Kenneth Mishara Selig was an American psychiatrist and lawyer whose career combined adult and forensic psychiatry with legal training. He practiced in Connecticut, served as a consultant in psychiatric and legal settings, and became an expert witness in legal cases. He died in South Glastonbury in 2022.
Background
Kenneth Mishara Selig was born on September 24, 1950, in Boston, Massachusetts, to Robert Belmont Selig Seligman and Marilyn Mishara Seligman. His professional life later centered on Connecticut, where he combined medical practice with legal work in forensic psychiatry.
Selig died at home in South Glastonbury, Connecticut, on May 25, 2022, at the age of 77. His marriage to Colleen Ann Farrell began in August 1979, and they had two children, Brian Farrell and Amanda Farrell.
Education
Selig received a bachelor's degree from the University of North Carolina in 1972. The university, founded in 1789, was the first public university in the United States to admit students and developed a broad research and professional education tradition.
He earned his Doctor of Medicine from Boston University in 1977. Boston University School of Medicine, established in 1848 as a medical school open to students without regard to race or gender, formed part of Boston's extensive medical and academic environment. He later received a Juris Doctor from Yale University in 1987; Yale, founded in 1701, is one of the oldest American institutions of higher education and has a longstanding tradition in legal education.
Career
Selig began his medical career in psychiatric residency at North Carolina Memorial Hospital in Chapel Hill from 1977 to 1981. The hospital, associated with the University of North Carolina, served as a major academic medical center in the region and provided the setting for his initial specialist training.
From 1981 to 1983 he served on the medical staff of the Institute of Living in Hartford, Connecticut, a psychiatric hospital and center for mental-health treatment and education. Beginning in 1982, he was also consultant staff at Hartford Hospital, one of Connecticut's major hospitals. He maintained a private practice in Hartford from 1983 to 1984.
After completing his legal education at Yale, Selig became co-director of the forensic psychiatry consultant program at the Institute of Living from 1987 to 1990. Forensic psychiatry applies psychiatric assessment and treatment knowledge to legal questions, including matters involving courts, competency, responsibility, and expert testimony. From 1987 he also served as a consultant to the Court Justices Diagnostic Clinic in Hartford.
From 1990 he maintained a private practice in adult and forensic psychiatry in Glastonbury, Connecticut. His combined medical and legal education enabled him to work at the intersection of psychiatric practice and law; a Yale alumni obituary described him as an expert witness in a number of legal cases. He held certification from the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology and was licensed to practice medicine in Connecticut.
Achievements
Selig developed a professional practice combining adult psychiatry, forensic psychiatry, and legal training, and became an expert witness in legal cases.
He helped direct the forensic psychiatry consultant program at the Institute of Living from 1987 to 1990.
Politics
Selig was identified with the Democratic Party. The party is one of the two major political parties in the United States and has historically been associated with liberal and progressive reform, expanded access to social services, civil rights, and government responsibility for public welfare. His professional record documents psychiatric and legal work rather than a public political career, so no more specific political positions are attributed to him.
Membership
Selig held leadership and membership roles in professional, medical, legal, and community organizations. He served as treasurer of the Mental Health Association of Connecticut from 1988 and as chairman of its board of directors from 1991. He also served on the board of directors of the Intercommunity Mental Health Group in Glastonbury from 1986.
His professional memberships included the American Psychiatric Association, the American Bar Association, the American College of Legal Medicine, and the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law. He was also associated with Phi Beta Kappa and Phi Eta Sigma, honor societies connected with academic achievement.
Served as treasurer from 1988 and chairman of the board of directors from 1991.
Mental Health Association of Connecticut
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United States
1988
Served on the board of directors.
Intercommunity Mental Health Group
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United States
1986
Falk fellow from 1979 to 1981.
American Psychiatric Association
,
United States
1979 - 1981
American Bar Association
,
United States
American College of Legal Medicine
,
United States
American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law
,
United States
Phi Beta Kappa
,
United States
Phi Eta Sigma
,
United States
Personality
Quotes from others about the person
A Yale alumni obituary described Selig as an expert witness in a number of legal cases.
Interests
Reading and playing with children.
Sport & Clubs
Chess and tennis.
Connections
Selig married Colleen Ann Farrell in August 1979. They had two children, Brian Farrell and Amanda Farrell. His parents were Robert Belmont Selig Seligman and Marilyn Mishara Seligman.
WebMD, “Dr. Kenneth Mishara Selig, MD”
Documents Selig's psychiatric practice in Glastonbury, his 1977 Boston University medical degree, psychiatric residency, and Connecticut medical license.
