Gestalt Questioning

As far as I can tell, there is no such
thing as ‘Gestalt questioning’ per se. What I mean by this is that the
expression, as far as I know from the literature, has not been used regularly
in this form. Only Sapp (2010) and Hall (1977) use the expression in this form.
However, questioning in Gestalt therapy is an extremely important
tool/technique in Gestalt therapy. Gestalt therapy focusses on the here and the
now. Questioning using the words what and how can be used to help clients’
awareness of the moment. It helps client to ask themselves how they are feeling
and to enjoy or discover information about the present, whereas why question
illicit inwardness and rationalizations. Here is an example of this. If the
therapist asks the question, ‘What is happening now?’, the client will think
about the experience at that moment. Other questions such as, ‘What are you
feeling at this time?, and ‘What does that hand position you are doing mean to
you?’ can also help in this process. The Gestalt therapist encourages his
client to experience the moment and to live his feelings rather than to talk
about them. It is perhaps the questions that help clients to be able to
re-enact the past in the present. Nevis (1987) talks about guided questioning.
He points out that by using questions, the therapist can help the client to
re-discover the present and feelings of the moment in a form which he describes
as ‘open, undirected awareness’.

Nanci Bell (1991) uses her questioning skills in her work which focuses on
Gestalt imagery. She feels that it is important in therapy for her clients to
be able to visualize a whole image. She points out that some individuals are
unable to visualize a complete image during language communication and that,
despite having good communication skills, they are sometimes unable to embrace
the meaning of some verbal interactions such as understanding directions, a
joke or group conversations. She describes this as being one of the main causes
of dyslexia. She uses her questioning skills to help her dyslexic clients to
illicit more specific information. Nanci showed her clients pictures and ask
her clients to describe in detail what was happening. The questions she asked
included ‘What does it look like?, ‘What shape is it?, ‘What colour is it?,
‘Where did it happen?’. What mood is being evoked?, and so forth. This form of
questioning helps her clients to understand the elements of the image.
Questioning using choice and contrast provides the client with more control of
the images presented to him. Later, Nanci uses her questioning to ask the
client what words can be used to describe an object or a person; finally, she
asks the clients how to describe stimuli using sentences.

But I feel that in the consulting room, if one uses what and how questions, one
challenges the client to think about how he or she behaves, feels and thinks in
the moment. Perls (1967) spoke of the ‘safe emergency’ of the situation. During
the interaction with Gloria, it seemed as if he believed that the confrontation
was safe and that by accepting our actions we can move on to understanding our
reality. He constantly challenged Gloria by asking how and what questions in
order or her to act authentically in the here and now. And, during this
‘playful’ exchange, he was encouraging her to be able to interact successfully
with him so that she could then do it with other people.

When Gloria says that Perls was not sharing her pain and anger, and that he was
detached, Perls asked the question, ‘How should I be?’, and ‘Tell me you
fantasy; How should I behave?’ With these questions, Perls is encouraging
Gloria to accept her ‘authentic’ feelings.

These questions are very helpful in Gestalt therapy, and I would be happy to
use these sorts of questioning in psychotherapy where appropriate.

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.

“The depressed need the support of society to enable them to overcome their problems.”

Leslie Lim, Depression, the misunderstood illness (2008)

I believe that Michael Yapko is one of the leading researchers in depression in the world. And what he has said is that there has been a huge amount of research into the biological reasons for depression and how antidepressants can be used in treatment, but not so much on the social aspects and this impact on well being. He, therefore, spent a huge amount of time looking at how these aspects affected well being and how we can change our lives, within our support network, to reduce or eliminate depression.

At London Hypnotherapy UK, David Kraft believes strongly that individuals suffering from depression need supprt from their therapist not only to deal with their problems–negative ruminations, sleep dysfunction, eating disorders or other associated conditions–but also helping them to adapt to and control their social environment. This can be done in the psychodynamic psychotherapy as well as in the hypnosis.

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

Covert sensitization is a reliable and effective form of treatment. It has been used very successfully in the treatment of alcoholism, cigarette addiction, cannabis addiction, compulsive gambling, exhibitionism, obesity and juvenile delinquency. (Cautela, 1967). This treatment approach may also be applied to cigarette smokers. David Kraft, a member of BSCAH, and fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine, has used this approach successfully over the last few years. He pairs the unwanted behaviour with a feelings nauseous: before the client picks up the cigarette. He combines the aversion with other techniques, including ‘the non smoker walk’ and split screen imagery. He also gives suggestions that cravings will be non-existent or hardly present. The result being that many clients have few cravings. In the paper that Dr Kraft recently published, the client had no cravings whatsoever, and he said that this was significant in helping him to stop smoking once and for all.

