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Primal therapy is a trauma-based psychotherapy developed and popularized by Arthur Janov, Ph.D.. During therapy the patient is encouraged to cry, scream, and beat objects to express childhood, perinatal and prenatal feelings. Janov claimed that in primal therapy patients would find their real needs and feelings after experiencing all their accumulated pain. The absence of peer-reviewed outcome studies to substantiate this claim led to the therapy falling out of favor in academic and psychotherapeutic circles. Also, the ideas and theories supporting Primal therapy have had a large influence on psychological thought. They also have been co-opted in many legitimate and not-so-legitimate forms of therapies, sometimes in dangerous ways. However Dr Janov and his associates have continued developing the therapy and to provide it at his Center (http://www.primaltherapy.com) in Venice, California.
Books by Arthur Janov (http://www.primaltherapy.com/FRAMESbasic/resourcesFrame.htm) include The Primal Scream, Why You Get Sick, How You Get Well, The Feeling Child.
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The patient is NOT encouraged to cry, scream or beat the whatever out of objects. This is typical of the misunderstandings held by people who are only vaguely aware of what the therapy entails. As Janov himself states on his web site, "Primal Therapy is not Primal “Scream” Therapy. Primal Therapy is not just making people scream; it was never “screaming” therapy".
The patient is encouraged to discover just exactly what they are feeling at the time of the therapy session, and if appropriate, explore the history of that feeling as possibly connected to past, painful events. The aim is to elicit deep feeling states connected to past trauma, in a bid to better understand the neurotic behaviours caused by such trauma, and hopefully, eliminate or lessen those neuroses.
Janov cites many surveys and studies of the therapy in his various books. Whether they pass the definition of 'peer-reviewed outcome studies' or not I cannot say, but the statistics cited are remarkable.
The therapy has evolved to be quite different from its early days, when an agressive approach on the part of therapists who were still formulating the theory behind it, caused a lot of damage to vulnerable patients.
I admit to bias in making this report: I have undergone a Primal-type therapy, which I credit with saving my life. Later this year I intend underaking further therapy at Janov's center, with a view to possible induction into their therapist training program.
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