Dr. Stephen H. Behnke received his J.D. from Yale Law School and his Ph.D.
in clinical psychology from the University of Michigan. In 1996, Dr. Behnke was
made chief psychologist of the Day Hospital Unit at the Massachusetts Mental
Health Center, a position he held until 1998, when he was named a faculty fellow
in Harvard University's program in Ethics and the Professions. After completing
this fellowship, Dr. Behnke directed a program in research integrity in the Division of Medical
Ethics at Harvard Medical School. In November 2000, Dr. Behnke assumed the position of Director
of Ethics at the American Psychological Association. He holds an appointment in the Department
of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.
Dr. Behnke’s research interests focus on issues at the convergence of law,
ethics, and psychology. He has written on multiple personality disorder and
the insanity defense, on issues involving competence and informed consent to
treatment and research, on forced treatment of the severely mentally ill,
and on state laws relevant to the work of mental health practitioners.
Dr. Behnke co-leads an ethics discussion group at the meetings
of the American Psychoanalytic Association and has consulted to
various psychoanalytic institutes
regarding issues of ethics and law.
Dr. Behnke’s research interests focus on
issues at the convergence of law, ethics, and psychology. He has
written on multiple personality disorder and the insanity
defense, on issues involving competence and informed consent to
treatment and research, on forced treatment of the severely
mentally ill, and on state laws relevant to the work of mental
health practitioners.
