: a preliminary study. (1990) British Journal of Experimental and Clinical Hypnosis, 7, 27-33.

 

Kraft, T. Working with terminally ill patients. (1989) Proceedings of the British Society

of Medical and Dental Hypnosis, 6, No. 4, 16-20.

 

Kraft, T. Hypnotherapy for the terminally ill: the Edenhall experience. (1991) Proceedings of the British Society of Medical and Dental Hypnosis, 7, No 5, 21-24.

 

Kraft, T.  Hypnosis for the terminally ill: a review of the first thirty cases. (1991) Proceedings of the Seventh Annual Conference of the British Society of Experimental and Clinical Hypnosis, University of Sheffield, April 1990 (Edited by Michael Heap. 81-87.

 

Kraft, T. Counteracting pain in malignant disease by hypnotic techniques: five case studies. (1992) Contemporary Hypnosis, 9, 123-129.

 

Kraft, T. Behaviour therapy for performance anxiety: a psychodynamic explanation for  rapidity of treatment. (1992) Contemporary Hypnosis, 9, No. 3, 175-181.

 

Kraft, T. Using hypnosis with cancer patients: six case studies. (1993), Contemporary Hypnosis, 10, No 1, 43-48.

 

Kraft, T. A case of chemotherapy Phobia: an integrative approach. (1993), Contemporary Hypnosis, 10, No 2, 105-111.

 

Kraft, T. The combined use of hypnosis and in vivo desensitization in the successful treatment of a case of balloon phobia.(1994) Contemporary Hypnosis,11, No 2,71-76

 

Kraft, T. Successful treatment of a case of stuttering, with a 10-year follow-up.(1994) Contemporary Hypnosis, 11, No 3, 131-136.

 

Kraft, T. Using Hypnosis to aid recovery of taste sensation after a course of radiotherapy: a case study (1996) Contemporary Hypnosis. 13. No 2. 115-119

 

Kraft, T. Hypnotherapy and Visiting a Hypnotherapist. (2000), Inside the Human Body, 78, Unit 19 sheets 8 and 9.

 

Kraft, T. The use of direct suggestion in the successful treatment of a case of snoring. (2003), Contemporary Hypnosis, 20, No 2, 98 – 101.

 

Kraft, T. Treatment options for snoring. (2003) Journal of The Royal Society of Medicine 96,  No 9. 473.

 

Kraft, T & Kraft, D. Creating a virtual reality in hypnosis: a case of driving phobia (2004), Contemporary Hypnosis. 21, No. 2, 79 – 85.

 

Kraft, T & Kraft, D. Covert Sensitization revisited: Six Case Studies (2005) Contemporary Hypnosis, 22, No. 4: 202-209. 

 

Kraft, T & Kraft, D. The place of hypnosis in psychiatry: its applications in treating anxiety disorders and sleep disturbances (2006) Australian Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 34. No 2: 187-203.

 

Kraft, T & Kraft, D. An integrative approach to the treatment of Hyperhidrosis: Review and Case Study (2007) Contemporary Hypnosis, 24, No 1: 38-45.

 

Kraft, T & Kraft, D. The place of hypnosis in psychiatry part 2: its application to the treatment of sexual disorders (2007) Australian Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 35, No 2: 1-18

 

Kraft, T & Kraft, D. Irritable Bowel Syndrome: symptomatic treatment approaches versus integrative psychotherapy’ Contemporary Hypnosis (2007), 24, (4): 161-177.

 

Kraft, T & Kraft, D. The place of hypnosis in psychiatry part 3: the application to the treatment of eating disorders’ Australian Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis (2009), 37, No.1: 1–20.    

The following paper was written and subsequently published posthumously :

 

Kraft D & Kraft T (2010). Use of in vivo and in vitro desensitization in the treatment of mouse phobia: review and case study. Contemporary Hypnosis, 27 (3): 184-194.

David Kraft continues the work of his father in his practice in central London. To date, he has publsihed 17 peer-reviewed articles in the academic literature. He has written several articles for Contemporary Hypnosis, and, with his father, helped to permeate the use of a more flexible framework for integrative therapy in clinical practice. David is a member of BSCAH and a felow of the Royal Society of Medicine.     

