From Gordon Van Rooy's Primal Primer
You may have leveled off in your primal integration work and want to get more out of it. Or, you may be stuck in one particular early scene. Or, you may just want to get more and faster. The following may be helpful if this is your case.
I want to cover this material with the acrostic, PRIMAL: P for Persist, R for Reflect, I for Intensive, M for Mastery, A for Assertiveness, L for Let go.
1. PERSIST - Some, after initial enthusiasm for primaling, get discouraged. They seem to level off and make little progress. They think of quitting. However, those who make up their minds that they are going to sweat it out regardless of the time or money it takes, break through a second line of defenses and resistance. Some have gone 60 or more hours before breaking through initial barriers.
Or, your case may be that you have had 10 or 20 hours of primal release and you feel that you have solved most of your problems. You want to quit. Don't. Keep going - there is more. It is better to risk all in order to be cleaned out than to get partly clean and never really enjoy life to the full.
2. REFLECT - During your primal, after your primal, and in the hours between, reflect on what you got into. Get your therapist to record your session. Listen to it between sessions. Many claim they have a second "rnini-primal" while listening to a session on tape. Make notes immediately after your primal on what you got into. Ask yourself how what you got into relates to present day attitudes, physical symptoms, fears, guilts and such. This process of reflection is called "connecting."
3. INTENSIVE - Doing therapy four hours a day for one to five weeks is considered intensive therapy. Intensive therapy is much better than two hours scattered here and there throughout the month. Intensive therapy takes advantage of your dismantled defense system. So, if you are working on your therapy four hours a day, you are making efficient use of your time, boring deeper and deeper into your pain pockets.
4. MENTAL MASTERY - Read all you can on primal therapy. Not that there is that much - Janov and Osborne being the only writers presently covering the field (1989). Many claim that while they read these books they make a lot of connections. Whether you make connections or not, the books will tell you where you are going and what you are going to see - much like a tour guidebook which tells you what to look for and where you will find it. Your tour will be much more rewarding if you've read the book, Check the books in the bibliography for your complete tour guide. By the way, all of those books are worth reading several times. While most of Janov's books are out of print, major libraries stock them.
5. ASSERTIVENESS - As in all of life, the more assertive you are in your therapy the more you will get out of it. You can be assertive with your therapist without being aggressive or nasty. Tell him what you want to get into. Tell him things such as, "That isn't what my father would say," "Your actions aren't helping." Some clients fear that any type of of initiative on their part will offend the therapist or will take them out of the primal. Not so.
6. LET GO - The last defense to go is hanging on to yourself. Those who have badly damaged egos spend lots of energy just holding their ego together - as tiring as a pot-bellied person trying to hold his stomach in. When you let go of yourself in a session, your inner wisdom can lead you into areas you have been avoiding.
Wherever you are, you need follow-up to conserve your gains. Go to one of the 12 step programs if you can't continue primal therapy. The International Primal Association is a stimulating source of information, literature and conventions. For information write: 490 Park View Road, Reading, PA - Telephone: (610 779-8842
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From Gordon Van Rooy's Primal Primer
The therapist's first task is to turn over the responsibility of each session to the client. Since the client has to travel into his own head and his own memories, he will know best where to go, what to see, how to feel and what to experience.
As you begin to experience specific painful feelings, you will relate to the therapist what you are experiencing, A good therapist will follow these clues and join in the inner drama. Depending on where you are in your session, the therapist may scold, sympathize, use demeaning and abusive words on you. He may scorn you or laugh at you. Or he may use various props to arouse your feelings. As he pounds on the mat next to your legs, he may trigger memories of a beating. Putting a large pillow over you may trigger feelings of oppression. A whiff of alcohol may bring back memories of an alcoholic parent or a frightening experience in a hospital. It is most interesting that the subconscious Child is so naive that it believes what you are "acting" is really happening.
Incidentally, you will help your therapy along if you can provide your therapist with the props you think he might need for you. For example, if your older brother tied you up and left you to panic, you can bring a piece of rope so your therapist can simulate this experience.
Music and sound effects may also spark a reaction. One client got deeply involved in a primal when she heard some classical music which her demented father often put on while in his melancholy and unpredictable moods. Another was deeply moved by music which he and his "true love" listened to in junior high school. We encourage clients to bring cassettes of meaningful music.
By the way, as the therapist interacts with you to get you to react, he is trained to persist with his "tormenting" though you may plead, "Daddy, don't do it." The purpose of persisting, of course, is to squeeze out all the Pain that is possible. Now, if the client indeed can't tolerate what he is experiencing he always has a fail-safe device. He uses the therapist's first name and asks him to quit doing what he is doing. The therapist then understands that the client wants a reprieve.
