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
Word origin
C20: from the book The Primal Scream (1970) by Arthur Janov, US psychologist, who originated the treatment
primal therapy in American English
US
a treatment of mental disorder in which the patient, often in group sessions, is induced to reenact his or her infancy and to express emotions violently in screams, shouts, etc.
: also primal scream (therapy)
Word origin
after the book The Primal Scream (1970) by A. Janov, U.S. psychologist