Ted Chabasinski
Ted Chabasinski | |
|---|---|
| Born | Theodore Chabasinski March 20, 1937 New York City, U.S. |
| Died | November 6, 2025 (aged 88) |
| Occupation | Former Directing Attorney for Mental Health Consumer Concerns |
| Years active | 1971–2025 |
| Known for | Psychiatric survivor activist Leading successful campaign to ban the use of ECT in Berkeley, California (1982) |
| Board member of | Former President, Support Coalition International |
| Spouse | Judi Chamberlin (1972-1985) |
Ted Chabasinski (March 20, 1937 – November 6, 2025) was 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.
Chabasinski died on November 6, 2025, at the age of 88.