Dr. Abraham L. Halpern (February 2, 1925 - April 20, 2013) was a Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry at New York Medical College and former president of The American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law.[1]
In a wide-ranging career, Dr. Halpern was a champion of human rights especially in matters of law and mental health and was one of the founding leaders of the psychiatric sub-specialty of forensic psychiatry.
In 1965, Dr. Halpern participated in the Selma to Montgomery marches with Martin Luther King Jr., manning one of the ambulances in support of protestors.[2]
Dr. Halpern had been a long-standing member of the UN Alliance of NGOs on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, representing both the International Council of Prison Medical Services and the World Psychiatric Association.
Halpern was a board member of Friends of Falun Gong, USA.[3] Halpern is also a very strong opponent of the death penalty; he has written extensively on the subject of physician participation in executions.[4] Halpern has also spoke out in defense of the curative benefits of psychoanalysis.[5] Halpern has advocated for the abolition of the insanity defense[6]
Military service
editServed on active duty in Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve from Sep. 24, 1942 to Nov. 30, 1945 in European, North Atlantic, and Pacific theatres.
Rank on discharge: Petty Officer.
Served in Royal Canadian Navy, 1953-1957, as follows:
Medical Officer, R.C.N. Hospital, Esquimalt, BC, July to Nov., 1953.
Medical Officer, H.M.C.S. "Cayuga", Nov., 1953 to Feb., 1955 - Far East (Korea).
Medical Officer, R.C.N. Hospital, Cornwallis, NS, Apr., 1955 to Sep., 1956.
Medical Officer, R.C.N. Hospital, Halifax, NS, Sep., 1956 to June, 1957.
Rank on discharge: Surgeon Lieutenant Commander.
Awards
edit- In 2000 Dr. Halpern was given the Human Rights Award from the American Psychiatric Association.[7]
- In 2003 he received the Medical Society State of New York's President's Citizenship Award.[8]
- In 2004 he received the William C. Menninger Memorial Award for Distinguished Contributions to the Science of Mental Health from the American College of Physicians.[9]
Published works
edit- 'Soviet Psychiatry:An Exchange' (1989)
- Sweet Auburn: Recollections of a Prison Psychiatrist. (Frank Nesbit, 1999).
- 'The Culture of Control' (2003)
References
edit- ^ "Abraham L. Halpern". New York Times. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
- ^ [1] The New York Times, New York Doctors Barred at Scene, March 08, 1965. Retrieved on 2015-05.
- ^ Abraham L. Halpern, Letter to the World Medical Association Archived August 16, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, April 15, 2007
- ^ "short bio of Halpern". Archived from the original on 2010-11-14. Retrieved 2009-12-03.
- ^ Hapern letter to the editory of Psychiatric News.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Halpern, Abraham L. (1992). "The insanity verdict, the psychopath, and post-acquittal confinement". Psychiatric Quarterly. 63 (3): 209–243. doi:10.1007/BF01065294. PMID 1488463. S2CID 26836596.
- ^ Psychiatric Services: News & Notes American Psychiatric Association, June 2000. Retrieved on 2007-11-06.
- ^ [2] Psychiatric News, June 20, 2003. Retrieved on 2007-11-06.
- ^ [3] Archived 2013-05-17 at the Wayback Machine College announces service awardees and new Masters, March, 2004. Retrieved on 2015-05-23.