Download Adolf Meyer

Adolf Meyer
--psychiatrist→ advocated for the use of occupation in the treatment of the “insane”
--prominent psychobiologist in the US: psychobiology = nature and nurture important
--by 1910 became professor at Johns Hopkins University and was the 1st director of the
Henry Phipps Clinic
-noteworthy that while director he “borrowed” Eleanor Clarke Slagle who was
working at the Hull House for 2 years, during which time she helped found the
therapeutic occupations program in the clinic
--made important contribution to field of psychiatry in general and OT in particular
--believed most important task of mental health worker is to help the patient to
help himself or herself
--approach to mental illness used holistic philosophy: believed therapist should
take into account patient’s entire life: including sleep habits, nutrition, daily routine,
personal adjustment, etc
--”It is the therapist’s goal to bring about in the patient a ‘modus vivendi,’ a way
of seeking, creating, and finding a line of behavior that will best help him adapt to
himself and his environment” (Stein & Cutler, 2002, p. 49)
--considered OT as social mechanism to help the patient develop adaptive skills
that are necessary to overcome his/her illness
--delivered a major address at the 5th annual meeting of the National Society for the
Promotion of OT in 1921; emphasized occupation, time, and productive use of energy
-successfully brought fundamental moral treatment principles of more than a
century before into contemporary OT practice and established the foundation of what is
now known as occupational behavior, the model of human occupation and occupational
performance
George Barton
To recap, many events were taking place during the early 1900s and during Barton’s life,
such as World War I, industrialization, the efficiency movement, which was meant to
increase societal efficiency, and the arts and crafts movement. As a result of World War I
and industrialization, there was an increase in disability , tuberculosis and mental illness,
which created a growing need for a field like OT.
-Barton was originally an architect. He studied in London and was taught by leaders of
the arts and crafts movement there.
-He helped create the Boston Society of Arts and Crafts and was their first secretary. He
believed that in order to advance a profession, a professional organization should be
established. This belief influenced his role in the OT field.
-He had little experience or education in the medical field, however, he did have some
experience with nursing and through independent study in nursing
-He gained the majority of his medical knowledge when he was stricken with tuberculosis
in 1901; this condition would recur throughout his life
- In 1912, he was working on a project to determine the extent of the famine had effected
the farmers along the Kansas-Colorado border. His left foot froze, developed gangrene,
and he had to get his toes amputated. After the surgery, Barton developed hysterical
paralysis of the left side of this body. He could barely stand and had almost no movement
in his left hand or arm. In 1913, he went to Clifton Springs Sanatorium in upstate NY to
recuperate
-Barton was typically very active, but as a result of the paralysis, he could not do even the
most simplistic tasks and the physicians that treated him were very discouraging. They
did not think he would make a recovery and did not think he should be working.
- While he was at the Sanatorium, he was exposed to OT in classes that were held by
Revered Elwood Worcester of the Emmanuel Church in Boston. Barton was taught to
find inspiration in life by helping others like himself; he decided to dedicate his life to
helping “the sick and crippled”
-He created his own Consolation House in 1914, which acted as a school, workshop, and
agency for vocations, and whose main goal was recovery. He used ideas from the arts
and crafts movement to put art work all over the house and created a warm and
comfortable environment for those that came. The consolation’s house mission was to
help its patients recreate healthy, meaningful and productive lives. He wanted the
Consolation House to be a place where people could create new lives with new
possibilities for work . Many of his friends sent people they new to the consolation house.
-While at the Consolation house, he also worked in the fields, and in the studio. He
studied the progress he himself was making through work to learn more about
rehabilitation. He also took classes at Clifton Springs Sanatorium Training school and
talked to other practitioners, such as William R. Dunton and Susan E. Tracy
-By studying independently and with others, he learned the importance of grading
occupations and of using energy conservation strategies, such as working for 10 minutes
and resting for 15 to eventually increase the amount of time that he could work. He
gained this knowledge by working with experts in the efficiency movement- Also used
ideas from the efficiency movement to encourage his patients to be productive as a way
to rehabilitate themselves so that they can eventually be independent and provide for
themselves
- He collaborated with William Dunton and adopted his terms to coin “occupational
therapy”
-He also worked with Dunton to create the NSPOT- National Society for the Promotion
of Occupational Therapy , which was held at the Consolation House on March 15, 1917.
The goal of NSPOT was to establish OT’s role in health care and to create a society to
promote occupation as therapy
-Members included familiar names: William Dunton, Eleanor Clarke Slagle, Adolph
Meyer, Susan Johnson, Thomas Kidner, Isabel G. Newton (Barton's secretary who later
became his wife), and Susan Tracy.
-Organization flourished through the 1920s and 1930s until the Great Depression
-Now known as the American Occupational Therapy Association
-As president of NSPOT, Barton insisted that therapy was in the title of the organization
to make it sound that it was related to medicine and medical science- He also wanted
medical language to be a part of OT to relate it more to health care
-Barton was president that year and also the chair of the Committee on Research and
Efficiency – As the chair of this committee, he collaborated with foreign efficiency
engineers, who helped rehabilitate wounded soldiers, so he helped establish the
connection between OT and physical rehabilitation
-- He also had unique ideas about evaluations. He always asked about the patient’s
education, present status, habits, ambitions and expectation. He sought to improve the
physical, mental and spiritual aspects of the patient. He thought it was essential to view
patients from both a medical and occupational perspective. Considering this would help
uncover occupations that are meaningful to the patient.
-He believed every occupation could have the healing effect equivalent to a drug
-Now OT does not just focus on work and productivity, but it also focuses on the
importance of “doing” and occupation
In the past, medicine was typically just a way to heal illness and patients would leave the
hospital completely dependent. However, OT is a way to give people a purpose and to
improve their lives.
Having something productive and meaningful to do helps recovery
A good occupation is one that “promoted physical improvement, clarified and
strengthened the mind and could become the basis or the corollary of a new life upon
recovery.”
Becoming injured or ill does not mean that one’s life is over. Work should be used to
create a new meaningful and purposeful life.
-A year after the first meeting of NSPOT, he resigned from the presidency and did not
attend the next annual meeting, either because he was too sick to travel to NYC, where it
was being held or because he was upset it was being held in NYC and not at the
Consolation house, or perhaps because he had just gotten married
-1918- got married to Isabel Newton and had a son
-even though resigned from NSPOT, still worked as chair of Research and Efficiency
Committee
-Died in 1923 from tuberculosis