The Outlook Podcast Archive - The downfall of "The Screamers"

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If you visited the controversial Atlantis commune in southern Colombia back in the 1990s, you’d have probably heard some disturbing noises. The group practiced primal screaming, a form of psychotherapy which seeks to address childhood pain. They’d hold confrontational group sessions, where they were encouraged to direct their anger at each other, hoping to develop themselves psychologically in the process.

The commune had started in London, founded by a therapist called Jenny James. They’d made the move to South America to be closer to nature, and they’d settled on a forested area of Colombia controlled by left wing Farc guerrillas. At first Atlantis coexisted with the Farc, but as the Colombian civil war intensified the guerrillas became more hostile, and when violence broke out it pulled the commune apart.

Presenter: Faye Planer
Producer: Harry Graham

Picture: The Atlantis commune in Southern Colombia
Credit: BBC

Published on Saturday, 17th October 2020.

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