An In-Depth Interview With Dr. Meyers

​“Who do you resonate with? Maybe a friend, celebrity, or even a movie character?”

It’s not a typical opening question from a physician, but for Dr. Jordan Meyers, it’s one that can provide a window into his patients. “It can speak to someone’s strengths, values, their goals,” says Dr. Meyers. “This is important in psychiatry, where we want to understand what ‘functioning’ means for someone. What does ‘getting better’ look like for them?”

Dr. Meyers recalls a patient who described a love for Indiana Jones. “The idea of adventure, of seeing the world and learning about it, really excited them,” he says. It was surprising, given the patient’s anxiety and difficulty leaving the house, but to Dr. Meyers it spoke volumes.

“That was fascinating to me,” he shares. “It was suddenly apparent that beneath their anxiety, there was an unspoken wish to see the world. That helped me understand their story more deeply. It suggested strengths they couldn’t yet access but might discover through treatment.”

This anecdote is more than just a passing quirk. For Dr. Meyers, understanding and articulating narratives has been a lifelong passion. Even as a young child, he would read and write voraciously, getting journals for his birthday and filling them with stories. This love of storytelling has remained constant, shaping not just hobbies but an approach to psychiatry. 

“For me, psychiatry is about understanding and elucidating someone’s story,” says Dr. Meyers. Applying this lens to his practice means helping patients make sense of their past, present, and future — and together creating a care plan as unique as a personal narrative.

A New Chapter: From Writing to Psychiatry

Initially, Dr. Meyers dreamed of becoming a writer. In high school, he discovered a passion for journalism and pursued it as an English major at Grinnell College. But he soon realized that turning this childhood passion into a profession might not be what he expected.

“I noticed that the more I made writing into a job, the less connected I felt to it. There was a moment in college when I realized it had been years since I’d written anything for fun, the way I had growing up. I was terrified of losing that part of myself.”

Yet he still wanted to find a career that challenged his intellect and curiosity. “Besides writing, I was also very interested in biology and psychology. I remember taking anatomy and physiology in high school and loving it,” he recalls. “Psychiatry felt like the perfect blend: it brought together the art of understanding people and their stories with the science of medicine.”

Unlike writing for work, which had once drained his passion, Dr. Meyers found that psychiatry nurtured it. “Psychiatry has deepened my curiosity and connection to others,” he says. “It allows me to tap into my creativity in ways I didn’t expect—through listening, understanding, and helping people reshape their own narratives. I’m really happy to have found a career that continually renews my sense of purpose and passion.”

A World of Perspective From China

As Dr. Meyers reflects on the narrative of his own career, his time in China stands out as a transformative chapter — one of exploration, challenges, and discovery. “I really wanted to learn a foreign language in college and study abroad,” he explains.

During his undergraduate studies, those ambitions led him to study abroad in Beijing, China, where he immersed himself in Mandarin and the country’s culture for six months. When graduation came, he wanted to take on something bigger — something that would combine his interests in psychiatry, travel, and research.

That opportunity came in the form of a sought-after Fulbright grant, which allowed Dr. Meyers to return to China for a year researching schizophrenia. “I was looking at epigenetic biomarkers, working in a lab that also had a clinical component.” It was a role that suited him well: one foot in cutting-edge research, the other in human connection.

His responsibilities extended beyond science. With an ability to speak both English and Mandarin, Dr. Meyers became a key liaison for international collaboration between institutions in the U.S. and China. He acted as a mediator, solved logistical challenges, and returned to China multiple times to ensure the project’s success.

The experience left him with more than just a deeper understanding of schizophrenia. “Living in another culture for almost two years gave me a broader perspective on mental health,” he says. “It taught me to think about cultural differences — how mental health is perceived, what it means to ‘be well,’ and how approaches to care vary so widely.”

Plot Twist: A Shift to Clinical Psychiatry

After years dedicated to biological research, Dr. Meyers discovered a turning point during residency when he began psychotherapy training. “We learned so much about the biological side of medicine in medical school, which is clearly important and necessary. But we really didn’t spend time on psychology.”

Through his psychotherapy training in residency, particularly psychodynamic psychotherapy, he found a way to understand people more deeply — one that resonated on both a professional and personal level. “It goes way beyond symptom checklists,” Dr. Meyers explains. “It’s about understanding someone’s early life, how they’ve been shaped, and ultimately, help them grow — not just back to baseline, but to move beyond it. That kind of work can change the course of someone’s life, and to me, that’s so meaningful.”