Smoking has a deleterious effect on every organ in the body.

London Hypnotherapy UK is dedicated to helping people give up smoking once and for all. The treatment is a complete abstinence programme, but is long lasting.

David Kraft is an experienced psychotherapist who is based in Harley Street London. He has published 17 papers in academic journals and continues to research. He is a fellow of the RSM and a member of BSCAH. 

David Kraft does not recommend individuals going to lay hypnotherapist. He suggests that individuals requiring treatment should go to an accredited health professional, psychologist or registered psychotherapist. David Kraft, of London Hypnotherapy UK and London Psychotherapy, recommends BSCAH and the UKCP.

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.

If you would like to find a therapist in London, why not ring London Hypnotherapy UK. Here, you will find highly qualified therapists who have been trained to use hypnosis as an adjunct to therapy.

David Kraft is a psychotherapist who uses hypnosis in treatment to enhance his work. Hypnosis is a tool to be used in conjunction with psychotherapy, CBT, medical or dental work.

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

If you would like help in finding a therapist, please call 0207 467 8564, for an appointment.

David Kraft

Psychotherapist and Hypnotherapist

For more information about BSCAH, please go to their website at http://www.bscah.com/

Finding a therapist in London can be hard work, so it is often helpful to go to a recognized organization in order find a suitable therapist who can help you. London Hypnotherapy UK recommends UKCP and BSCAH.

Dr David Kraft is the managing director of both London Psychotherapy and London Hypnotherapy UK. He has had a great deal of experience treating the full range of psychological conditions, and his practice is based at 10 Harley Street in central London. This year, he has treated a number of clients to help them stop smoking, and, so far, all his clients have given up smoking in one session. Stop Smoking Hypnotherapy is a fast evolving treatment programme, and Dr David Kraft uses the following techniques during the process: aversion therapy (covert sensitization), indirect and direct suggestions, future orientation in time, as well as many of the principles of healthy living (psychoneuroimmunology). Over the years, he has helped many people give up smoking in a very short period of time; the effects are long lasting. Nowadays, smoking is not as socially acceptable as it was in, say, the 1940s. Dr David Kraft points out that many physical conditions occur as a result of smoking including,  cardiovascular disease, emphysema,  chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder, shortness of breath, bladder problems, cancer of the oesophagus, kidneys complications, cancer of the pancreas and cervical cancer.

It is time to stop smoking now.

For an appointment, please ring Dr David Kraft at London Hypnotherapy UK on 0207 467 8564.

Dr David Kraft is a specialist hypnotherapist and psychotherapist  with a successful private practice in Harley Street, in central London. He specializes in phobic anxiety, sleep disorders, PTSD, psychosomatic pain and generalized anxiety disorder. Recently, he has had a considerable amount of success helping patients who are about to, or have undertaken cardiac surgery–in particular coronary, valvular and aortic surgery and ‘redo’ procedures. He has also worked in conjunction with gynaecologists helping patients to overcome anxieties in relation to having had hysterectomies: further, using hypnotherapy, he has helped to reduce flooding and clotting, and has helped patients suffering from vaginismus and dispareunia. This year, Dr Kraft has help a number  of clients to stop smoking, and, in all cases, clients have given up in one session.

Dear Sir

I am looking for a hypnotherapist in London who can help me with my problems. I am an orphan, and have suffered from nightmares all my life. I have an anxiety problem and this gets worse at night. I am so scared all the time, and I don’t know what to do. My anxiety is sometimes a panic attack, and sometimes I feel like I am falling. I feel out of control, and alone. I feel that no one loves me and that no one cares at all about how I feel. No one does. Please make sure that I am ok and care for me. I need to speak to someone, and I need time in the hypnotherapy to explore my problems. Is that something that you do?

Clive

Dear Clive

I am a psychotherapist and I use hypnosis in my work to enhance what I do in the psychotherapy. I take a great deal of care to make sure that my clients are in control, and that they are comfortable during sessions. If you would like to book a session, please phone me on 0207 467 8564.