  

For copyright reasons, the original article published in Contemporary Hypnosis cannot be included here. However, a pre-publication version can be included on one’s website. This is the pre-publication version of the original article. There is more information included here. I hope you enjoy reading about Tom Kraft–a famous academic and clinican. 

 

A tribute to Tom Kraft (1932-2008)

by David Kraft

 

 

Dr Thomas Kraft (‘Tom’) MB, ChB, FRCPsych, DPM died on the 10 of December 2008. Tom made a significant contribution to the field of integrative psychotherapy—that is to say, psychodynamic psychotherapy combined with hypnosis and/or behaviour therapy— and the following tribute celebrates the life of a man who supported, enriched and transformed the lives of many people in both short- and long-term therapy.

 

 

Life and Character

Tom was born in Berlin in 1932 into a wealthy Jewish family, where his grandfather owned a successful haberdashery business in the city. His father, a doctor of law, became aware very early on of the trend the political situation was taking, and he arranged for the family to leave for Switzerland as soon as possible. His grandfather, however, said that the prospect of a divided country and the possibility of mass segregation was not possible in Germany; however, he and his wife were later sent to a concentration camp and all of their assets were confiscated.

 

Tom adapted to life in Switzerland, enjoying Swiss chocolate and home-made ice cream, and teaching skiing in the alps for fruit at the tender age of five. He also learnt to speak Swiss dialect. From Switzerland. they moved to England through France and settled initially in Golders Green. Tom learnt to play the violin and, under his Aunt Truda’s influence, developed a love for classical—particularly, Baroque—music. During his childhood, Tom spent a significant amount of time at boarding school, which he hated. Nevertheless, Tom found a tree in one of the gardens and, in his spare time, he listened to the sounds of the birds, and he even created his own vegetable patch in the middle of the woods. When the family moved to Oxford, Tom continued to listen to classical music and to play the violin; he also worked hard at school and went to the theatre. The Oxford play company was always delighted when he came to visit because his infectious laugh made sure that the play would be a success.

 

Tom had wanted to become a doctor since the age of 5; at this age he had a first aid kit and he went around bandaging people throughout the day. It was almost an inevitability that he would train to become a doctor, and, Tom went to Leeds to do just that. Having qualified from Leeds Medical School in 1956, Tom held various house jobs in London—he was the house surgeon at St. Giles’ (1957-8), house physician at the Royal Northern (1957-8), Locum at the Brook and Dulwich Hospital (1958), House Physician at the Wittington (1958-9) and Senior House Officer at the Guy’s Maudsley Neurosurgical Unit (1959). During his national service, Tom was then stationed at Aldershot with the Royal Army Medical Corps, and was subsequently based in London and in the Middle East on the Heat and Acclimatisation trials. Tom also worked at the Army Information Offices in Belfast, Cambridge and Oxford: it was while he was in Belfast that he travelled regularly all the way back to London to finish a course in neurology at Hammersmith Hospital.

 

Tom went on to specialize in psychiatry. He worked at St Thomas’ for Dr William Sargeant, as a Psychiatric House Physician at the Netherne Hospital (1963-4), as a Senior House Officer, Registrar and Senior Registrar at St Clement’s (1964-9), Senior Registrar at Claybury Hospital (1969-71) and Senior Registrar at Barts’ (1971). Tom then set up in private practice in Harley Street (1971-2008) where he worked up until two weeks before his death in December 2008. Tom also treated patients in a number of institutions including the Grovelands’ Priory (1987-1995), the Florence Nightingale Hospital (1988-2003), Edenhall (1988-1998) and St Luke’s Hospital for the Clergy (2000-2008).       

 

It was in Harley Street that Tom developed still further his unique ability to treat patients. He became a lifeline for many patients. Some, who needed his continuous support, remained with him for years, while many others were, with his expertise, able to overcome their psychological conditions in a relatively short period of time. Tom had a tremendous success with thousands of patients over the 37 years in which he worked in private practice. He wrote some review papers, but many of his articles were case studies in which patients had successful outcomes: in many respects, these papers are a tribute to Tom’s life’s work.

