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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.

Origin of primal therapy

An Americanism dating back to 1970–75
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
British Dictionary definitions for primal therapy

primal therapy

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

Word Origin for primal therapy

C20: from the book The Primal Scream (1970) by Arthur Janov, US psychologist, who originated the treatment
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
primal therapy in Medicine

primal therapy

n.
  1. A method of psychotherapy that encourages patients to identify and relive early traumatic experiences and to release anger and other painful emotions by aggressive behaviors such as screaming.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.