Whole Person Medicine
An eclectic and rigorous approach, with the aim of treating the whole person as well as the disease.
Conventional
Medicine
I am a medical doctor registered with the GMC. My general policy is to nudge the body to heal itself by using a holistic stimulus (ie natural medicine) as a first step. Occasionally, I advise that the situation is not suitable for holistic approaches and I need to prescribe an orthodox medication or refer to a specialist.
Most of my patients consult me because they know I am a doctor and can choose a treatment from both holistic and orthodox medicine – depending on the clinical picture. I can also write medical reports and am covered by some medical insurance policies. (Check with your provider.)
- MBBCh – Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery, Witwatersrand, 1980
- GMC (General Medical Council) Registration number – 2558165
About
Dr Brian Kaplan
Dr Brian Kaplan qualified as an conventional/orthodox medical doctor at the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa.
In 1982 he came to England to study homeopathy at the Royal London Homeopathic Hospital.
After completing a comprehensive training in homeopathy (exclusively for medical doctors) he became a member of the Faculty of Homeopathy in 1983 and a Fellow in 2002.
He is also a Fellow of the British Autogenic Society and an expert in the use of warm-hearted humour in counselling.
Natural Medicine
& Homeopathy
While I know homeopathy is a controversial subject, I am convinced that patients benefit from classical homeopathy. In conventional medicine, you want to arrive at an objective diagnosis. I always try to do this with all my patients. Then we can decide whether to use natural therapies such as homeopathy, diet, Autogenic Training, exercises, etc., or we choose/need to use a conventional medication immediately.
Classical homeopathy demands that I get a clear picture of your subjective experience of being unwell. I listen carefully to all the details of the journey of your experience since you first started feeling unwell. Many patients find this reassuring in itself, but the goal is to match a homeopathic remedy (very safe) to your particular experience.
I can’t say I know how a homoeopathic remedy actually acts as a holistic stimulus, but I can say that I’ve used classical homoeopathy in my practice for over 40 years.
Affiliation: FFHom (Fellow of the Faculty of Homeopathy – (regulatory body for medical doctors who use homeopathy).
Autogenic
Training
Autogenic Training is a powerful form of deep relaxation that helps stress-proofing and release stress. I teach it over 9 one-hour sessions either individually (where dates are flexible) or in a group on Zoom where I teach it in 9 evenings one week apart.
Dubbed “meditation for agnostics” by a grateful patient, the vast majority of people who learn AT find that it reduces stress and helps them sleep much better. This makes it one of the most reliably effective holistic tools I use in my practice. The 9-week personal supervision in AT gives it notable advantages compared with other relaxation techniques. There are other effective methods of learning to relax deeply, but with AT you are personally supervised over 8 weeks and in my experience this makes a big difference.
Affiliation: Fellow of the British Autogenic Society and have used Autogenic Training for over 35 years.
Counselling &
Provocative Therapy
I’ve always been convinced by the mind/body connection, so I’ve been a counselling doctor with plenty of time for my patients (60-90 minutes for the first consultation and 60 for follow-ups).
On specific request, I offer Provocative Therapy, the cutting edge in using humour and reverse psychology in counselling and brief psychotherapy. I was trained by the founder of this technique, Frank Farrelly.
- Neohumour.com – more on the use of humour to promote health
- Almosthappy – Pushing your Buttons with Reverse Psychology
by Brian Kaplan M.D. and Hephzibah Kaplan
Website: almosthappy.com
ADHD
Coaching
I only treat adults for psychological issues and have developed a big interest in helping people who have been diagnosed with ADHD late in life. I also run workshop for adults with ADHD at the London Art Therapy Centre where we use a variety of arts-based therapies.
Having been diagnosed personally with ADHD late in life, I am dedicated and passionate in helping other adults who have also had a late diagnosis (anyone diagnosed at 18 or older). The counselling happens individually and in groups where art, poetry and humour are used to help people understand their lives better and learn not only to cope with ADHD – but how to thrive with it.
Book an Appointment
Send Dr Kaplan any questions and he will get back to you shortly
If (almost) all your questions are already answered,
why not book an appointment on Zoom with Dr Kaplan ?
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Is Dr Kaplan a conventionally trained physician?
