Welcome to our
private psychotherapy practice

NAIL BITING

Patients who bite their fingernails often start this habit in childhood and continue into adult life. The problem is often so severe that the nails are bitten right down to the quick. This may cause bleeding and pain. Some people while not using their teeth cause the same damage to their nails by picking and tearing them with their fingers again sometimes down to the quick.
Hypnosis can be very helpful in treating this distressing problem. During the course of the treatment the patient is given powerful suggestions that they will no longer have the need to bite or tear their fingernails. During the treatment session the patient will be taught how to use self hypnosis at home; this an essential component of the treatment programme. Dr Kraft has found that if the patient is well motivated to give up this habit the treatment results are excellent after only 3-4 sessions.

NIGHTMARES

Nightmares are alarming dreams which occur when a person is asleep and are so frightening that the person wakes up. Sometimes the fear is so great that he /she is afraid to go back to sleep in case they experience the dream again. The nightmare is alarming and can be recalled often in great detail without any difficulty.
A distinction needs to be made between recurring nightmares and the terrifying dreams associated with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. In PTSD the disturbing dreams are part of a complex group of symptoms which follow a traumatic experience. See PTSD. However, when nightmares occur which are not in the context of PTSD it is important to recognise that there is some underlying emotional problem which needs to be identified and resolved. It can be a relatively simple problem which can be sorted out quite quickly; alternatively the dreams may signify a complex inner conflict which will require a lengthy treatment programme.

NIGHT TERRORS
“This treatment approach is based on original work carried out by
Dr Kraft. - See publications.”

Night terrors usually occur in children and young people. A night terror differs from a nightmare in that the patient does not wakeup despite the alarming nature of the dream and has no memory of its content. Often the person lets out a scream and may walk in their sleep so that they are found still asleep, in a state of terror, in another part of the building and need to be guided back to bed.

Hypnotherapy is most helpful in the treatment of this condition. During the hypnosis it is interesting to find that the content of the night terror can now be recalled and described in detail. With the help of the therapist the person is enabled to change the outcome of the content of the terrifying dream and bring it to a more acceptable conclusion. The ultimate aim of this treatment is to eliminate the night terrors.
Dr Kraft has used this treatment approach to great effect.

Dr. Thomas Kraft