Ted Chabasinski

Ted Chabasinski
Juris Doctor
Born
Theodore Chabasinski

(1937-03-20) March 20, 1937 (age 87)
New York City, U.S.A.
NationalityAmerican
OccupationFormer Directing Attorney for Mental Health Consumer Concerns
Years active1971-present
Known forPsychiatric survivor activist
Leading successful campaign to ban the use of ECT in Berkeley, California (1982)
Board member ofFormer President, Support Coalition International
SpouseJudi Chamberlin (1972-1985)[1]

Ted Chabasinski (born March 20, 1937) is an American psychiatric survivor, human rights activist and attorney who lives in Berkeley, California. At the age of six, he was taken from his foster family's home and committed to a New York psychiatric facility. Diagnosed with childhood schizophrenia, he underwent intensive electroshock therapy (now termed electroconvulsive therapy or ECT) and remained an inmate in a state psychiatric hospital until the age of seventeen. He subsequently trained as a lawyer and became active in the psychiatric survivors movement. In 1982, he was a leader in an initially successful campaign seeking to ban the use of electroshock in Berkeley, California.[2][3]

  1. ^ Chabasinski and Chamberlin separated in 1974, two years after their marriage, and remained close friends. They divorced in 1985 when Chabasinski wanted to remarry.
  2. ^ Ellen Goodman. The Free Lance-Star - Nov 20, 1982
  3. ^ City's electroshock vote affecting treatment. The New York Times. 5 November 1982