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Music and the mind make a life
By Sam Riley |
January 14, 2009, Wednesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
HYPNOSIS, psychotherapy and rock 'n' roll don't seem to have much in common but they have been central to the life of British therapist, musician and sound engineer Mark Pummell, writes Sam Riley.
The rock 'n' roll surrounds of a recording studio might seem a long way from the tranquil setting of a therapist's couch, but for Mark Pummell they are literally next door.
Pummell, a British psychotherapist and trained hypnotherapist, is also a former professional musician and accomplished sound engineer.
Tucked in an alleyway off Taikang Road is both his state-of-the-art recording studio and what he describes as his communication facilitation practice, Sinapse. At his practice, he treats a range of clients using his skills in analytical hypnotherapy, psychotherapy and counselling.
Pummell treats a range of problems, from helping people quit smoking to serious underlying mental issues surrounding physical, mental and sexual abuse.
The inner workings of the mind have long fascinated Pummell, who first trained as a family doctor in Britain.
Being hypnotized by Pummell is an exercise in deep relaxation. Pummell says a person in a hypnotic state is similar to that of someone meditating and hypnosis traces its origins back to the ancient Persians.
Now approaching his seventh year in Shanghai, Pummell says almost half the clients at his steadily growing practice are Chinese.
"The type of therapy I practice uses a combination of psychoanalysis and hypnosis, and when you think about hypnosis it has a direct parallel with meditation, which has a long history in the East," he says.
"So, one of the reasons the practice has been so successful is that our Chinese clients find this combination of approaches very helpful and non-threatening," he adds.
Hypnosis has a relatively new history in China, but Pummell says his Chinese clients often take to hypnotherapy more readily than his foreign clients.
After studying medicine, Pummell went on to practice as a family doctor and later as a psychiatrist in Cambridge for more than 10 years.
But despite the demands of his medical studies, he also made time for his second love - music.
Having always played in bands, Pummell became an accomplished professional pianist who later went on to study sound engineering at Manchester School of Sound.
He sees a perfect harmony between his study of medicine and his love of music.
"Music and the work as I do as a therapist are both about listening and emotions and about getting to deeper levels of meaning, so in that way they are very allied," he says.
During his time as a session keyboardist and sound engineer, Pummell got to record with prominent artists, such as former Stoned Roses drummer Robbie Maddock and Simply Red's music director Barry Mraz.
At his db Studio in Shanghai, Pummell has recorded a number of artists ranging from folk and rock musicians to Chinese classical artists.
These have included gypsy guitarist Lulo Reinhardt, pipa (Chinese lute) virtuoso Zhang Yi and saxophonist Alec Haavik.
But he is also passing on his love of music to another generation, namely his 3-year-old son Charlie who has his own small drum kit set up in the studio.
The cutting-edge recording studio boasts powerful equipment that includes three Mac computers running sophisticated recording software that Pummell says was also used on Madonna's last album.
After more than 20 years discovering the intricate workings of the human mind, Pummell says he is still fascinated by what makes people tick.
Describing his work as being "painstaking" and needing "curiosity and patience," Pummell says the most rewarding part of his work in Shanghai is seeing his clients make progress in the variety of challenges they come to him with.
As part of his qualifications as a trained hypnotherapist with the International Association of Hypno-Analysts, a certification he received in 2001, he must himself have a therapist and receive regular counseling.
"You must be absolutely confident that you can be a positive guiding force in someone else's life and one has to put his/her own problems and own ego aside and become a vehicle for change," he says.
In his almost seven years in the city, Pummell has explored a range of interests including opening up Chinart gallery, which is still advising on the Chinese art market and promoting young artists.
He has also run a music school teaching classical Chinese music and a business selling a range of Western and Chinese classical musical instruments both in Shanghai and online.
For more information on Pummell's practice or studio, call 6445-8688 (Chinese) or 6472-8820 (English), or e-mail to markpummell@gmail.com. Mark Pummell
Nationality: British
Age: 47
Profession: Psychotherapist, sound engineer, producer
Q&A
Description of self:
Open, driven, endlessly curious.
Favorite place in Shanghai:
A late-night recording session at my studio, db Studios, or a jam session on Sunday nights at LOgO.
Strangest thing seen in Shanghai:
When I first came, I saw a guy riding a bike piled with plastic bottles. It must have been the size of a combined harvester and he was like a little ant among it.
Worst experience in Shanghai:
Seeing someone killed on a motorbike literally in front of me.
Motto for life:
"It's only rock 'n' roll but I like it."
