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| Elyn Saks | |
|---|---|
| Name | Elyn Saks |
| Birth date | 1955 |
| Occupation | Legal scholar, psychiatrist (psychologist by training), author |
| Nationality | American |
| Notable works | The Center Cannot Hold |
| Awards | MacArthur Fellowship |
Elyn Saks is an American legal scholar, mental health advocate, and author known for her work at the intersection of law and psychiatry and for her memoir chronicling living with schizophrenia. She has held academic appointments at University of Southern California, contributed to debates involving Supreme Court of the United States decisions on civil liberties, and engaged with organizations such as the American Psychiatric Association and the MacArthur Foundation.
Born in 1955, Saks grew up in the United States and attended preparatory schools before matriculating at Yale University, where she completed undergraduate studies alongside peers who later entered institutions such as Harvard University and Stanford University. She earned a law degree from Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar and completed a Juris Doctor at Yale Law School, studying topics related to constitutional law and civil rights litigation while interacting with faculty from Columbia Law School and University of Chicago Law School.
Saks joined the faculty of the University of Southern California Gould School of Law, holding appointments that bridged legal ethics and mental health law. Her professional affiliations have included collaborations with scholars at Harvard Law School, University of California, Berkeley, and New York University School of Law on projects concerning criminal justice reform and disability rights. She has served on advisory boards for institutions such as the American Psychological Association, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, and the National Institutes of Health, and has been invited to lecture at venues including the Supreme Court of the United States, the Brookings Institution, and the National Academy of Sciences.
A prominent advocate for reform in mental health policy, Saks has spoken to audiences at TED Conferences and at forums hosted by the MacArthur Foundation and the Hastings Center, emphasizing rights discussed in statutes like the Americans with Disabilities Act and decisions from the Supreme Court of the United States addressing capacity and commitment. She has engaged with advocacy groups including the World Health Organization, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, and Mental Health America, and has testified before legislative bodies such as the United States Congress and state legislatures about civil commitment, patient autonomy, and community services. Her public lectures have been featured at academic venues like Columbia University, Princeton University, and Duke University and at conferences organized by the American Psychiatric Association and the Royal Society.
Saks is the author of the memoir The Center Cannot Hold, which recounts her experiences and has been discussed in reviews in outlets like The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Guardian. Her scholarly articles have appeared in journals affiliated with Yale Law Journal, Harvard Law Review, and The Lancet Psychiatry, addressing intersections among mental health law, criminal justice reform, and bioethics. She has contributed chapters to edited volumes published by presses such as Oxford University Press and Cambridge University Press and has written for periodicals including The Atlantic, New Yorker, and Nature on topics related to policy, practice, and rights.
Saks received a MacArthur Fellowship in recognition of her contributions linking legal scholarship and mental health, and has been honored by organizations including the American Psychiatric Association, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, and the American Psychological Association. Her work has been cited by commentators in The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and The Wall Street Journal, and she has been awarded fellowships or visiting appointments at institutions such as Harvard University, Oxford University, and the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study.
Saks has publicly described living with schizophrenia and has detailed her experiences with psychiatric hospitalization, medication, and psychotherapy in venues including her memoir and lectures at TED Conferences, University of Oxford, and Harvard Medical School. She has discussed interactions with clinical systems overseen by organizations like the American Psychiatric Association and legal regimes shaped by statutes such as the Americans with Disabilities Act and rulings from the Supreme Court of the United States, advocating for patient rights, supported decision-making, and community-based services promoted by groups including the World Health Organization and Mental Health America.
Category:American legal scholars Category:MacArthur Fellows