Primal integration

Primal Integration (PI) is a form of personal growth work first formulated by the Canadian Bill Swartley in the mid 1970s. Unlike many other psychotherapies, it puts the emphasis on individuals directing exploration of their own psyche assisted by facilitators who serve the individual and are responsible for their safety. It is considered to be part of humanistic psychology.

Description

During the late 1970s Swartley travelled in Europe and was instrumental in setting up centres for Primal Integration in Italy and Britain. Centres also exist in Canada and the USA.

Its theoretical basis emphasizes early trauma in shaping an individual's consciousness. It claims that trauma that takes place before, during and soon after birth have strong influences on how someone interprets and copes with future life. These early preverbal trauma, as well as later difficult childhood experiences, can only be fully recognized by re-living the experience at an emotional level. This emotional expression of deep memory is called a "primal". Its expression begins the process of integration of the experience into the personality of the individual and the re-adjustment of his or her world view. [ [http://www.primals.org/articles/rowan06.html Primal Integration] Article by John Rowan at the International Primal Association - Accessed July 2006]

Primal Integration was developed in parallel to the Primal therapy of Arthur Janov and shares some similarities with it, as well as the name "Primal". There is a difference in the theoretical approach which comes down to the use of a medical model in Janov's work and a holistic or educational model in PI. The early practitioners of Primal Integration founded the International Primal Association (IPA), which had a court struggle with Janov in 1974 when he claimed the word "Primal" as his own and tried to prevent them using it in their name. The court found against Janov but at great financial cost to the IPA.

Since those early years, the IPA and Primal Integration practitioners have facilitated thousands of individuals on their healing path and have brought their theory and philosophy to countries throughout the world. The IPA's journals, website, conventions, retreats and newsletters have been promoting Primal for 35 years.

ee also

*Primal therapy
*Pre- and perinatal psychology
*Attachment theory

References

* [http://www.primalintegration.com/pipwhati.html What is Primal Integration] Richard Mowbray and Juliana Brown, London
* [http://www.primalworks.com/whatisprimal.html What is Primal Integration?] Overview, theory and history by Sam Turton, Ontario, Canada
* [http://www.primalspirit.com/pr2_1rowan_traumabirth.htm The Trauma of Birth] - John Rowan, Originally published in Primal Renaissance: The Journal of Primal Psychology, Vol. 2, No. 1, Spring 1996, pp. 36-44.
* [http://primal-page.com/rowan4.htm John Rowan Interviews Bill Swartley (1977)] Originally appeared in the British journal, Self and Society, The Primal Issue, June 1977.
* [http://primal-page.com/esta.htm Healing Childhood Hurts With Deep Feeling/Primal-Oriented Therapy] [http://www.primalmatters.com Esta Powell] , Columbus, Ohio
* [http://ahpweb.org/rowan_bibliography/chapter13.html Description at the UK Association of Humanistic Psychology site] Includes long book list.
* [http://www.primal-page.com The Primal Psychotherapy Page] Articles about Primal Integration and Primal Therapy

Bibliography

*cite book |title=Innovative Therapy in Britain |editor=J. Rowan and W. Dryden (Eds.), |last= |first= |authorlink= |coauthors= |pages=pp. 12-38 |year=1988 |publisher=Open University Press |location=Buckingham, England |isbn=0335191398

*cite book |title="The Primal Scream" |last=Janov |first=Arthur |authorlink=Arthur Janov |coauthors= |year=1970 |publisher=Putnam |location=N.Y. |isbn=0747412189

*cite book |title="Realms Of The Human Unconscious: Observations From LSD Research" |last=Grof |first=Stanislav |authorlink=Stanislav Grof |coauthors= |year=1975 |publisher=Condor Books |location= |isbn=0285648829

*cite book |title="The Secret Life of the Unborn Child" |last=Verny |first=Thomas |authorlink=Thomas Verny |coauthors=John Kelly |year=1981 |publisher=Delta Books |location=N.Y.
isbn=0751510033

*cite book |title="Studies in Constricted Confusion" |last=Lake |first=Frank |authorlink=Frank Lake |coauthors= |year=1980 |publisher=Clinical Theology Association |location=Oxford, UK |isbn=
*cite book |title="The Biology of Love" |last=Janov |first=Arthur |authorlink=Arthur Janov |coauthors= |year=2000 |publisher=Prometheus Books |location=N.Y. |isbn=1573928291

External links

* [http://www.primals.org The International Primal Association]
* [http://www.primals.org/referral.html The IPA Referral List]