Arthur Janov

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Arthur Janov
Claremont Graduate School
Occupation(s)Psychologist, psychotherapist, writer
Years active1952–2017
Known forCreator of Primal therapy
Notable workThe Primal Scream
Spouses
Vivian Glickenstein
​
​
(m. 1949; div. 1980)​
France Daunic
​
(m. 1980)​

Arthur Janov (

psychotherapist, and writer. He gained notability as the creator of primal therapy, a treatment for mental illness that involves repeatedly descending into, feeling, and experiencing long-repressed childhood pain.[2] Janov first directed a psychotherapy institute called the Primal Institute on North Almont Dr. in West Hollywood, California and from 1980 at the Janov Primal Center at 1205 Abbot Kinney Boulevard, in Venice, Los Angeles and latterly on Ashland Avenue in Santa Monica, California
.

Janov was the author of many books, most notably The Primal Scream (1970),[1] as well as The Biology of Love and Life Before Birth: The Hidden Script That Rules our Lives.

Early life

Arthur Janov was born in

Claremont Graduate School in 1960.[5]

Career

Janov originally practiced conventional psychotherapy in his native California.

Beverly Hills, worked for the Veterans' Administration at Brentwood Neuropsychiatric Hospital and was in private practice from 1952 until his death in 2017.[3] He was also on the staff of the Psychiatric Department at Los Angeles Children's Hospital where he was involved in developing their psychosomatic unit.[6]

In Janov's view, the repressed pain of traumatic childhood experiences eventually produces an emotionally damaged adult.[7] These experiences include not only obvious physical and psychological injuries, but also subtle slights like parents' failure to comfort a child.[7]

Janov wrote that his professional life changed in a single day in 1967 with the discovery of what he called "Primal Pain".[8][9] During a therapy session, Janov heard what he describes as, "an eerie scream welling up from the depths of a young man lying on the floor".[10] He developed primal therapy, in which clients are encouraged to re-live and express what Janov considered repressed memories and feelings.[11]

Janov's primal therapy became a cultural phenomenon in the 1970s and 1980s along with his work The Primal Scream (1970).[12][1] In response to criticism claiming that primal therapy is discredited and harmful, Janov said in 2016: "We have 50 years of published material to the contrary. We have several scientific articles in the journal Activitas Nervosa Superior, plus other journals. We do serious science and leave the nonsense to others".[12]

The idea of The Primal Scream came when one of his patients told of a theatrical performance at

Conway Hall, London, in which Raphael Montañez Ortiz dressed in diapers shouted "Mommy! Daddy! Mommy! Daddy!" throughout the act, then vomited, distributing plastic bags to the spectators and later asking them to vomit as well.[1] Janov was fascinated by this and asked his patient to cry for his own "mommy" and "daddy".[1]

However, Janov's primal therapy was the source of controversy, with allegations that Janov used the treatment as a "cash-grab scheme".[5] In response, Janov stated that "We take no salaries and no profits and have not in years. We have paid several hundred thousand dollars for research to maintain our scientific integrity. We fund therapy for those who cannot afford it".[12]

Janov's patients included musician John Lennon and artist Yoko Ono.[13][14]

Personal life

Janov was first married to Vivian Glickstein in 1949, but they separated in 1975 and divorced in 1980 so that he could remarry.[11][3] He married France Daunic four months later in 1980 and was still married to her at the time of his death.[5][3] Janov had two children from his first marriage – Rick Janov, a primal therapist, and Ellen Janov, a singer and actress who died in 1976 – and an adopted son, Xavier, from his second marriage.[5]

On October 1, 2017, Janov died in his sleep at the age of 93 of respiratory arrest complicated by a stroke.[15][16][14] For several years, Janov suffered from a throat disease which limited his ability to speak.[12] At the time of his death, he was living in Malibu, California.[11][5]

Works

Janov in media

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "The Primal Doctor". Rolling Stone. February 18, 1971. Retrieved October 2, 2017.
  2. ISBN 0-349-11834-5
    .
  3. ^ a b c d e "Arthur Janov CEO". Primal Therapy. Archived from the original on January 29, 2020. Retrieved October 2, 2017.
  4. ^ "Arthur Janov, The Jewish Creator Of Primal Scream Therapy". Archived from the original on 2017-10-03. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
  5. ^ a b c d e "Arthur Janov, American Psychologist Who Set the World Screaming, Dies at 93". The New York Times. October 1, 2017. Retrieved October 1, 2017.
  6. ^ Psychologists on the March, page 251
  7. ^ a b "Does the Primal Scream Cure Neurosis? Arthur Janov Seeks to Validate His Controversial Therapy". People. May 27, 1978. Retrieved October 2, 2017.
  8. ^ Back-to-Back Fires Damage Analyst's Primal Institute Archived 2013-04-15 at the Wayback Machine, L.A. Times, 1989
  9. ^ 'Primal therapy' this year's rage Boca Raton News, June 16, 1971
  10. ISBN 0-349-11834-5
    .
  11. ^ a b c "Malibu Seen: Arthur Janov and Cindy Crawford". Malibu Times. October 9, 2014. Archived from the original on April 13, 2015. Retrieved October 2, 2017.
  12. ^ a b c d Oliver Hotham (February 22, 2016). "How Primal Scream Therapy Has Survived Five Decades of Strangeness and Controversy". Vice. Retrieved October 2, 2017.
  13. ^ Goldman, Albert. (1988). The Lives of John Lennon. London: Guild Publishing. p. 381. ISBN None given.
  14. ^ a b "Primalterapins uppfinnare Arthur Janov död" (in Swedish). Dagens Nyheter. October 2, 2017. Retrieved October 2, 2017.
  15. ^ "Arthur Janov, psychologist who created the 'primal scream,' dies at 93". The Washington Post. October 5, 2017. Retrieved October 6, 2017.
  16. ^ "Janov's Reflections on the Human Condition: The Simple Truth is Revolutionary". Cogogne News. October 2, 2017. Retrieved October 2, 2017.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Arthur_Janov&oldid=1174704086"