Dr. Benedek was the second woman to serve as president of the APA. She was born in Detroit, Michigan, received her M.D. degree (1960) from the University of Michigan in Ann Harbor, interned at Sinai Hospital in Detroit, Michigan, and returned to the University of Michigan to train in general and child psychiatry (1961–65). She later achieved a full professorship at both the University of Michigan and Wayne State University.
Dr. Benedek’s major interest has been in education, serving as an administrator of a pre-adolescent inpatient unit, Associate Director of Child Psychiatry, and Training Director at the Center for Forensic Psychiatry. She has been a consultant to numerous agencies, including Psychiatry and Forensic Affairs, the Institute of Medicine, the Psychiatric Commission on Mental Health, the U.S. Secret Service, and the American Bar Association.
Dr. Benedek’s activities with the APA began in 1972, when she was a member of the Task Force on Women in Psychiatry. She served on numerous committees and on the Board of Trustees. She has been a member of the Group for the Advancement of Psychiatry; the Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry; the Michigan Council on Child Psychiatry; and the American College of Psychiatrists. She served as a senior examiner for the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology and has published several books, numerous articles, and book chapters.
Dr. Benedek served as Secretary-Treasurer and Vice-President of the American Psychiatric Association and President (1990–91).