Elyn Saks is the Orrin B. Evans Professor of Law, Psychology, and Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at USC's Gould School of Law, an adjunct professor of Psychiatry at the UCSD School of Medicine, and assistant faculty at the New Center for Psychoanalysis in Los Angeles. In 2009, she received the MacArthur Foundation "Genius Grant."
Despite battling schizophrenia and acute psychosis since she was a teenager, Saks is a nationally recognized scholar in mental health law, criminal law and the ethical dimensions of medical research.
After decades of hiding her illness, Saks published a memoir about her struggles and successes in The Center Cannot Hold: My Journey Through Madness (Hyperion, 2007). The book won far-reaching acclaim from literary critics and advocacy groups.
Her memoir, has garnered such honors as:
- The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Fellowship, the “Genius Grant”
- A New York Times “Extended Best Seller”
- The Time Magazine “Top Ten Nonfiction Books of the Year” Award
- An Honorary LLD from Pepperdine University
- A Hospital ward named after her at Pelham Woods Hospital in Dorking, England
Saks’ scholarship and practice include:
- Worked as a legal intern in the Mental Health Law Project at Yale Legal Services
- Represented Patients in Civil Commitment Hearings and Abuse/Neglect Cases
- Consulted as an Expert in Cases Involving Multiple Personality Disorder and the Law
- Teaches Civil and Criminal Mental Health Law
- Trained as Research Psychoanalyst at the New Center for Psychoanalysis
- Writes widely in the area of law and mental health
