When young Dr. Adolf Meyer arrived in the U. S. from his native Switzerland almost 50 years ago, it was common practice to herd insane patients together like hopeless criminals.
At one of his early jobs, at an asylum on Ward's Island, kindly Dr. Meyer turned his patients loose, started them weaving baskets, learning old folk dances, thus laying the foundations for occupational therapy. He visited his patients in their homes to observe their everyday life, took Mrs. Meyer along to talk to their families, worked up detailed case records. In this manner they blazed the trail for psychiatric social work,...
To continue reading:
or
Log-In