While on the subject of therapists, you should know that each therapist brings out a different response from the client. A gentle, loving, supportive therapist may trigger feelings of self-pity. (Self-pity is a valid emotion to be expressed in primal therapy. In reality it is self- compassion which the Adult is having for the Child.) On the other hand, an assertive, forceful, no-nonsense therapist can trigger an entirely different set of responses. Each therapist meets different needs. You can see why it is good for more than one therapist to work with you.
From Gordon Van Rooy's Primal Primer
It's dark, there's a mattress on the floor, the lights are dim. Music is played in the background. Pillows of various sizes are scattered around. There may be some unusual props in the room - a tennis racket, baseball bat, encounter bat, stuffed cloth animals and the like.
Though the room may give the appearance of a seduction scene, don't worry, no one is going to seduce you. Actually, the urge to seduce is provoked by Pain and therapists have such Pain primaled out of their systems. Further, your therapist has a number of commitments which keep him at a safe distance.
But while we are on the subject, let me say that your therapist is encouraged to affirm his clients after the session by a warm hug - only if you desire. Some clients are not emotionally ready for this; others insist on it. So, if the therapist opens his arms to you, he is neither being fresh nor seductive.
From Gordon VanRooy's Primal Primer
1. That primal therapy is a primal scream therapy- Janov, the author of Primal Scream says, ". . . this is not and never has been "Primal Scream therapy." (Prisoners of Pain, p. 67) We seek the release of all emotions which hinder personal growth. These emotions come out in many expressions, seldom as a scream.
2. That a good primal involves reliving an experience which the conscious mind is unable to recall. This may happen from time to time, but is no indication of whether the session was authentic or not.
3. That a cure can be effected by a few primals. Primal therapy is slow. But since it is so effective, it is much faster than traditional therapy. This statement should not discourage a person who has only the time or money for a few sessions. A few sessions can relieve one of much tension and Pain.
4. Some, before doing this therapy, feel that letting emotions take over the personality is akin to going crazy or being possessed. Therefore, they hold back from committing themselves to therapy. The truth is that neurotics are already possessed by their emotions which have a strangle hold on them. It is only by letting emotions "take over" that they can be discharged properly.
5. Similar to paragraph four. Some feel they might get out of control while in a primal. We do encourage the client to let his Child release his feelings, however, the Adult conscious mind is always in control.
6.. Well-meaning Christians often quote the Apostle Paul to support their argument that we should not delve into the past: ". . . forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:13, 14). Paul, in fact, was talking about forgetting his past accomplishments, not his neurotic Pain. Our real issue is that the subconscious Child can never forget the past until it is allowed to relive and relieve it. If it cannot do this the Child scribbles it all over the walls of our life.
7. That primal therapy is hypnosis. Those who have been hypnotized before coming to us say that the two are entirely different. Indeed, every neurotic is really in a hypnotic state all of his life. He is a victim of unconscious childhood hypnotic forces which drive him relentlessly. Often he wonders why he seems to be forced into doing counter-productive things. Primaling, rather than hypnotizing a person, de-hypnotizes him.
8. That primal therapy is not mentioned in the Bible, therefore it does not have Scriptural sanction. When Cecil Osborne is asked if primal therapy is authorized in Scripture, he remarks tongue-in-cheek, "I don't know the exact reference, but it follows the passage authorizing a doctor to remove an appendix."
The real question is, does primal integration therapy work toward Biblical objectives of wholeness? Many Christians who have gone through primal integrationclaim that the therapy has been the greatest cleansing force in their lives since their new birth. Indeed, primal integration therapy effects in lives the holiness which the Scriptures admonish us to pursue (Hebrews 12:14). We conclude that this therapy is, God's tool to help effect personal righteousness and there is no hint in the Scriptures that such a tool should not be used.
9. That primal therapy is a removal of the fractured personality and unless some reconstructive psycho-surgery is done, one will be in psychological limbo the rest of his life. As a fracture heals by itself, so does the personality heal once the poisons have been removed. Actually, your therapist does cognitive therapy with you in each session as he watches you knit together. So you are not going to be disassembled and left dangling - even if you wanted to be. However, I strongly recommend that once you start your therapy you continue until you and the therapist both agree that your therapy is complete.
10. That primal therapy being inward and self-centered instead of Christ centered tends to be humanistic. There are many Scriptures directing the Christian to be self-centered to the point where he can examine himself and clean out the garbage of his life. After cleansing comes the quality of being pure in heart - "and they shall see God."
11. That primal people tend to be critical of the Church. When a believer has been in the Church for years searching for Pain release and has not found it, it is no wonder that after they have found it in primal integration therapy that they confront the Church with questions as to why the Church didn't provide it. Such "criticism" will soon be stopped when the Church adopts primal integration as God's healing for a hurting genera- tion.
12. That primal therapy puts one in an altered state of consciousness. "Since an altered state of consciousness is associated with shamans, seances and demon possession, you may be opening yourself to the demonic while in this state." People go into an altered state of consciousness while driving down a freeway, watching a T.V. program, day-dreaming, listening to a sermon, praying, meditating, sleeping and for that matter, having sex. Most of the creative work that you do is a result of your altered state of consciousness. A primalee in this state is relaxed, undistracted and clearly aware of concentrating on inner cleansing.