Things that could improve Shanghai:
Get the motorbikes and scooters off the pavement.
Advice to newcomers:
Get a good therapist.
The rock 'n' roll surrounds of a recording studio might seem a long way from the tranquil setting of a therapist's couch, but for Mark Pummell they are literally next door.
Pummell, a British psychotherapist and trained hypnotherapist, is also a former professional musician and accomplished sound engineer.
Tucked in an alleyway off Taikang Road is both his state-of-the-art recording studio and what he describes as his communication facilitation practice, Sinapse. At his practice, he treats a range of clients using his skills in analytical hypnotherapy, psychotherapy and counselling.
Pummell treats a range of problems, from helping people quit smoking to serious underlying mental issues surrounding physical, mental and sexual abuse.
The inner workings of the mind have long fascinated Pummell, who first trained as a family doctor in Britain.
Being hypnotized by Pummell is an exercise in deep relaxation. Pummell says a person in a hypnotic state is similar to that of someone meditating and hypnosis traces its origins back to the ancient Persians.
Now approaching his seventh year in Shanghai, Pummell says almost half the clients at his steadily growing practice are Chinese.
"The type of therapy I practice uses a combination of psychoanalysis and hypnosis, and when you think about hypnosis it has a direct parallel with meditation, which has a long history in the East," he says.
"So, one of the reasons the practice has been so successful is that our Chinese clients find this combination of approaches very helpful and non-threatening," he adds.
Hypnosis has a relatively new history in China, but Pummell says his Chinese clients often take to hypnotherapy more readily than his foreign clients.
After studying medicine, Pummell went on to practice as a family doctor and later as a psychiatrist in Cambridge for more than 10 years.
But despite the demands of his medical studies, he also made time for his second love - music.
Having always played in bands, Pummell became an accomplished professional pianist who later went on to study sound engineering at Manchester School of Sound.
He sees a perfect harmony between his study of medicine and his love of music.
"Music and the work as I do as a therapist are both about listening and emotions and about getting to deeper levels of meaning, so in that way they are very allied," he says.
During his time as a session keyboardist and sound engineer, Pummell got to record with prominent artists, such as former Stoned Roses drummer Robbie Maddock and Simply Red's music director Barry Mraz.
At his db Studio in Shanghai, Pummell has recorded a number of artists ranging from folk and rock musicians to Chinese classical artists.
These have included gypsy guitarist Lulo Reinhardt, pipa (Chinese lute) virtuoso Zhang Yi and saxophonist Alec Haavik.
But he is also passing on his love of music to another generation, namely his 3-year-old son Charlie who has his own small drum kit set up in the studio.
The cutting-edge recording studio boasts powerful equipment that includes three Mac computers running sophisticated recording software that Pummell says was also used on Madonna's last album.
After more than 20 years discovering the intricate workings of the human mind, Pummell says he is still fascinated by what makes people tick.
Describing his work as being "painstaking" and needing "curiosity and patience," Pummell says the most rewarding part of his work in Shanghai is seeing his clients make progress in the variety of challenges they come to him with.
As part of his qualifications as a trained hypnotherapist with the International Association of Hypno-Analysts, a certification he received in 2001, he must himself have a therapist and receive regular counseling.
"You must be absolutely confident that you can be a positive guiding force in someone else's life and one has to put his/her own problems and own ego aside and become a vehicle for change," he says.
In his almost seven years in the city, Pummell has explored a range of interests including opening up Chinart gallery, which is still advising on the Chinese art market and promoting young artists.
He has also run a music school teaching classical Chinese music and a business selling a range of Western and Chinese classical musical instruments both in Shanghai and online.
For more information on Pummell's practice or studio, call 6445-8688 (Chinese) or 6472-8820 (English), or e-mail to markpummell@gmail.com. Mark Pummell
Nationality: British
Age: 47
Profession: Psychotherapist, sound engineer, producer
Q&A
Description of self:
Open, driven, endlessly curious.
Favorite place in Shanghai:
A late-night recording session at my studio, db Studios, or a jam session on Sunday nights at LOgO.
Strangest thing seen in Shanghai:
When I first came, I saw a guy riding a bike piled with plastic bottles. It must have been the size of a combined harvester and he was like a little ant among it.
Worst experience in Shanghai:
Seeing someone killed on a motorbike literally in front of me.
Motto for life:
"It's only rock 'n' roll but I like it."
Things that could improve Shanghai:
Get the motorbikes and scooters off the pavement.
Advice to newcomers:
Get a good therapist.
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