AUTHOR INTERVIEW
Marcus D’Silva
Shares the Secrets of Self Hypnosis
Marcus D’Silva is a Clinical Hypnotherapist and Coach and Speaker based in
Bromley, Kent. In writing his book “How to Change Your Life - with the Amazing
Secrets of Hypnosis: Powerful Techniques for Achieving Health Happiness
and Success” he set out to produce a book that was “part inspirational pop
psychology and part self hypnosis manual” with the intention of sharing this
powerful technique with a wider circle of people. Andy Coote spoke to him.
S
elf hypnosis and hypnotherapy are and do something even more exciting. I began hypnosis books whilst delivering practical help.
possibly the best self help tools on the learning clinical hypnotherapy and coaching I used a lot of hypnosis myself in preparing the
planet and I’ve tried many of them” and that has been my focus ever since.” book and in bringing my own experiences into
Marcus D’Silva told me when we spoke Having worked with clients for around 11 it.” The exercises, of which there are many, mix
recently. “I’ve written this book about Self years, Marcus has come to the conclusion that self-hypnosis with NLP and other techniques.
Hypnosis because not only has it enhanced my hypnosis, and trance, affects everything in our Marcus sees hypnosis and NLP as
life but I’d seen it enhance the lives of many, lives. “Many self help books have exercises and complementary. “Richard Bandler is a
many of my clients, too and I want others to techniques to teach how to relax and focus, fantastic hypnotist. The major models on
discover the benefits.” visualise images and also affirmations - all of which NLP was based were hypnotic in their
His motivation to write also comes from his process. Dr Milton Erickson was
own experience of adversity and of overcoming not only a psychiatrist but also
major problems, which included bankruptcy
I wanted to get away
a great hypnotist and Virgina
and the loss of his business. Marcus became
from the quite dry, almost
Satir was a family therapist who
a hairdresser when he left school. He enjoyed used processes that were purely
working with people and was good at it. “By
boring image of self
hypnotic – including centering,
age 24, I had two hair salons which I sold in affirmation and parts integration.
my late twenties and got into complementary hypnosis books whilst She used techniques to create a
health work. I came across flotation tanks - a trance state.”
form of meditation - and decided to base my
delivering practical help
Milton Erickson’s influence
business around them.” is becoming more prominent
In 1990, he opened a flotation centre which are a form of self hypnosis packaged in in the NLP world again. “Many people have
in Bromley - one of only 3 in the country a different way.” explored NLP now and are getting interested
at that time - and started building a group The reason that they are not explicitly in the hypnosis side of it. Steven Gilligan who
of therapists including masseurs and labelled as hypnosis might be that hypnosis has wrote Therapeutic Trances, the best book on
acupuncturists around that. “I put out 10,000 a negative perception in some places. “This inducing Ericksonian hypnosis, also works with
flyers around the town for an open day on could stem from the 1931 film about Svengali NLP techniques and gave the keynote address
Sunday and had 300 people through the with John Barrymore which was a spoof to the NLP Conference in 2008. I think that
door between 10 and 5”. The business started film but taken literally by some.” American NLP has helped hypnosis to become more
strongly but by 1993 - just 3 years later - he hypnotist Ralph Slater was successfully sued mainstream.”
had to go out of business and was made for negligence and assault in 1950 and the Solution Focused Therapy (SFT) played a
bankrupt. The first 18 months went well but backlash led to the Hypnotism Act 1952, major part in the development of the content
by the third year it was heading for disaster. requiring stage hypnotism to be licensed and of the book. SFT was developed by Steve de
“I lost everything and went through a pretty to a perception of people being made to do Shazer and is continued by his wife Insoo Kim
tough time.” things against their will. That perception, Berg. It draws on the work of Milton Erickson,
Through reading widely about therapy, Marcus maintains, “could not be further from and others including Gregory Bateson and
meditation and hypnosis, “doors began to open the truth.” Virginia Satir. SFT puts a focus on the present
in my mind and I retrained as a remedial sports The audience for the book is quite wide. and the future using hypnotic language. “You
massage therapist.” He worked as a massage “Hypnosis is a natural part of life and its effects then go into a trance to imagine the future.”
therapist in the USA and elsewhere but then can be so positive, I wanted to get away from Hypnotic language is important to D’Silva
got RSI in the hand. “I decided to reframe the quite dry, almost boring image of self and he covers in some detail the difference in
48 | Summer 2009 - rapport
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