A: Yes, Dr Kaplan completed a 6-year medical training programme and is fully registered and licensed as a medical doctor with the GMC (General Medical Council)
Q: Does Dr Kaplan use conventional medicine, and if so, when?
A: Dr Kaplan’s preference is to use whole-person oriented treatments that encourage the body to heal itself wherever and whenever this can be done without risk to the patient. In severe acute illnesses, it is often absolutely necessary to use proven conventional treatments (eg in meningitis, appendicitis and many other conditions.)
Q: Is it possible to combine conventional medicine and Whole Person Medicine?
A: Yes. Both these modalities have much to offer, and many people use both at the same time. For Dr Kaplan, Whole Person Medicine includes the use of orthodox scientific medicine.
Q: How does one choose between Whole Person Medicine and conventional/orthodox medicine?
A: This will depend on your particular clinical condition. In some situations, Dr Kaplan might recommend orthodox medicine as the first option. In many other situation,s he would recommend a Whole Person Approach to begin with. If this fails to deal with the problem satisfactorily, then a combination of Whole Person and orthodox medicine will be discussed.
Q: If I’m having orthodox treatment from another doctor (eg my GP), will Dr Kaplan be prepared to liaise with him/her?
A: Most certainly. Dr Kaplan is always happy to speak to any medical or paramedical professional on your behalf.
Q: If I need to see a specialist in orthodox medicine, is Dr Kaplan able to arrange that for me?
A: Yes, Dr Kaplan is connected to a network of specialists in all fields of medicine.
Q: Is Dr Kaplan licensed to prescribe orthodox medical drugs?
A: Yes, he is a licensed M.D. registered with the General Medical Council (GMC 2558165). Dr Kaplan’s preference, however is first to try Whole Person Medicine to stimulate the body’s inherent ability to heal itself.
Qualifications
MBBCh – Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery, Witwatersrand, 1980
GMC Registration number – 2558165
MFHom: – Membership of the Faculty of Homeopathy
FFHom – Fellowship of the Faculty of Homeopathy 2001
MBAS – Membership of the British Autogenic Society 1987
FBAS: – Fellow of the British Autogenic Society (2023)
London Art Therapy Centre – Advisory Board member
Experience
1982 Redruth, Cornwall. General Practice
1983 – Ongoing. Central London, Medical doctor and counsellor
1987/88 London. Attended Balint Groups
1982 – 2005 Mentorship with Dr Eric Ledermann existential philosopher and author of Mental Health and Human Conscience (1984)
1988 Training in Autogenic Therapy with British Autogenic Society and passed membership examination.
1996 – 2012 Extensive training with Frank Farrelly, the founder of Provocative Therapy, the cutting edge in the use of humour and reverse psychology in psychotherapy. Attended trainings in UK, Germany, Netherlands, USA
2001 Published book, The Homeopathic Conversation, The art of taking the case (Natural Medicine Press 2001)
2010 – ongoing Joined Advisory Board at London Art Therapy Centre 2017 London Art Therapy Centre, Psychotherapy Supervisor where he facilitates monthly integrative supervision group
Lectures, Teaching and Media
Brian has a busy schedule lecturing and demonstrating Provocative Therapy. As a medical doctor using this approach he has been invited to teach in Germany, India, Japan, Poland, South Africa, Switzerland, as well as the UK.
1996: October Gallery, London. Presented a seminar on Laughter and Health with comedian, Arnold Brown. This successful workshop is referred to several times in Howard Jacobson’s non-fiction book, Seriously Funny: From the Ridiculous to the Sublime (1997)
1997 Liverpool Comedy Festival Presented Provocative Therapy. He described his journey in medicine in the first chapter of the book Passionate Medicine, which by kind permission of the publisher Jessica Kingsley, this chapter is available to read free.
2013 Spiro Ark, London. The Chutzpah Clinic. A monthly series of 6 shows. Co-produced and presented with Arnold Brown and guest comedians. This was an audience participation show using comedy to warmly provoke volunteers to come up with their own solutions to common problems.
