primal scream therapy
noun
: psychotherapy in which the patient recalls and reenacts a particularly disturbing past experience usually occurring early in life and expresses normally repressed anger or frustration especially through spontaneous and unrestrained screams, hysteria, or violence
called also primal therapy
Examples of primal scream therapy in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Tears For Fears co-founders Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith named their band after a phrase from the writings of Arthur Janov, the psychologist who popularized primal scream therapy.
—
Al Shipley, SPIN, 25 Feb. 2025
An emotionally raw John Lennon, fresh off a course of intensive primal scream therapy, reportedly cried after seeing it in theaters with Rolling Stone editor Jann Wenner.
—Jordan Runtagh, Peoplemag, 8 May 2024
Brackett discusses primal scream therapy and the art of kabuki as influences on the Plastic Ono Band and gives Ono long-overdue credit for collaborations with Lennon.
—Jessica Ferri, Los Angeles Times, 11 Apr. 2022
Fresh off months of psychologically excruciating primal scream therapy, the album lay bare the psychological wounds that had been left to fester during the final days of the Beatles.
—Jordan Runtagh, PEOPLE.com, 3 Nov. 2021
And in the early days following the Beatles’ split, no one seemed more willing to discard their legacy than Lennon, who was learning to purge his personal demons through primal scream therapy.
—David Gambacorta, Longreads, 25 June 2019
Over the weekend, Arthur Janov, the psychotherapist who created primal therapy, otherwise known as primal scream therapy, died in his home in Malibu, California, reports Margalit Fox at The New York Times.
—Jason Daley, Smithsonian, 5 Oct. 2017
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Al Shipley, SPIN, 25 Feb. 2025
An emotionally raw John Lennon, fresh off a course of intensive primal scream therapy, reportedly cried after seeing it in theaters with Rolling Stone editor Jann Wenner.
—Jordan Runtagh, Peoplemag, 8 May 2024
Brackett discusses primal scream therapy and the art of kabuki as influences on the Plastic Ono Band and gives Ono long-overdue credit for collaborations with Lennon.
—Jessica Ferri, Los Angeles Times, 11 Apr. 2022
Fresh off months of psychologically excruciating primal scream therapy, the album lay bare the psychological wounds that had been left to fester during the final days of the Beatles.
—Jordan Runtagh, PEOPLE.com, 3 Nov. 2021
And in the early days following the Beatles’ split, no one seemed more willing to discard their legacy than Lennon, who was learning to purge his personal demons through primal scream therapy.
—David Gambacorta, Longreads, 25 June 2019
Over the weekend, Arthur Janov, the psychotherapist who created primal therapy, otherwise known as primal scream therapy, died in his home in Malibu, California, reports Margalit Fox at The New York Times.
—Jason Daley, Smithsonian, 5 Oct. 2017
Cite this Entry
“Primal scream therapy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/primal%20scream%20therapy. Accessed 13 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
primal scream therapy
noun
: psychotherapy in which the patient recalls and reenacts a particularly disturbing past experience usually occurring early in life and expresses normally repressed anger or frustration especially through spontaneous and unrestrained screams, hysteria, or violence
called also primal scream, primal therapy
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