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Terry Kupers

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Terry Allen Kupers
Terry Allen Kupers
Born (1943-10-14) October 14, 1943 (age 81)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Occupation(s)Psychiatrist, Professor
Academic background
EducationStanford University, UCLA School of Medicine, UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute
Academic work
DisciplinePsychiatry
Sub-disciplinePsychoanalytic Psychotherapy, forensic psychiatry, and community mental health
InstitutionsThe Wright Institute
Main interestsSolitary confinement, Mental health services in correctional facilities, community mental health
Notable worksPublic Therapy, Ending Therapy, Revisioning Men’s Lives, Prison Madness, and Solitary
Websitehttps://www.wi.edu/psyd-faculty-terry-kupers

Terry Allen Kupers M.D., M.S.P. is a psychiatrist and expert on correctional mental health and the detrimental effects of solitary confinement.[1][2][3][4] He is known for his expertise in the fields of psychoanalytic psychotherapy, forensic psychiatry, and community mental health. He is Professor Emeritus at the Wright Institute in Berkeley, California.[5] His forensic psychiatry experience includes testimony in multiple large class action lawsuits concerning jail and prison conditions, sexual abuse behind bars, and the quality of mental health services within correctional facilities.[6][7][8]

Early life

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Kupers was born on October 14, 1943, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the third of six children born to Edward Carlton Kupers, M.D. and Frances Shirley Kupers (nee Praissman).[6][7][9]His father was a doctor who served in the Army Air Force during WWII and his mother was a nurse and caregiver to their six children. Kupers attended public schools in Los Angeles and graduated from Fairfax High School in 1960, where he was a member of the Ephebians honor society.[10]

Education

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Kupers graduated from Stanford University in 1964 with a BA in Psychology. In 1968, he graduated from UCLA School of Medicine. He completed an internship at Kings County Hospital and Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York in 1969. Following his internship, Kupers undertook a three-year Psychiatry Residency at the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute, spending an elective year at the Tavistock Institute in England studying object relations theory and brief psychotherapy. He later pursued a postdoctoral fellowship at the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute, specializing in social and community psychiatry, and earned his master's degree in Social Psychiatry in 1974.[6][7][8][10]

Career

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Since 1977, Kupers has been actively involved in community mental health and forensic psychiatry. He began his forensic pscyhiatry career by providing expert testimony in the case of Rutherford vs. Pitchess, where prisoners sued Los Angeles County because their jail violated their human rights.[10] He also provided testimony in the case of Ashker v. Brown, which ended the use of long-term solitary confinement at Pelican Bay State Prison in California.[11][7]

In 1981, Kupers joined the faculty of the Wright Institute's Clinical Psychology program, where he is now a professor emeritus. Over the years, Kupers has taught a variety of courses, both at the Wright Institute and at other graduate schools in Los Angeles and San Francisco. Classes he has taught include Basic Psychoanalytic Concepts, Social Psychopathology, Brief Psychotherapy, and Forensic and Correctional Mental Health.[5][10]

Kupers has served as a consultant for various human and civil rights campaigns, including those of Human Rights Watch and Disability Rights California.[12][13]

Publications

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Kupers is the author of five books and the editor of two others. He has also written nearly one hundred articles and book chapters. His first three books, Public Therapy, Ending Therapy, and Revisioning Men’s Lives, cover a wide range of topics, including public mental health, psychoanalytic theory, toxic masculinity and gender theory. His two most recent books, Prison Madness and Solitary, focus on mental health, the damaging conditions of confinement, and human rights issues in the carceral system, particularly in solitary confinement.[11] Kupers also wrote an essay as part of the book Hell Is a Very Small Place, a collection of essays by those who have experienced solitary confinement and experts in the field.

Accolades

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Kupers is a Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association.[5] He received the Exemplary Psychiatrist Award from the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) in 2005, the William Rossiter Award for his global contributions to forensic mental health from the Forensic Mental Health Association of California in 2009, the Gloria Huntley Award from NAMI in 2020, and the Judge Stephen Goss Lifetime Achievement Award from the Judges and Psychiatrists Leadership Initiative and the Council of State Governments in 2024.[14][15][16]

Notes

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  1. ^ Kilgannon, Corey (December 20, 2023). "The Mayor Calls Solitary a Safety Measure. They Call It Torture". NY Times. Retrieved May 8, 2024.
  2. ^ Koffler, Jacob (June 9, 2015). "What 43 Years of Solitary Confinement Does to the Mind". Time. Retrieved May 8, 2024.
  3. ^ Sifferlin, Alexandra (July 29, 2014). "What 28-Years of Solitary Confinement Does to the Mind". Time. Retrieved May 8, 2024.
  4. ^ Watters, David; Panetta, Francesca (April 28, 2016). "Psychologists discuss solitary confinement – The Story podcast". The Guardian. Retrieved May 8, 2024.
  5. ^ a b c "Terry Kupers, M.D., M.S.P." The Wright Institute. Retrieved May 8, 2024.
  6. ^ a b c Kupers, Terry (September 1, 2017). "EXPERT REPORT OF TERRY A. KUPERS, M.D., M.S.P. Dockery et al. v. Fisher et al" (PDF). American Civil Liberties Union. Retrieved May 10, 2024.
  7. ^ a b c d Kupers, Terry (May 2, 2013). "Declaration of Terry Kupers, M.D., M.S.P. in Support of Plaintiffs' Motion for Class Certification Ashker et al. v. Brown et al" (PDF). Center for Constitutional Rights. Retrieved May 10, 2024.
  8. ^ a b Kupers, Terry (June 16, 2014). "Expert Report of Terry A. Kupers, M.D., M.S.P. Eastern Mississippi Correctional Facility" (PDF). American Civil Liberties Union. Retrieved May 10, 2024.
  9. ^ "1940 US Census". Ancestry. Retrieved May 13, 2024.
  10. ^ a b c d "Faculty Spotlight: Dr. Terry Kupers". The Wright Institute. Retrieved May 10, 2024.
  11. ^ a b Zoukis, Christopher (June 5, 2018). "Solitary: The Inside Story of Supermax Isolation and How We Can Abolish It, by Dr. Terry Allen Kupers". Prison Legal News. Retrieved May 8, 2024.
  12. ^ Human Rights Watch (2003). Ill-Equipped U.S. Prisons and Offenders with Mental Illness (PDF). Human Rights Watch. p. 36. ISBN 1564322904.
  13. ^ Disability Rights California. The Cruel and Unusual Use of Restraint Chairs in California Jails A Call to Action (PDF). Disability Rights California. p. 12.
  14. ^ "Exemplary Psychiatrist Award". National Alliance on Mental Illness. Retrieved May 8, 2024.
  15. ^ "NAMI National Awards". National Alliance on Mental Illness. Retrieved May 8, 2024.
  16. ^ "The Judge Stephen S. Goss Memorial Award for Leadership". The Council of State Governments Justice Center. Retrieved May 8, 2024.
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