 

Tom’s contribution to the field of integrative psychotherapy

It was as early as 1963, that Tom began working in the field of psychotherapy. He trained as a psychiatrist and completed the DPM in 1965; over the next few years, as part of his training, he underwent psychoanalysis himself and gained the MRCPsych in1973. During this period, Tom did some of the pioneer work in behaviour therapy which re-defined how behavioural approaches could be utilized in the treatment of psychological disturbances (Kraft & Burnfield, 1967; Kraft & Al-Issa, 1966; Al-Issa & Kraft, 1967; Kraft 1975). He employed learning theory in the treatment of a patient with traffic phobia (Kraft, 1965a), showed how aversion therapy could be utilized in the treatment of sexual perversions (Kraft, 1967), and used a combination of systematic desensitization and methohexitone in the successful treatment of premature ejaculation (Kraft & Al-Issa, 1968a). Tom introduced the concept that social anxiety was often connected with and the cause of drug abuse and alcholism (Kraft & Al-Issa, 1968b; Kraft 1969b; Kraft 1971b; Kraft, 1976). Further, in 1970, Tom showed that psychotherapy—specifically psycho-dynamically orientated psychotherapy—and behaviour therapy were not diametrically opposite (Kraft, 1970b).

 

Tom used Wolpe’s (1958) principle of reciprocal inhibition, using a graded hierarchy of increasing anxiety-provoking situations and pairing this with the relaxation in hypnosis. Tom used systematic sensitization in the treatment of heat phobia (Kraft & Al-Issa, 1965b), frigidity (Kraft & Al-Issa, 1967a), alcoholism (Kraft & Al-Issa, 1967b; Kraft, 1968; Kraft & Al-Issa, 1968b; Kraft, 1969c; Kraft, & Wijesinghe, 1970), cigarette addiction (Kraft & Al-Issa, 1967c), sexual disorders (Kraft, 1969), agoraphobia (Kraft, 1973), claustrophobia (Kraft, 1973), sea sickness (Kraft, 1984a), injection phobia (Kraft, 1984b), balloon phobia (Kraft, 1994) and driving phobia (Kraft & Kraft, 2004), cannabis and chocolate addiction (Kraft & Kraft, 2005), and hyperhidrosis (Kraft, 1985; Kraft and Kraft, 2007). Tom also employed all the sensory modalities in the hypnotherapy in order to re-create the experience as vividly as possible (Kraft, 1970a; Kraft, 1984a). He used systematic desensitization and combined this with psychotherapy: he found that the support that was given in the psychotherapy was essential in the treatment programme. He also used this integrative approach to help symptom relief for patients suffering from cancer (Kraft, 1991; Kraft, 1992; Kraft 1993a) and successfully treated patients with chemotherapy phobia (Kraft, 1993b), injection phobia, (Kraft, 1984b), stuttering (Kraft, 1994b), IBS (Kraft & Kraft, 2007b) and snoring (Kraft, 2003).    

 

 

Final Thoughts

Tom did not stand still. He continued to refine his work and challenge medical practitioners, psychiatrists, psychologists and psychotherapists. Early on in his career as a psychiatrist, he affectively stopped prescribing drugs because he felt that it was important to find the source of the problem and the psychodynamics responsible for the condition. He also felt that it was extremely important for patients to make their own decisions and that they should exercise control both in the consulting room and in their everyday lives. He continued to re-evaluate his thoughts from day to day, and he discussed these ideas and theories with his colleagues and with his son, David Kraft, who, having been essentially trained by Tom, has continued his work as a psychotherapist and hypnotherapist in private practice. Tom was a fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine from 1959, and attended many lectures run by the Section of Hypnosis and Psychosomatic Medicine; he also trained students attending the Applied Hypnosis course at UCL; he gave many lectures on behalf of BSMDH and BSECH and was influential here as well as in private tutorials. He was a member of the BMA, an honorary member of BSCAH and a member of the Society for the Exploration of Psychotherapy Integration (SEPI). In 2005, Tom was elected a Fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists.

