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What Primal Therapy is NOT:
The "Screaming" Myth…..
Now that we have detailed the differences and advantages of Primal Therapy, it is important to discuss what it is NOT and dispel the myths that have circulated for years in both the lay and professional mental health communities. Probably the most common myth is that true Primal Therapy is what has been called "primal scream therapy". The idea that people "scream " their way to health is not only wrong but ludicrous. The way this myth got started is a case in point of how the messenger unintentionally delivered a self-inflicted wound . The myth had its origins with the selection of the title of Dr. Arthur Janov's (founder of Primal Therapy) first book "The Primal Scream" published in 1970. Later on, Janov, himself, admitted that the title was chosen by his publishers as a marketing tool to promote his book.
Since then, over the past 30 years, Janov has gone on to write and publish seven more books that give a much more comprehensive and updated view of the therapy. To Janov's great credit, Primal Theory has not stood still, but has been continuously growing and changing as new information from research, patient self-reports, and neurobiological discoveries have been integrated into the original constructs and treatment. Regrettably, however, due to Primal's image and Janov's professional isolation, his later writings have gone largely unnoticed by the public and the vast majority of the mental health profession. The damage had already been done. The ground-breaking contributions of Primal Theory have been lost in cartoons and caricatures alluding to "primal screaming" and "primal scream therapy". Primal became viewed and minimized as a "fad" by those that did not understand the depth of the theory. Sadly, thirty years later, the tremendous psychoneurobiological breakthroughs of the therapy have largely gone unnoticed.
What was originally a brilliant marketing move (the book was a bestseller and sold millions of copies worldwide) in hindsight has turned out to be a major impediment to understanding and appreciating the cutting-edge contributions that Primal theory offered. As the theory matured many of its revolutionary tenets have since been corroborated by discoveries in the past 20 years in the neurosciences and recent technological advances in neuroimaging and brain-scanning techniques.
As previously noted, Primal did not stand pat, but, evolved over the years into a highly sophisticated theory that was way ahead of its time.Perhaps, most importantly, Primal Therapy developed techniques that are state-of- the art and allow access to body memories and feeling states heretofore inaccessible by almost all other modern psychotherapies.
However, what needs to be reiterated, in no uncertain terms, is that true Primal Therapy has NEVER been about "screaming" "or what has been called "primal scream" therapy. Unfortunately, to this day this myth remains a prevalent misconception among the public and even most mental health professionals. In truth, the most common emotion expressed and experienced by primal clients is deep sadness and tears, not anger or rage. The expression of rage or anger is but a small part of the entire theory and therapeutic process--done only when relevant and under entirely safe conditions. Expression of rage or anger can be highly therapeutic under controlled conditions, but in Primal Therapy it is simply viewed as but one aspect of the kaleidoscope of emotions that make us human.
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