Arthur Janov (; August 21, 1924October 1, 2017), also known as Art Janov,
was an American
psychologist
A psychologist is a professional who practices psychology and studies mental states, perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and social processes and behavior. Their work often involves the experimentation, observation, and explanation, interpretatio ...
,
psychotherapist
Psychotherapy (also psychological therapy, talk therapy, or talking therapy) is the use of Psychology, psychological methods, particularly when based on regular Conversation, personal interaction, to help a person change behavior, increase hap ...
, and writer. He gained notability as the creator of
primal therapy
Primal therapy is a Psychological trauma, trauma-based psychotherapy created by Arthur Janov during the 1960s, who argued that neurosis is caused by the Psychological repression, repressed Psychological pain, pain of childhood trauma. Janov argued ...
, a treatment for mental illness that involves repeatedly descending into, feeling, and experiencing long-repressed childhood
pain
Pain is a distressing feeling often caused by intense or damaging Stimulus (physiology), stimuli. The International Association for the Study of Pain defines pain as "an unpleasant sense, sensory and emotional experience associated with, or res ...
. Janov first directed a psychotherapy institute called the Primal Institute on North Almont Dr. in
West Hollywood, California
West Hollywood is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Incorporated in 1984, it is home to the Sunset Strip. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. Census, its population was 35,757.
History
Most historical writing ...
and from 1980 at the Janov Primal Center at 1205 Abbot Kinney Boulevard, in
Venice, Los Angeles
Venice is a neighborhood of the City of Los Angeles within the Westside region of Los Angeles County, California, United States.
Venice was founded by Abbot Kinney in 1905 as a seaside resort town. It was an independent city until 1926, whe ...
and latterly on Ashland Avenue in
Santa Monica, California
Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...
.
Janov was the author of many books, most notably ''
The Primal Scream'' (1970),
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
Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
,
California
California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
, and grew up in
Boyle Heights, a low income neighborhood east of
Downtown L.A., populated mainly by
Jews
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
,
Latinos
Hispanic and Latino Americans are Americans who have a Spanish or Latin American background, culture, or family origin. This demographic group includes all Americans who identify as Hispanic or Latino, regardless of race. According to th ...
, and Slavic immigrants.
Janov was the son of two
Russian-Jewish immigrants, Conrad Janov and Anne Coretsky-Janov.
He received his B.A. and M.S.W. in psychiatric social work from the
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...
, and his Ph.D. in psychology from
Claremont Graduate School
The Claremont Graduate University (CGU) is a private, all-graduate research university in Claremont, California, United States. Founded in 1925, CGU is a member of the Claremont Colleges consortium which includes five undergraduate and two grad ...
in 1960.
Career
Janov originally practiced conventional psychotherapy in his native California.
He did an internship at the Hacker Psychiatric Clinic in
Beverly Hills
Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. A notable and historic suburb of Los Angeles, it is located just southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Beverly Hil ...
, worked for the Veterans' Administration at Brentwood Neuropsychiatric Hospital and was in private practice from 1952 until his death in 2017.
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.
In Janov's view, the repressed pain of traumatic childhood experiences eventually produces an emotionally damaged adult.
These experiences include not only obvious physical and psychological injuries, but also subtle slights like parents' failure to comfort a child.
Janov wrote that his professional life changed in a single day in 1967 with the discovery of what he called "Primal Pain". 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".
He developed
primal therapy
Primal therapy is a Psychological trauma, trauma-based psychotherapy created by Arthur Janov during the 1960s, who argued that neurosis is caused by the Psychological repression, repressed Psychological pain, pain of childhood trauma. Janov argued ...
, in which clients are encouraged to re-live and express what Janov considered
repressed memories and feelings.
Janov's primal therapy became a cultural phenomenon in the 1970s and 1980s along with his work ''
The Primal Scream'' (1970).
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".
The idea of ''The Primal Scream'' came when one of his patients told of a theatrical performance at
Conway Hall
Conway Hall in Red Lion Square, London, is the headquarters of the Conway Hall Ethical Society. It is a Grade II listed building.
History
The building was commissioned by the South Place Ethical Society, which had previously been accommodated ...
, 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.
Janov was fascinated by this and asked his patient to cry for his own "mommy" and "daddy".
However, Janov's primal therapy was the source of controversy, with allegations that Janov used the treatment as a "cash-grab scheme".
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".
Influence on popular music
Janov's patients included the musicians
John Lennon
John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...
and
Yoko Ono
Yoko Ono (, usually spelled in katakana as ; born February 18, 1933) is a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter, and peace activist. Her work also encompasses performance art and filmmaking.
Ono grew up in Tokyo and moved to New York ...
.
