primal therapy


nounPsychiatry.
  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

1
An Americanism dating back to 1970–75

Words Nearby primal therapy

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How to use primal therapy in a sentence

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 infancy: Also called: primal scream therapy, scream therapy

Origin of primal therapy

1
C20: from the book The Primal Scream (1970) by Arthur Janov, US psychologist, who originated the treatment

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