Reports
Over the decades since Janov's first book on the subject, there have been several reports and critiques relating to primal therapy in books and peer-reviewed journals.
Arthur Janov wrote that primal therapy is an experiential psychotherapy and that:
- "Although there are scientific references and citations throughout this work, we should not lose track of the overarching truth--feelings are their own validation. We can quote and cite all day long, but the truth ultimately lies in the experience of human beings. Their feelings explain so much that statistical evidence is irrelevant."
Janov initiated from the outset small-scale research using questionnaires and measures of EEG, body temperature, blood pressure and pulse from his patients. A 1971 Pittsburgh Press article cited a University of California at Irvine study on primal therapy patients that showed a slowing of brain waves. Janov claimed that primal therapy reduced, in some patients, the frequency and the amplitude of Alpha waves, core body temperature (as much as three degrees) and blood pressure (as much as 30 percent). Two Brain Research Institute (UCLA) scientists confirmed that there were brain-wave changes in primal patients.
In 1993, Janov stated: "It is a therapy that has been investigated for over fifteen years by independent scientists, and the findings are consistent. Primal Therapy is able to reduce or eliminate a host of physical and psychic ailments in a relatively short period of time with lasting results." Janov lists research evidence at his webpage. In 2010, Janov said of primal therapy, "It is one of the most heavily researched private psychotherapies extant in the world."
Authors Prochaska and Norcross called the research by Janov "largely uncontrolled, non comparative and short term."
Read more about this topic: Primal Therapy
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