Looking at the roots of psychosomatic medicine: Adolf Meyer.
BACKGROUND
Adolf Meyer, the first Professor of Psychiatry at Johns Hopkins, and Chief of the Phipps Clinic, brought a bevy of new ideas to clinical practice and to medical education. He used the word "psychobiology," which helped to establish psychosomatic medicine and formed the basis for Engel's "biopsychosocial" concept.


OBJECTIVE
This paper aims to review the contributions of Adolf Meyer, who proposed that in studying patients, it was impossible to consider the mind and body separately.


RESULTS
Adolf Meyer, through his insight and tenacity, promoted the integration of psychiatry and medicine in medical education and practice.


CONCLUSIONS
By taking a closer look at the role of Meyer's work in relation to today's psychosomatic medicine, current challenges do not appear to be dramatically different from the issues faced a century ago.
Department of Psychiatry, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY 10022, USA. skarl@nyit.edu
Suzanne R
SR
Karl
Jimmie C
JC
Holland
D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D011570:Psychiatry / Q000266:history*; D011611:Psychosomatic Medicine / Q000266:history*; D014481:United States