Hello, I'm Dr. Rupi Legha.
Daughter. Aunty. Scholar. Activist. Friend.
My Story
In late 2020, I got tired of providing mental healthcare in uncaring settings and teaching antiracism in racist institutions. So, I quit academics and started my own practice. Today, I am an independent clinician scholar activist and President of Rupinder K Legha, MD PC.
I'm an expert in:
❤️ Heart-centered mental healthcare that promotes intergenerational healing (CA, NY, NJ). As a double-board certified adult and child and adolescent psychiatrist, I specialize in providing holistic psychiatric services to children, adults, and families.
✊🏽 Antiracism activism that gives children and families the full informed consent about mental health "care" and protects them against harm at school, work, and in community settings.
🪧 Clinical activism that avoids coercion and force and prevents medical trauma while protecting people against systems of oppression.
✍🏽 Scholarly writing and teaching about antiracism in healthcare, mental healthcare, medical education, and clinical supervision and training.
Since becoming independent, I have published dozens of articles, provided hundreds of hours of outstanding care, and taught dozens of health professionals (students).
In early 2024, I'm launching the Antiracism in Mental Health Fellowship, the very first comprehensive medical educational training program for health professionals who want to engage in antiracism but don't know where to start.
Education & Training
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UCLA Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship
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Harvard Medical School and Partners in Health Dr. Mario Pagenel Fellowship in Global Mental Health Delivery (Haiti, Peru)
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University of Colorado Adult Psychiatry Residency
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Harvard Medical School, MD (Honors)
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Duke University, BA in History (Summa Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa)
Awards & Honors
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Gertrude Rogers Greenblatt Award (clinical excellence in child psychiatry), UCLA Division of Child Psychiatry
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Ritvo Award (academic excellence in child psychiatry), UCLA Division of Child Psychiatry
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Laughlin Fellow, American College of Psychiatrists
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Minority Fellowship Program Grantee, American Psychiatric Association
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Gold Humanism in Medicine Award
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Fellow, Group for the Advancement of Psychiatry
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Fulbright Scholar, South Korea
Board Certification & Licensure
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Diplomate of the American Board of Psychiatry & Neurology, Psychiatry
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Diplomate of the American Board of Psychiatry & Neurology, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
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California, New York, and New Jersey Medical License
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California DEA License
Research & Scholarship
- Co-Founder, Antiracism Healing Collaborative, Home of the Antiracism in Medicine Curriculum Series
- Global Mental Health Researcher, Harvard Medical School, Department of Global Health and Social Medicine
- Health Services Researcher, University of Colorado Centers for American Indian and Alaska Native Health
Selected Publications
Articles
An Anti-Racist Approach to Achieving Mental Health Equity in Clinical Care
Legha RK and Miranda J.
Psychiatric Clinics of North America 2020;43(3): 451-569.
An Abolitionist Approach to Antiracist Medical Education. AMA J Ethics
Asmerom B, Legha RK, Mabeza RM, Nuñez V.
2022;24(3): E194-E200.
The Color of Child Protection: Antiracism and Abolition in Child Mental Health
Legha, RK and Gordon-Achebe K.
Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America 2022 Oct;31(4): 693-718.
Nurturing Children's Mental Health Body and Soul: Confronting American Child Psychiatry's Racist Past to Reimagine Its Antiracist Future
Legha RK, Clayton A, Yuen, L, Gordon-Achebe K.
Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America 2022 Apr;31(2): 277-294.
White Supremacy Culture and the Assimilation Trauma of Medical Training: Ungaslighting the Physician Burnout Discourse
Legha RK and Martinek N.
BMJ Medical Humanities 2022.
Book Chapters
Legacy of racism in American medicine and psychiatry. In Racism and Psychiatry: Formulation and Treatment in a Social Justice Era
Gordon K, Starks S, Hairston D, Legha R., 1st edition, ed. M Medlock et al., Springer Publishing Co., New York, NY, 2018.
How Do Mental Health Policies Affect Disparities? In Mental Health and Mental Health Care? In Handbook on Mental Health Policy: Controversies and Challenges
Miranda J, Snowden L, Legha R., 1st edition, ed. H. Goldman et al., Palgrave Macmillan Publishers, 2018.
