Primal Scream Therapy

[velocipony]

Has anyone ever tried this or even heard of it? Apparently it is a type of trauma-based therapy that lets the person re-experience a traumatic event, usually from childhood, but instead of being confused or repressing feelings you let out all your emotions by screaming or having a violent reaction (not toward other people, but perhaps in a safe area where you can hit a punching bag or break something). It seems like it'd be relieving to finally shout out all your anger, and maybe theraputic. Thoughts?

 

[rz3300a]

That sounds like it would be interesting, and I think it would work. I cannot help but think that I would still feel weird though, because it would still be like I was forcing it. Maybe there is something that they do that makes you not feel that way though, and in that case sign me up. It makes sense, and I have been told to let it out more and more, so this is good way of doing that. Interesting stuff.

 

[Dybbuk Jones]

It seems like it's still popular. I don't know if it works better than other forms of therapies, but it certainly has managed to hold on after other therapy fads have fallen by the wayside.

 

[janemariesayed]

I don't think this works as I have had many screaming fits and violent outbursts where nobody could hear or see me and I still suffer. I have done it for years, screamed and shouted, bawled my eyes out and even shouted at people. I've smashed things and broken things that have even been important to me but it has never helped. I know its not helped me as I'm still depressed, lonely and sad. Screaming and having violent outbursts don't change the reason of my depression and so I try to keep myself quiet now.

 

[kgord]

I have heard of this therapy but I don't know anyone who has tried it or benefitted from it. Personally, I doubt it would benefit me, because I don't necessarily have that kind of intensity to my feelings. However, there are certain people who may have experienced traumatic events in their past that could benefit from it. It is just one of the therapies that could be tried I guess.

 

[softmachine1988]

I would love to try it! I have PTSD from a drug experience. During my experience I became agitated and I think I yelled at friends. Since then I've had some serious social anxiety. I think if I could learn to release all of the pent up energy, maybe I could give it away for good!

 

[Fae]

This sounds like a therapy that would work well for people who already get good mileage out of more natural forms of emotional release. I can also see the benefit of linking trauma and emotions that normally stay internalized to a process where all that has to get OUT. Physical condition has a strong effect on mental condition and vice versa. I'm not sure how well it would work for me, personally, as I have difficulty even making loud noises, let alone screaming or shouting. Maybe a therapy like this would work on that, too.

 

[sidney]

I think that that can work, but I feel like it's more about releasing suppressed rage and pent-up emotions rather than curing the affliction? But I'm no doctor, so that's just an assumption. There is a restaurant in my country that offers the same service, you pay to throw plates to release your anger, so it's more like a cathartic process to me.

 

[John Snort]

While I have no doubt that primal therapy can be therapeutic there are some who disagree. Take a look at this article: http://www.vice.com/read/primal-therapy-arthur-janov

A 1996 poll of practicing psychologists asked therapists what they felt were the most effective treatments available and found that primal was the approach "most in question as to soundness."

Nonetheless since it works for some people, it's something you should try at home and find out for yourself if it actually does work.

 

[djanx]

Do it if it helps. But, I would rather engage in an activity such as kick boxing or something to get all the emotions out. Simply screaming into the pillow doesn't help a lot as we all know from experience. I mean there are ways to release those negative emotions in a constructive manner. So we should do that.

 

[HappyKoi]

I've heard about it, but from the research I've seen, it's no more or less effective (possibly less, depending on where you look) than other therapies. There have been studies that show that acting aggressively (punching a pillow, tearing up newspapers, etc.) did nothing to "release" aggression and often made it worse and more likely that the next time a person was stressed, they would respond aggressively. Child therapists no longer advocate punching pillows, etc. as a way for children to deal with anger because it increases a mental link between aggressive behavior and emotions. The theory of catharsis has not been proven to work. Calming, self-talk, and redirecting activities are much better for dealing with anger and stress.

 

[sorrowscall]

I feel like this kind of therapy would depend on the personality of the person. I can't see someone who is predominately shy wanting to do this unless they were taken to the extreme. It does sound like a short term solution. However, if the therapy is repetitive, I feel it would lose some effect after a while. If it was a one time therapy, I'm not sure how effective it could be. There are a lot of variables to consider with something like this. On a personal level, despite my love of letting out my anger through loud verbal means every now and then, I don't see this being healthy.

 

[deannajm]

This sounds awesome, but isn't it something you can just do yourself? I don't have PTSD, but I have worked with people who do, and it seems like screaming into a pillow can be a universal way to let out some of the anxiety that accompanies PTSD and other conditions. Likewise, a punching bag might work too? Has anyone tried this in a professional setting, aside from just beating up a pillow in your own bedroom?

 

[AF1121]

I think that that can work, but I feel like it's more about releasing suppressed rage and pent-up emotions rather than curing the affliction? But I'm no doctor, so that's just an assumption. There is a restaurant in my country that offers the same service, you pay to throw plates to release your anger, so it's more like a cathartic process to me.

I don't know if screaming would help me, my throat constricts and tightens when I get emotional, so trying to scream ends up hurting. But paying to throw plates sounds awesome. I would definitely do that. I wish there was one here, where I live.

 

[kelden]

This reminds me of New Year's Eve Ashikaga festival. In this city about 50 miles north of Tokyo, people take this one rare occasion to let it all hang out and say what they really think about the year gone by. In one of the strangest festivals in a country full of festivals, they walk up a dark mountain road to a temple screaming curses into the starry night sky that they would never say directly to their fellow man. That must be a pretty cathartic experience .

 

[lexinonomous]

I have never heard of this, but it doesn't sound like a lot of fun to me. I don't know if I would want to relive traumatic events from my childhood. I think the screaming part of this is a great idea for people that have a lot of pent up anger. I have screamed at the top of my lungs in my car before, but I've never been destructive. I would love to give this form of therapy a try, but revisiting my past doesn't sound like the best idea. I could see this as having a negative effect on me. I could see the screaming as being beneficial, but the revisiting as a big no-no.


Is this something that is offered in therapy sessions or something that you are supposed to do on your own?

 

[Peachdejour]

I'm a counseling student with PTSD and I've never heard of it, but finding new therapies for trauma is currently a huge focus for scholars right now. I think I would prefer something like this to talk therapy on some days. There are days when I just feel so overwhelmed by all of it inside my head that I cannot verbalize and I do just want to scream or hit something and let it all out. I'm going to have to do some research on this idea and see what people are saying about it.

 

[dreamseer]

I have heard of this, and believe it would be helpful to a point. My PTSD is from years of spiritual abuse in a cult-like setting...so I have a TON of anger issues. I didn't realize how angry imwas until my therapist suggested that I write a letter to all those involved, expressing how I felt. By doing this, I faced so much anger, that it scared me. But facing the anger led to the tears. The tears that I had been unable to cry that I had instead been expressing with terrible mood swings and depression.