Adolf Meyer (psychiatrist)

Adolf Meyer
Born	(1866-09-13)September 13, 1866 Niederweningen, Switzerland
Died	March 17, 1950(1950-03-17) (aged 83) Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Resting place	Druid Ridge Cemetery Pikesville, Maryland, U.S.
Nationality	Swiss
Citizenship	American
Alma mater	University of Zurich
Scientific career
Fields	Psychiatry
Doctoral advisor	Auguste Forel
Signature

Adolf Meyer (September 13, 1866 – March 17, 1950) was a Swiss-born psychiatrist who rose to prominence as the first psychiatrist-in-chief of the Johns Hopkins Hospital (1910–1941). He was president of the American Psychiatric Association in 1927–28 and was one of the most influential figures in psychiatry in the first half of the twentieth century.^[1] His focus on collecting detailed case histories on patients was one of the most prominent of his contributions. He oversaw the building and development of the Henry Phipps Psychiatric Clinic at Johns Hopkins Hospital, opened in April 1913, making sure it was suitable for scientific research, training and treatment.^[2] Meyer's work at the Phipps Clinic is possibly the most significant aspect of his career.^[who?]

Meyer's main theoretical contribution was his idea of ergasiology (a term he derived from the Greek for "working" and "doing") to describe a psychobiology. This brought together all the biological, social and psychological factors and symptoms pertaining to a patient. It considered mental illnesses to be a product of dysfunctional personality not a pathology of the brain. Believing that whole-life social and biological factors should be central to both diagnosis and treatment Meyer was one of the earliest psychologists to support occupational therapy as an important connection between the activities of an individual and their mental health, and incorporated community based activities and services to develop people's everyday living skills.^[3][4]