Saleem Alam Shah (December 2, 1931 in

Allahabad Allahabad (), officially known as Prayagraj, also known as Ilahabad, is a metropolis in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.The other five cities were: Agra, Kanpur (Cawnpore), Lucknow, Meerut, and Varanasi (Benares). It is the administrat ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

—November 25, 1992 in

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Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

) was an Indian-American psychologist known for his work regarding

mental health Mental health encompasses emotional, psychological, and social well-being, influencing cognition, perception, and behavior. It likewise determines how an individual handles stress, interpersonal relationships, and decision-making. Mental health ...

and the law. He has been credited with helping to establish

forensic psychiatry Forensic psychiatry is a subspeciality of psychiatry and is related to criminology. It encompasses the interface between law and psychiatry. According to the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, it is defined as "a subspecialty of psychiat ...

as a specialty.

Early life and education

Shah was born on December 2, 1931 in Allahabad, where he received his B.A. from

Allahabad University , mottoeng = "As Many Branches So Many Trees" , established = , type = Public , chancellor = Ashish Chauhan , vice_chancellor = Sangita Srivastava , head_label ...

in 1952. He received part of his master's degree from

Lucknow University The University of Lucknow (informally known as Lucknow University, and LU) is a public state university based in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. Founded in 1920, the University of Lucknow is one of the oldest government owned institutions of higher edu ...

, after which he moved to the United States, where he received his masters' (1955) and doctoral (1957) degrees in

clinical psychology Clinical psychology is an integration of social science, theory, and clinical knowledge for the purpose of understanding, preventing, and relieving psychologically based distress or dysfunction and to promote subjective well-being and persona ...

from

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvan ...

Career

From 1955 to 1956, Shah was an intern at

Spring Grove State Hospital Spring Grove Hospital Center, formerly known as Spring Grove State Hospital, is a psychiatric hospital located in the Baltimore, Maryland, suburb of Catonsville. Founded in 1797 as a general medical and psychiatric retreat, Spring Grove Mental ...

Catonsville Catonsville is a census-designated place (CDP) in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. The population was 41,567 at the 2010 census. The community lies to the west of Baltimore along the city's border. Catonsville contains the majority of th ...

, Maryland. From 1956 to 1959, he was a consulting psychologist at the Allegany County Mental Health Clinic, after which he joined the Legal Psychiatric Services Division of the District of Columbia Health Department. He remained at the D.C. Health Department until 1966, spending much of his time there as chief psychologist. In 1966, he joined the

National Institute of Mental Health The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) is one of 27 institutes and centers that make up the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The NIH, in turn, is an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and is the prima ...

(NIMH), after which he became director of the Center for Studies of Crime and Delinquency, a program dedicated to researching antisocial and violent behavior. In 1987, he resigned as director of that program to focus more on research and consultation at the NIMH, where he subsequently became a senior scientist.

Death

On November 25, 1992, Shah died in the Shock Trauma Unit of the

University of Maryland Medical Center The University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC) is a teaching hospital with 806 beds based in Baltimore, Maryland, that provides the full range of health care to people throughout Maryland and the Mid-Atlantic region. It gets more than 26,000 inpa ...

in Baltimore, as a result of injuries sustained in a car accident six days earlier. Shah was killed by a drunk driver. He is survived today by his six daughters and thirteen grandchildren.

Recognition

Shah received the Isaac Ray Award from the

American Psychiatric Association The American Psychiatric Association (APA) is the main professional organization of psychiatrists and trainee psychiatrists in the United States, and the largest psychiatric organization in the world. It has more than 37,000 members are involve ...

, as well as the Amicus Award from the

American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law The American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law (AAPL) is a professional organization in the field of forensic psychiatry. History and organization AAPL was founded in 1969. It currently has more than 1,500 members in North America and around the w ...

. Since 1995, the

American Psychology-Law Society American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

has awarded the Saleem Shah Early Career Award annually in his honor.

References

External links

Saleem A. Shah: The man and his imperative
'' Law and Human Behavior'', 1995, Thomas Grisso & Henry J. Steadman {{DEFAULTSORT:Shah, Saleem Alam 1931 births 1992 deaths Road incident deaths in Maryland Indian emigrants to the United States 20th-century American psychologists Scientists from Allahabad University of Allahabad alumni Pennsylvania State University alumni National Institutes of Health people Forensic psychologists