2018 Are you feeling funny? Interviews with comedians in the radio series, Listen here.
2023: Since being diagnosed very, very late with ADHD in 2023 I have been totally committed to helping adults with ADHD, not only to deal with it but to thrive with it. ADHD, contrary to nonsense being written about it, is NOT ‘overdiagnosed’. The simple truth is that its incidence in 4.6% and many parents of children now being diagnosed, have chosen to be tested for it because they suspect they too might have it. It is true that it often runs in families.
I work with ADHD both in individual sessions and in day-long workshops at the London Art Therapy Centre where I co-host day workshops where arts-based therapies are used to help people get the best out of being ADHD.
S • M • I • L • E
Dr Kaplan has penned an acronym which is a mnemonic for the proven physiological benefits of laughter.
S
STRESS hormones reduced (adrenalin and noradrenalin, cortisol)
M
MUSCULAR relaxation (muscles take 2 hours to return to previous state of tension after belly laugh)
I
IMMUNITY increased, IgA and IgM and IgG increased in blood after laughter, improved resistance to colds and infections
L
LUNGS are helped by laughter expelling residual volume of air, allowing more fresh air to enter lungs
E
EXERCISE Dr. William Fry of Stanford Medical School has established that 100 laughs a day give you as much beneficial exercise as 10 minutes of rowing – and without the agonised expression that rowers, stationery cyclists and joggers customarily have on their faces.
and also:
ENDORPHINS & ENCEPHALONs, natural high-making chemicals of the body are increased by laughter
Previous Blog Archive
Anxiety and your Heart
Meetings with Remarkable Healers | Dr. Eric Karl Ledermann
Meetings with Remarkable Healers | Lawrence Le Shan: Sing Your Own Song!
Meetings with Remarkable Healers | Patch Adams: Doctor/Clown Extraordinaire
Medicine, Homeopathy and Vaccination
Royal Honour for Homeopathy
Heal, treat or cure: Not a case of ‘either or’.
Arts Therapies and Practitioner-based Research
Media
Natural Medicine
& Homeopathy Media
Counselling &
Provocative Therapy Media
Autogenic
Training Media
Testimonials
I was fortunate to find Brian at a pretty difficult time in my life. Brian not only gave me the support and help that I so desperately needed to get through that chapter, but also provided me with the encouragement I needed to continue.
I always left feeling that he absolutely always had my back. Once we’d navigated my emotional minefields, he worked tirelessly helping me find the tools within me to cope and master life in the future.
He can be provocative, but if you’re well-versed in talking yourself into despair, this is a brilliant way to begin to unpick the problem and see a new way forward.
What I have learnt from him, I will carry always – it’s turned my life around in a way I did not think possible.
Brian has carefully nurtured our long-term therapeutic relationship. I will always value his kindness, insightfulness and wholehearted commitment to seeing me reach my potential.
I have known and been treated by Dr Kaplan for many years. He is kind, considerate, reliable and an excellent practitioner. I highly recommend him to you.
Dr Kaplan is a generous-hearted and caring doctor. He’s trustworthy and open-minded, with a broad knowledge of conventional medicine, homeopathy, meditation and psychotherapy.
His trademark warmth and sense of humour are grounded in deep compassion and understanding. As a provocative therapist, his work is groundbreaking.
ln 2013 I was treated by Dr Brian Kaplan for an acute stress-related condition, caused by problems at work. I suffered from anxiety, panic attacks, palpitations, insomnia associated with an unknown fear. My GP referred me to Dr Kaplan. The therapy consisted of 8 sessions of weekly autogenic treatment. My condition improved steadily; furthermore, I had 2 other sessions, one and two months later.
Considering the positive outcome of the treatment, Dr Kaplan discharged me from his care. Since then I have not had any further relapses. Dr Kaplan is an excellent doctor, well-read and very knowledgeable, a compassionate man and a great support for his patients. He has also kept up with the recent trends in modern medicine. I would strongly recommend him as a very competent physician, especially when complex factors are involved in the manifestation of the condition.
For the last fifteen years, I have been visiting Dr Kaplan once or twice a year whenever I am feeling “under the weather’, and somehow the consultation – which might range from symptoms to favourite poems – always seems to make me feel better, whether he prescribes some medicine or merely makes me realise I can improve my health. As a perpetual worrier, the autogenic course proved an enormous help too.