primal therapy

noun

Psychiatry.

1. a form of psychotherapy in which the patient is encouraged to relive traumatic events, often screaming or crying, in order to achieve catharsis and a breakdown of psychological defenses.

primal therapy

noun

1. Also called: primal scream therapy.  scream therapy. psychol a form of psychotherapy in which patients are encouraged to scream abusively about their parents and agonizingly about their own suffering in infancy

Word History and Origins

Origin of primal therapy¹

An Americanism dating back to 1970–75

Word History and Origins

Origin of primal therapy¹

C20: from the book The Primal Scream (1970) by Arthur Janov, US psychologist, who originated the treatment