Janov's ideas had a significant impact on ''
John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band'', Lennon's first solo album after
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
, which centers themes of parental abandonment and psychological suffering and served to popularize primal scream therapy.
Two important bands formed in the early 1980s,
Tears for Fears
Tears for Fears are an English pop rock band formed in Bath in 1981 by Curt Smith and Roland Orzabal. Founded after the dissolution of their first band, the mod-influenced Graduate, Tears for Fears were associated with the synth-pop bands o ...
and
Primal Scream
Primal Scream are a Scottish rock music, rock band originally formed in 1982 in Glasgow by Bobby Gillespie (vocals) and Jim Beattie (musician), Jim Beattie (guitar). The band's current lineup consists of Gillespie, Andrew Innes (guitar), Simon ...
, took their names from Janov's work. The influence on Tears for Fears is strongest on their first album ''
The Hurting'' (including "
Mad World
"Mad World" is a 1982 song by British band Tears for Fears. Written by Roland Orzabal and sung by bassist Curt Smith, it was the band's third single release and first chart hit, reaching number three on the UK Singles Chart in November 1982. ...
" and "Ideas as Opiates," which is named for a chapter in Janov's ''Prisoners of Pain'') and in their No. 1 single "
Shout" from ''
Songs from the Big Chair
''Songs from the Big Chair'' is the second studio album by the English pop rock band Tears for Fears, released on 25 February 1985 by Phonogram Records/Mercury Records. The follow-up to the band's successful debut album, ''The Hurting'' (1983), ' ...
''. The band eventually met Janov in 1986 and became disillusioned with him and his work.
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.
He married France Daunic four months later in 1980 and was still married to her at the time of his death.
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.
On October 1, 2017, Janov died in his sleep at the age of 93 of
respiratory arrest
Respiratory arrest is a serious medical condition caused by apnea or respiratory dysfunction severe enough that it will not sustain the body (such as agonal breathing). Prolonged apnea refers to a patient who has stopped breathing for a long period ...
complicated by a
stroke
Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...
.
For several years, Janov suffered from a throat disease which limited his ability to speak.
At the time of his death, he was living in
Malibu, California
Malibu ( ; ; ) is a beach city in the Santa Monica Mountains region of Los Angeles County, California, about west of downtown Los Angeles. It is known for its Mediterranean climate, its strip of beaches stretching along the Pacific Ocean coa ...
.
Works
*''
The Primal Scream'' (1970) - (revised 1999)
*''The Anatomy of Mental Illness'' (1971)
*''The Primal Revolution: Toward a Real World'' (1972)
*''The Feeling Child'' (1973)
*''Primal Man: The new consciousness'' (1976)
*''Prisoners of Pain'' (1980)
*''Imprints: The Lifelong Effects of the Birth Experience'' (1984)
*''New Primal Scream: Primal Therapy 20 Years on'' (1992)
*''Why You Get Sick, How You Get Well: The Healing Power of Feelings'' (1996)
*''The Biology of Love'' (2000)
*''Sexualité et subconscient : Perversions et déviances de la libido'' (2006)
*''Primal Healing: Access the Incredible Power of Feelings to Improve Your Health'' (2006)
*''The Janov Solution: Lifting Depression Through Primal Therapy'' (2007)
*''Life Before Birth: The Hidden Script That Rules Our Lives'' (2011)
*''Beyond Belief: Cults, Healers, Mystics and Gurus – Why We Believe'' (2016)
Janov in media
* ''The Inner Revolution'' (1971 / 85 min) A personal account of primal therapy by Gil Toff.
* ''Primal Therapy: In Search of the Real You'' (1976 / 19 min)) A Canadian documentary.
* ''Primalterapi: vintern 1977'' (1978 / 130 min) A Swedish 3-part documentary by Gerard Röhl.
* ''Arthur Janov's Primal Therapy'' (2018 / 45 min) An associative view by
Ulf Kjell Gür.
References
External links
*
Dr Arthur Janov's Primal CenterThe Primal Institute LAJanov's Reflections on the Human ConditionArthur Janov's
Blog
A blog (a Clipping (morphology), truncation of "weblog") is an informational website consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries also known as posts. Posts are typically displayed in Reverse chronology, reverse chronologic ...
''Grand Delusions—Psychotherapies Without Feeling'' (2005) unpublished manuscript available at the Primal Center's website
Life Before Birth websiteRolling Stone: The Primal Doctor (1971)*
Forward article (2017)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Janov, Arthur
1924 births
2017 deaths
20th-century American psychologists
American psychology writers
American male non-fiction writers
American psychotherapists
American people of Russian descent
Primal therapy
UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs alumni
Claremont Graduate University alumni
Writers from Los Angeles