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]
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
Kupers is the author of six 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 next two 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] His most recent book,Ending Isolation:The Case Against Solitary Confinement,which he co-authored with Christopher Blackwell,Deborah Zalesne and Kwaneta Harris,continues his focus on the controversial practice of solitary confinement.[14]
Kupers 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. Kupers also authored the screenplay for a TED-Ed short animated video titled “How Isolation Changes Your Brain,” which explores the long-term impacts of social isolation.[15]
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