 

Tom was a man of great integrity and was intrinsically caring and non-judgemental both in and outside the consulting room. Tom was an innovator and a pillar of strength. His influence has been profound both in the literature and as a teacher. For those that knew him, he was a source of knowledge with an incredible memory for detail; he was generous and kind; he had an infectious laugh and a warm aura about him; he was never arrogant, and, when you were with him, you knew you were always in safe hands. Tom will be missed by many people, but particularly by his family.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

 

Al-Issa  & Kraft, T. Personality factors in behavioural therapy. (1967) Canadian Psychologist, 8a: 218-222.

 

Kraft, T & Al-Issa, I. The application of learning theory to the treatment of traffic phobia. (1965a) British Journal of Psychiatry, 111, 277-279.

 

Kraft, T & Al-Issa, I.Behaviour therapy and the recall of traumatic experience: a case study. (1965b), Behaviour Research & Therapy, 3, 55-58.

 

Kraft, T & Al-Issa, I. Brief behaviour therapy for the general practitioner. (1966) Journal of the College of General Practitioners, 12, 270-276.

 

Kraft, T & Al-Issa, I. Behavior therapy and the treatment of frigidity. (1967a) American Journal of Psychotherapy, 21, 116-120.

 

Kraft, T & Al-Issa, I. Alcoholism treated by desensitization: a case report. (1967b) Behaviour Research & Therapy, 5, 69-70.

 

Kraft, T & Burnfield, A. Treatment of neurosis by behaviour therapy. (1967) London Hospital Gazette Supplement 70, No. 2, 12-16.

 

Kraft, T & Al-Issa, I. Desensitization and reduction in cigarette consumption. (1967c) Journal of Psychology, 67, 323-329.

 

Kraft, T. Behaviour therapy and the treatment of sexual perversions. (1967) Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, 15, 351-357.

 

Kraft, T & Al-Issa, I. The use of methohexitone sodium in the systematic desensitization of premature ejaculation. (1968a) British Journal of Psychiatry, 114, 351-352.

 

Kraft, T & Al-Issa, I. Desensitization and the treatment of alcohol addiction. (1968b), British Journal of Addiction, 63, 19-23.

 

Kraft, T. Experience in the treatment of alcoholism. (1968) In Progress in Behaviour      Therapy (Edited by H Freeman) Wright: Bristol (Pp 25-33.)

 

Kraft, T. Desensitization and the treatment of sexual disorders. (1969a) Journal of Sex Research,      5, 130-134.

 

Kraft, T. Psychoanalysis and behaviorism: a false antithesis. (1969b) American Journal of Psychotherapy, 23, 482-487.

 

Kraft, T. Alcoholism treated by systematic desensitization. A follow-up of eight cases.

(1969c) Journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners, 18, 336-340.

Kraft, T. Systematic desensitization using emotional imagery only. (1970a) Perceptual and Motor Skills, 30, 293-294.

 

Kraft, T & Wijesinghe B. Systematic desensitization of social anxiety in the treatment of alcoholism: a psychometric evaluation of change. (1970) British Journal of Psychiatry, 117, 443-444.

 

Kraft, T. Psychotherapy and behaviour therapy: a combined technique. (1970b) London Hospital Gazette, October, 8-12,

 

Kraft, T. Social anxiety model of alcoholism. (1971).Perceptual and Motor Skills, 33, 797-798.

 

Kraft, T. The treatment of phobias by systematic desensitization: a follow-up of three cases. (1973) London Hospital Gazette, October, 2-6.

 

Kraft, T. Behaviour therapy and personality change. (1975) International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 21, 111-116.

 

Kraft, T. The combined behaviour therapy-psychotherapy approach. (1976) Projective Psychology, 23,15-29.

 

Kraft, T. Systematic desensitization in a patient with poor visual imagery. (1984a)

Proceedings of the British Society of Medical and Dental Hypnosis, 5, 45-47.

 

Kraft, T. Injection phobia: a case study. (1984b) British Journal of Experimental and Clinical Hypnosis, 1, 13-18.

 

Kraft, T. Successful treatment of a case of hyperhidrosis. (1985) Proceedings of the British Society of Medical and Dental Hypnosis, 6, 11-13.