The psychodynamic approach resonates with Dr. Meyers because it seeks to address problems for people at their root and focuses on long-term growth. He values the opportunity to work with patients over months and years, uncovering patterns, improving insight, and enabling them to build healthier, more fulfilling relationships.

This shift toward clinical psychiatry marked another twist in his career narrative, as Dr. Meyers moved away from the research-dominated focus of his early years. In psychotherapy, he found a way to connect deeply, understand fully, and create truly lasting change.

Therapy in Every Interaction

This holistic approach to psychiatry means that for Dr. Meyers, the line is intentionally blurred between therapy and medication management. “I try to integrate some therapy into all my medication management,” he says.

Even when a patient already has a therapist, Dr. Meyers looks to bring therapeutic principles into every interaction. It’s a priority for him to move beyond medication to consider underlying psychological dynamics.

“How does medication make them feel about themselves?” he asks. “Does it feel empowering, or does it threaten their sense of identity?” Dr. Meyers believes that exploring such ambivalences is crucial, as few people feel entirely straightforward about taking psychiatric medication. Acknowledging this complexity helps his patients feel understood and supported.

Patient education is another cornerstone of his approach. Dr. Meyers works to normalize feelings or experiences that patients may find isolating or confusing. “There’s a lot of good that can be done just from normalizing things for people that they may think are abnormal,” he explains. Whether it’s offering psychoeducation about mental health conditions or sharing practical tools, his goal is to empower patients with knowledge.

This often includes teaching techniques like grounding exercises, mindfulness strategies, and cognitive reframing — tools drawn from his training in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). “For example, if a patient has an overwhelming pattern of catastrophizing and their mind is constantly going to worst-case scenarios, just helping them identify that pattern can be really powerful,” he says. “It's remarkable how quickly people catch on and notice — and once they notice, they can start to change.”

From Individuals to Couples and Group Therapy

Dr. Meyers brings a wide variety of expertise to his practice, particularly in two areas that are less commonly emphasized in psychiatry: couples therapy and group therapy. During his residency, he pursued subspecialty training in both, gaining hands-on experience with a variety of patient populations, including those with ADHD as well as patients who have experienced trauma.

Couples therapy, in particular, has become a defining aspect of Dr. Meyers’ approach. Whether he’s working with couples directly or applying relationship-based principles in individual sessions, Dr. Meyers is deeply attuned to the impact of relationships on mental health. “Often, people are distressed about some interpersonal conflict — they’ve had some difficulty with their partner or best friend, or somebody at work,” he says. “Couples therapy taught me to notice the patterns in those interactions and help people gain insight for themselves.”

One case in particular stayed with him: a married couple on the brink of separation. “They were stuck in this cycle of conflict, unable to get out of it,” he says. Over the course of a year, therapy helped them recognize and reshape those patterns. “Now they’re doing really well. Their marriage has completely transformed.”

For Dr. Meyers, the goal of couples or group therapy isn’t just conflict resolution but helping people build stronger, healthier connections — whether with others or themselves.

Unlocking the Bigger Picture

For Dr. Meyers, these glimpses into a patient’s life — whether through telehealth, a detailed conversation, or the patterns of their past — are what make psychiatry so deeply meaningful.

“Obviously, it’s a privilege and deep responsibility to get such an intimate view into somebody’s life,” he reflects. “Especially if you work with somebody for a long time, it’s like unlocking this deep, really very impactful life narrative for somebody.”

Whether it’s helping a couple untangle long-standing patterns, guiding a patient to recognize unhelpful thought distortions, or simply normalizing feelings that may seem isolating, his focus remains helping people uncover truths about themselves. For Dr. Meyers, psychiatry isn’t just about addressing symptoms — it’s about giving patients the tools to reshape their lives in meaningful ways.

“To me, it’s such a fascinating expression of narrative,” he adds. Through every conversation, every shared insight, Dr. Meyers helps his patients write the next chapter of their story — one that feels uniquely their own: more connected, more empowered, and more whole.

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This blog post is brought to you by Apraku Psychiatry.

Apraku Psychiatry is a private practice offering video appointments with Board-certified psychiatrists licensed in multiple states. More blog articles can be found here. To schedule an appointment with Dr. Meyers, patients can complete the online booking form below.