As Featured on the BBC, Sky, Channel 4 and The Discovery Channel.

Hypnosis For Victims & Survivors of Abuse

One of the saddest but also most inspiring aspects of my work as a hypnotherapist is helping adults who were physically, mentally or sexually abused as children or later on in life. The sad aspect is that so many individuals in our world have been damaged by the cruelty and thoughtlessness of other human beings and it seems incomprehensible to me that people can be treated in such a way. The inspiring aspect is that no matter how extensive or damaging the abuse, it is possible to recover and move on, and live life in an optimistic and fulfilling way. In fact assisting people on that journey is not only inspiring, but moving and humbling as well.
"As a victim of rape I had narrowed my life down to such a level that I was existing rather than living. Darren helped me to address some extremely difficult issues following the subsequent court case. Through a number of hypnotherapy sessions and regular use of the App he has helped to rebuild my shattered sense of self. I now feel able to set myself new goals and targets in life and immerse myself in achieving them. Thank you Darren for your empathy and understanding.”

Some of my personal inspiration comes from the work of Victor Frankl, author of the powerful best selling book Mans Search For Meaning. Frankl, a psychotherapist was also an inmate in Auschwitz during WW2. There are a couple of stories from that book that stay with me. One is when he describes being forced to build a railway track in the depths of the Polish winter, without food or proper clothing. Many of his fellow inmates are dying in the snow by the track. Yet whilst this is happening he imagines himself at the Vienna University after the war lecturing on the psychology of a concentration camp victim. And this is what he did when the war ended and he wrote a book that is still recommended on psychology and psychotherapy courses today. Although not all those who had hope for the future survived, those who had hope like Frankl, kept going despite the horror and the hardship.

In an earlier chapter Frankl describes his arrival in the camp when he is stripped of everything, his clothing, his belongings, his hair. He is then tattooed before being thrown into a cell. Convinced that he will soon be killed he starts to panic and despair. But then he begins to think of the many good things that he has experienced in life, the work he has done, the people he has loved. As he remembers those experiences he starts to calm down and feel more in control and he has an epiphany: They can take everything from him, but they cannot take away his ability to choose his thoughts and how he reacts to the situations he finds himself in.

It is that concept that is the foundation of my work as a hypnotherapist. We cannot change past experiences but we can always change how they affect us. When perspectives are changed, feelings of overwhelming fear and restriction can become those of love, openness and freedom.

"Absolutely blown away by the results, Darren marks is a phenomenal hypnotist, I have struggled with severe depression for many years because of a very traumatic childhood, I thought I was beyond repair, and had pretty much given up on life and lost hope. And then I met Darren. His skills of delving into the unconscious mind to release negative emotion and memories and replace them with positive affirmations is phenomenal. I have always been open minded about hypnotherapy however I did not expect to get a result as powerful as I did. Darren marks I cannot thank you enough, you have given me my life back.”