  

Kraft, T. Hypnotherapy for the terminally ill: the Edenhall experience. (1991) Proceedings of the British Society of Medical and Dental Hypnosis, 7, No 5, 21-24.

 

Kraft, T. Counteracting pain in malignant disease by hypnotic techniques: five case studies. (1992) Contemporary Hypnosis, 9, 123-129.

 

Kraft, T. Using hypnosis with cancer patients: six case studies. (1993a), Contemporary Hypnosis, 10, No 1, 43-48.

 

Kraft, T. A case of chemotherapy Phobia: an integrative approach. (1993b), Contemporary Hypnosis, 10, No 2, 105-111.

 

Kraft, T. The combined use of hypnosis and in vivo desensitization in the successful treatment of a case of balloon phobia, (1994a) Contemporary Hypnosis,11, No 2,71-76

 

Kraft, T. Successful treatment of a case of stuttering, with a 10-year follow-up. (1994b) Contemporary Hypnosis, 11, No 3, 131-136.

 

Kraft, T. Treatment options for snoring. (2003) Journal of The Royal Society of Medicine 96,  No 9. 473.

 

Kraft, T & Kraft, D. Creating a virtual reality in hypnosis: a case of driving phobia (2004), Contemporary Hypnosis. 21, No. 2, 79 – 85.

 

Kraft, T & Kraft, D. Covert Sensitization revisited: Six Case Studies (2005) Contemporary Hypnosis, 22, No. 4: 202-209. 

 

Kraft, T & Kraft, D. An integrative approach to the treatment of Hyperhidrosis: Review and Case Study (2007a) Contemporary Hypnosis, 24, No 1: 38-45.

 

Kraft, T & Kraft, D. Irritable Bowel Syndrome: symptomatic treatment approaches versus integrative psychotherapy’ Contemporary Hypnosis (2007b), 24, (4): 161-177.

 

Wolpe, J (1958). Psychotherapy by Reciprocal Inhibition. Stanford: Stanford University Press.

 

 

 

Do you smoke? Have you tried to give up cigarettes? Have you tried nicotine patches and not managed to give up smoking? David Kraft can help.

David Kraft is a specialist psychotherapist in Harley Street, and he has help many people give up smoking in a short space of time–sometimes in one session.

For an appointment, phone Harley Street on 0207 467 8564.

David is a member of BSCAH and a fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine.

The Royal Society of Medicine runs lectures for psychotherapists, health practitioners, psychologists and other therapists who have a legitimate reason for using hypnosis in clinical practice. There is a section which specializes in the use of clinical hypnosis–the Section of Hypnosis and Psychosomatic Medicine. BSCAH is a Professional organization, again, for people who use hypnosis in a clinical setting. Those accredited by BSCAH are suitably qualified and are registered members of a recognized medical, therapeutic, scientific or academic profession and have a legitimate reason for using hypnosis in their professional work. David is not, as yet, accredited by BSCAH. Individuals who wish to go to a therapist for psychological help should look at the BSCAH website. Both David and BSCAH do not recommend that individuals go to lay hypnotherapists. Hypnosis is not a therapy by itself: it should be use adjunctively by a fully-trained therapist–that is to say, a doctor, nurse, psychologist or registered psychotherapist.

David Kraft has just published a peer-reveiwed study in the journal, Contemporary Hypnosis & Integrative Therapy: the paper is a treatment of a 33 year old male smoker. The man, Philip, had one hypnotherapy session and stopped smoking immediately. At the one year follow, Philip reported that not only had he not had one cigarette, but that also he had had no cravings. The citation is below:

Kraft D (2012). Successful treatment of heavy smoker in one hour using split screen imagery, aversion, and suggestions to eliminate cravings. Contemporary Hypnosis & Integrative Therapy, 29 (2): 175-188.

Smoking has a deleterious effect on the body and can cause death. David Kraft has spent a great deal of time researching smoking cessation techniques and has helped a large number of people give up smoking. Smoking cessation hypnosis is a cost effective form of treatment.

 

David is a member of the British Society of Clinical and Academic Hypnosis (BSCAH). He is also a fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine. For an appointment, please ring 0207 467 8564.