Richard P. Kluft

Rick Kluft is a New Jersey boy who loves the East Coast of America. He practices psychiatry, psychoanalysis,and medical hypnosis in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania. Specializing in the treatment of the traumatized, he developed many widely-used techniques and approaches, hypnotic and otherwise. Working in often-controversial fields, such as trauma, dissociation, hypnosis, therapist-patient boundary violations, and the resolution of therapeutic impasses, has had its ups and downs. Cornelia B. Wilbur once remarked, "Of course you're a pioneer, Rick! Just count the number of arrows in your back!" His research and clinical contributions have won many awards here and abroad, including the 2009 Pierre Janet Award for Clinical Excellence by the International Society of Hypnosis for his innovations and his demonstrated effectiveness and the 2014 Erika Fromm Award for teaching from the Society of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis. The Journal of Trauma and Dissociation has named its "best paper of the year" award in his honor. He has been president of several American and international professional societies. In addition to his scientific papers and edited books, he authored Shelter from the Storm (2013), an in-depth exploration of how to process traumatic material slowly and safely. But Rick majored in English before medical school, and has been writing embarrassingly bad poetry, short stories, and essays all these years. In the best interests of literature, all have been mercifully consigned to oblivion. When his last presidency of a scientific society came to an end, Rick took a hard look at the kind of reading he most enjoys, and finally got serious about writing the kind of books he loves best. His novel, Good Shrink/Bad Shrink, and his novella, How Fievel Stole the Moon - A Tale for Sweet Children and Sour Scholars, were published in 2014.