Arthur Janov

Arthur Janov (1924 to 2017) was an American psychologist, psychotherapist and writer, best known as the creator of primal therapy, a treatment for mental illness in which clients repeatedly descend into, feel and experience long-repressed childhood pain. Born in Los Angeles to Russian-Jewish immigrants, he took his degrees at the University of California, Los Angeles and a doctorate in psychology at Claremont Graduate School in 1960, and practised conventional psychotherapy before a session in 1967 led to what he called Primal Pain. He directed the Primal Institute in West Hollywood and later the Janov Primal Center in Los Angeles, and wrote many books including The Primal Scream in 1970. His therapy became a cultural phenomenon in the 1970s and influenced popular music, but it drew criticism that it was discredited and harmful.