Meerloo, Joost A(braham) M(aurits)(1903-1976)

Psychiatrist, psychoanalyst, and writer on parapsychology. He was born on March 14, 1903, at The Hague, Netherlands. He was educated at Leyden University (M.D., 1927) and Utrecht University (Ph.D., 1932). His appointments included psychiatric-neurologic consultant, Municipal Hospital, Voorburg and The Hague (1934-42); chief of the pychological department, Netherlands Army (1943-45); and high commissioner for welfare in the Netherlands (1945-46). He moved to the United States after World War II as an associate in psychiatry at Columbia University (1948-57). In 1958 he became a professor of political science at the New School for Social Research in New York City, then an associate professor of psychiatry at the New York School of Psychiatry in 1962.

He was a member of Royal Society of Medicine, American Psychiatric Association, American Academy of Psychoanalysis, Schilder Society (secretary), Tokyo Institute for Psychoanalysis (honorary member), and Albany Society for Psychosomatic Medicine.

During the 1960s Meerloo was considered an influential thinker in America. Besides his many books, he published over 300 articles on psychology, politics, and literature. Less known was his interest and writings in parapsychology and his membership in the American Society for Psychical Research. He was also a corresponding member of the Studievereniging voor Psychical Research (Dutch Society for Psychical Research). He delivered a paper at the First International Conference on Parapsychology in the Netherlands. His activity on behalf of the paranormal came in the 1950s and 1960s. He died November 17, 1976.

Sources:

Meerloo, Joost A. M. "The Biology of Time." Tomorrow (winter 1954).

——. Hidden Communion. New York: Garrett Publications, 1964.

——. "Man's Ecstatic Healing." Tijdschrift voor Parapsychologie 27 (1959).

——. The Rape of the Mind: The Psychology of Thought Control, Menticide, and Brainwashing. N.p., 1956.

——. "Telepathy and Foreknowledge." In Proceedings of the First International Conference on Parapsychology. Utrecht, 1953.

——. "Telepathy as a Form of Archaic Communication." Psychiatric Quarterly 23 (1949).

——. Unobtrusive Communication. Assen, The Netherlands: Van Gorcum, 1964.