From Gordon Van Rooy's Primal Primer
Casriel, Daniel, M.D., A Scream Away From Happiness: New York, Grosset and Dunlap, 1972
While this book is not a primal book, its warp and woof is so intertwined with the ideas of primal, that I consider it well worth reading. Casriel's emphasis is on group work and catharsis in the group through screaming.
Girard, Robert C., My Weakness His Strength: Grand Rapids, Zondervan, 1981
This book is an account of a pastor's pursuit for wholeness. His path took him through numerous spiritual exercises. That's not news. What is news is that he was honest enough to continue his search through psychological help and specifically through primal therapy. His chapter, "The Incredible Hope," is incredibly honest: "Primal Integration Therapy dealt with burning spiritual issues in my life with which the church ... was not prepared to deal effectively ... I know of no church that possesses the skills, understanding and confidence to deal with serious emotional sickness at the level at which it must be confronted if fundamental change is to come. "
This is an excellent book for Christians who hesitate to enter primal therapy because they assume it is not Biblical. Girard shows how primal and Biblical objectives are the same.
Janov, Arthur. The Anatomy of Mental Illness: The Scientific Basis of Primal Therapy, New York: Putnam's Sons, 1971.
Only 84 pages of this book are given to "the anatomy of mental illness." The remainder is given to related subjects in the areas of sleep, dreams, birth primals and a comparison of primal therapy with other therapies. A final chapter is given on follow-up studies with post-primal patients, The first section of the book goes into neurological data, and gives scientific specifics of what causes neuroticism, and how it can be relieved.
Janov, Arthur. The Feeling Child,- New York: Simon and Shuster, 1973.
This book was written as a result of observing patients relive their childhoods - indeed even rebirth, birth and infancy. Janov's introduction states: "I will follow the child from his conception to his adulthood, indicating each step of the way the kinds of things that bring about neurosis ... a child's neurosis begins in the mind of the parent - in the very reasons why he or she wants a child ... Whatever the reasons, they will determine how the child is treated from the day he first enters the world."
This book is strongly recommended for anyone working with children (including parents), and is a must for every primal patient seeking to do a complete job with his neurosis.
Janov, Arthur. Imprints, the Lifelong Effects of the Birth Experience. New York: Coward-McCann, Inc. 1983.
The jacket blurb to this book, which is Janov's latest contribution, tells it all: ". . . with Imprints, Dr. Arthur Janov presents his most important book ... which will change the way we think about the psychological, intellectual and emotional well-being of children by revealing the permanent impact that early development makes on our lives."
Janov, Arthur. The Primal Revolution. New York: Simon and Shuster, 1972.
This is Janov's second book. He wrote it mainly to answer questions which arose from his first book, The Primal Scream. His first and last chapters make a particular contribution to the subject. In the first chapter, he shows why there can only be one cure for neurosis, viz. primal therapy. His last chapter tells what the world would be like if everyone had their pain primaled out of them. Janov believes it can be done.
Janov, Arthur. The Primal Scream, New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1981.
Boldly sub-titled, The Cure For Neurosis, Janov's book wedged its way into the scientific world. Janov is not content to introduce a new theory, he shows how Primal Therapy is superior to Freud, Wilheim Reich, the Behaviorist Schools, the Rational School, Reality Therapy, Transcendental Meditation, Existentialism, and others. This book is good for anyone interested in knowing the basics of primaling, but is especially helpful for those with sexual problems, fear, anger and addictions.
Janov, Arthur; Holden, E. Michael. Primal Man: The New Consciousness; New York, Thomas Crowell Co., 1975.
This book is not for the novice. It is written for the professional who wants to know more about what is happening to the brain when pain sets in and when it is relieved. Holden, a neurologist, writes about the tripartite brain, the pain gating system, the nature of defenses, etc. The book is highly technical, though Janov's comments in chapter Ten dealing with morality, suicide, sleep, psychosis and sexuality bring the contents to a usable level for most readers.
Olsen, Paul, Ph.D., Emotional Flooding.- New York, Human Sciences Press, 1976.
This book has taken many of the new psychotherapeutic techniques which directly stimulate emotional response in patients and gives us an overview of what they are and how they work. The positions include: Implosive Behavior Therapy, Gestalt, Bioenergetics, Jungian, Primal, Structural Integration, Regrief Therapy and Hypnotherapy..
Osborne, Cecil, Ph.D., Understanding Your Past the Key to Your Future. Waco: Word, 1980.
Osborne's book was written after years of study and practicing the science of Primal Therapy. lie deals with the symptoms of neurosis, the root causes and the solution. 'I'he book is full of good illustrations drawn from the author's experience. His chapter on questions and answers is worth the price of the book. Highly recommended for anyone seeking primal therapy or practicing it.