Psychiatry can never be a science like the others. It doesn’t want to be. What we need is more common sense-and courage to study whatever needs to be studied ... Then we can form a science which has its roots in life at large.
Dr. Meyer was born in Niederwenigen, Switzerland, and received his M.D. (1892) from the University of Zurich. In 1892, he immigrated to the United States and took the position of pathologist at the Illinois Eastern Hospital for the Insane at Kankakee. In 1895, he moved to the Massachusetts State Lunatic Asylum at Worcester and remained there until 1901. At Worcester, his interest shifted from pathology to the clinical care of patients and their life histories, and he instituted staff training, improved recordkeeping, and integrated research into clinical care.
In 1901, Dr. Meyer was appointed Director of the Pathological Institute of the NY State Hospital for the Insane and remained there for seven years. In 1904, he was appointed Professor of Clinical Medicine at Cornell University Medical College. During his NY tenure, he emphasized the study of environmental factors and the life histories of patients and emphasized that mental, physiological, neurological, and behavioral factors were all relevant in the study of mental disorders, which came to be known as a psychological approach to mental illness. His interest in emphasizing the importance of environmental factors and life histories in treating patients led to his active participation in the organization of the National Committee for Mental Hygiene.
In 1909, Dr. Meyer was appointed as the first Professor in Psychiatry at the Johns Hopkins Medical School and Director of the Phipps Psychiatric Clinic, integrating research, treatment, and training. He resigned as a professor in 1941. Dr. Meyer was President of the American Neurological Association (1922), President of the American Psychopathological Association (1912, 1926), and a member of psychiatric organizations in the U.S. and abroad.
Dr. Meyer served as President of the American Psychiatric Association (1927–28).