Jarl Dyrud, Professor Emeritus in Psychiatry, dies at 79

An expert at combining the merits of psychoanalysis with other forms of psychiatric treatment, Jarl Dyrud, Professor Emeritus in Psychiatry and the College and a former Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs in the Biological Sciences Division at the University, died at his Hyde Park home Sunday, Aug. 26. He was 79.

In addition to being an authority on the teaching and practice of psychoanalysis, Dyrud was known for his pragmatic approach to therapy and his ability to bring together the best of psychotherapy with behavioral and medical treatments to meet the needs of specific patients.

“He was more interested in the patient than in the theory and this made him a dedicated physician for his patients and a superb consultant for other psychiatrists,” said colleague Harry Trosman, Professor in Psychiatry. “He had a remarkable ability to zero in, to get to the heart of the matter and then provide practical solutions.”

Ed Cook, Professor in Psychiatry and a former student of Dyrud’s said, “He taught us more about living than about psychiatry, and he taught us more about psychiatry than we imagined was possible. Generations of psychiatrists have attempted to emulate his therapeutic presence.”

Born Oct. 20, 1921, in Maddock, N.D., Dyrud graduated summa cum laude from Concordia College in Moorhead, Minn., in 1942 and received his M.D. from Johns Hopkins University in 1945. He was an intern in surgery and psychiatry at Johns Hopkins from 1945 to 1946, then spent two years in the United States Navy where he was assistant chief of psychiatry for the Middle Atlantic States Branch Office.

He completed residencies in psychiatry at Chestnut Lodge Hospital in Rockville, Md., from 1949 to 1951, and at the Spring Grove State Hospital in Catonsville, Md., from 1952 to 1953.

He taught at Howard University from 1947 to 1968 and practiced at Chestnut Lodge Hospital from 1951 to 1968, where he became director of research.

Dyrud was recruited to the University in 1968 and served on numerous University committees. He served as Associate Chairman of Psychiatry from 1974 to 1978 and as Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs in the Biological Sciences Division from 1978 to 1981.

Dyrud also was active in national psychiatric organizations, serving on a National Academy of Sciences committee to examine the impact of behavioral therapy on the field of psychiatry and on a review board for the National Institute of Mental Health. He was a trustee of the American Academy of Psychoanalysis and served as chairman of that Academy’s research committee.

The author or co-author of many journal articles, Dyrud co-edited the American Handbook of Psychiatry’s volume on treatment (1975).

Dyrud is survived by his wife of 49 years, Rose, who is supervisor of housing services for the University; a son, Jarl Dyrud Jr. of Cincinnati, Ohio, who also is a psychiatrist; two daughters, Anne Clark of Marblehead, Mass., and Christine Schlunk of Brentwood, Tenn.; and six grandchildren.