Dr Kraft

Dr David Kraft is a psychotherapist in private practice. He also uses hypnotherapy in his work. He is a fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine and a member of the Hypnosis and Psychosomatic Medicine Section. He is also on the General Hypnotherapy Register and a member of BSCAH.

Hi Dr David Kraft

I have had a history of bipolar disorder ad I have been Duloxetine for some time now. I have taken 30mg an 60mg at various points of the last year. I was initially diagnosed with depression in the late 1980s, and I was referred to a psychotherapist at the Tavistock. Since then, I have seen a consultant psychiatrist in Wigmore Street, and another two in Harley Street. I have been diagnosed with depression, mania and bipolar disorder, but, at present, they all seem to agree, with the twists and turns of my problem, that I have bipolar disorder. Over the last twenty years I have taken Clomipramine hydrochlor., Lithium, Citalopram (this made me worse, and I felt really out of control), Reboxetine, Fluvoxamine, Venlafaxine, Maprotiline, Setraline and various other Tetracyclic and Tricyclic antidepressants, SNRIs (selective noradrenaline reuptake inhibitors) and Lithium salts. But I have never felt better than when I was taken off these drugs and I saw a psychotherapist in Harley Street. I felt that I had his support, and I felt that I was in control; and, in addition, I felt that I was getting to the root of the problem. I also used hypnotherapy, and this was aso a great comfort to me. I would like to see a similar psychotherapist, and one that works near or in Harley Street. I also would like to see someone who uses hypnotherapy, too. Plainly, I would like to see someone who is well qualified and who is similar to the psychotherapist I saw three years ago. He is not available now. Can you help? I have been reading your website and feel that you are independent and Freudian. I do not want to see a Freudian Psychotherapist, a Jungian Psychologist, an Object Relations Psychotherapist or anyone trained and brain-washed by these systems. I want to see someone who is an independent psychotherapist, who is adaptable, and who also uses hypnotherapy.

Andrea

Dear Andrea

Yes I can certainly see you in Harley Street. I regard myself as an independent psychotherapist who also uses hypnotherapy. Please phone for an appointment.

Many thanks

Dr David Kraft  

Dr David Kraft is a specialist psychotherapist and hypnotherapist in private practice. He is a fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine and a member of the Section of Hypnosis and Psychosomatic Medicine. He is also a member of BSCAH and he is on the General Hypnotherapy Register. He has published various articles in both national and international journal–specifically in Contemporary Hypnosis, the official Journal of the British Society of Clinical and Academic Hypnosis and the European Society of Hypnosis, in the Australian Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, and he has published an obituary in the British Medical Journal. David has a diploma in clinical hypnotherapy, and an advanced diploma in clinical and strategic hypnotherapy, and has a diploma in Clinical Psychology. He also has been trained by his father, Dr Tom Kraft, psychiatrist, hypnotherapist and psychotherapist.

To the hypnotherapist

I would like to thank London Hypnotherapy UK for my treatment. I saw Dr David Kraft in May 2010 and he was a great source of comfort to me. Hypnotherapy is so powerful. I used it before to help me with my IBS and found that this was successful too. I wanted to see a top hypnotherapist in London and I was not disappointed. I had been suffering from insomnia for most of my life and now I am very much better–and this is all due to the care and the hypnotherapy that I received in Harley Street. I feel that the approach helped and worked for me very much–hypnotherapy can be instructive but can also help people to make their own decisions in their own time. I was given so much time and space to work things out in the hypnotherapy. Dr Kraft called it ‘content free hypnotherapy’, but I say that this was inspired hypnotherapy. I feel cured. I knew that the first time I slept without any problems that this would happen more frequently. And it did… Now, not only am I able to enjoy sleeping, and have a restful night’s sleep, but I also enjoy snoozing both when getting to sleep and in the morning. If I get woken up, it is not a problem. I was also taught self hypnotherapy so that I can use this in order to help me get to sleep.

I thoroughly recommend London Hypnotherapy UK to anyone, but especially to people who are suffering from insomnia or from another sleeping disorder.  

Thanks again

Bethany

London Hypnotherapy UK is the specialist partner of London Psychotherapy. Dr David has been trained to treat the full range of psychological disorders; he has a diploma in clinical hypnotherapy, an advanced diploma in clinical hypnotherapy and a diploma in clinical psychology. David has published widely in the literature and is both fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine and a member of BSCAH.

Please note that the name of this client has been changed and also that some of he mispellings and punctuation have been amended.