Meyer, Adolf

(born Sept. 13, 1866, Niederweningen, Switz.—died March 17, 1950, Baltimore, Md., U.S.) Swiss-born U.S. psychiatrist. He immigrated to the U.S. in 1892 and taught principally at Johns Hopkins University (1910–41). He developed a concept of human behaviour—ergasiology, or psychobiology—that sought to integrate psychological and biological study. Meyer emphasized accurate case histories, suggested a role of childhood sexual feelings in mental problems in the years preceding wide recognition of Sigmund Freud's theories, and decided that mental illness results essentially from personality dysfunction rather than brain pathology. He became aware of the importance of social environment in mental disorders, and his wife interviewed patients' families in what is considered the first psychiatric social work.

Source: Encyclopedia Britannica