Michael B. First (born 1956) is an American

psychiatrist A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry, the branch of medicine devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, study, and treatment of mental disorders. Psychiatrists are physicians and evaluate patients to determine whether their sy ...

who focuses on

diagnostic criteria Medical diagnosis (abbreviated Dx, Dx, or Ds) is the process of determining which disease or condition explains a person's symptoms and signs. It is most often referred to as diagnosis with the medical context being implicit. The information req ...

for

mental disorder A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitti ...

s. He is Professor of Clinical Psychiatry at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

. First was one of the editors of

DSM-IV-TR The ''Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders'' (DSM; latest edition: DSM-5-TR, published in March 2022) is a publication by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) for the classification of mental disorders using a common langua ...

, the Editor of Text and Criteria for the

DSM-IV The ''Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders'' (DSM; latest edition: DSM-5-TR, published in March 2022) is a publication by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) for the classification of mental disorders using a common langua ...

, and the editor of the

Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV The Structured Clinical Interview for DSM (SCID) is a semi-structured interview guide for making diagnoses according to the diagnostic criteria published in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). The development of SCID h ...

. He also served as consultant to the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...

for the revision of

ICD-11 The ICD-11 is the eleventh revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD). It replaces the ICD-10 as the global standard for recording health information and causes of death. The ICD is developed and annually updated by the World He ...

Life and career

First earned a bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

in 1978. He then graduated from

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the universit ...

with a master's degree, also in Computer Science, and a Doctor of Medicine degree in 1983. He did his psychiatric residency at

Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center (NYP/CUIMC), also known as the Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC), is an academic medical center and the largest campus of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. It includes Co ...

and a fellowship in

biometrics Biometrics are body measurements and calculations related to human characteristics. Biometric authentication (or realistic authentication) is used in computer science as a form of identification and access control. It is also used to identify in ...

at the

New York State Psychiatric Institute The New York State Psychiatric Institute, located at the Columbia University Irving Medical Center in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, was established in 1895 as one of the first institutions in the United States t ...

. He is certified with the American Board of Psychiatry & Neurology. First frequently writes on diagnostic criteria, particularly diagnostic controversies. He has written on several of these controversies, including depression,Carey, Benedict (April 3, 2007)
Many Diagnoses of Depression May Be Misguided, Study Says.
''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

eating disorders An eating disorder is a mental disorder defined by abnormal eating behaviors that negatively affect a person's physical or mental health. Only one eating disorder can be diagnosed at a given time. Types of eating disorders include binge eating ...

,Goode, Erica (October 24, 2000)
Watching Volunteers, Experts Seek Clues to Eating Disorders.
''

'' and desire for

amputation Amputation is the removal of a limb by trauma, medical illness, or surgery. As a surgical measure, it is used to control pain or a disease process in the affected limb, such as malignancy or gangrene. In some cases, it is carried out on indi ...

paralysis Paralysis (also known as plegia) is a loss of motor function in one or more muscles. Paralysis can also be accompanied by a loss of feeling (sensory loss) in the affected area if there is sensory damage. In the United States, roughly 1 in 50 ...

, calling it

body integrity identity disorder Body integrity dysphoria (BID, also referred to as body integrity identity disorder, amputee identity disorder and xenomelia, formerly called apotemnophilia) is a mental disorder characterized by a desire to have a sensory or physical disabili ...

.Henig, Robin Marantz (March 22, 2005)
At War With Their Bodies, They Seek to Sever Limbs.
'

'' He has provided expert opinion and testimony on several high-profile cases, including the federal trial of the accused Al Qaeda terrorist

Zacarias Moussaoui Zacarias Moussaoui (Arabic: زكريا موسوي, '; born May 30, 1968) is a French member of al-Qaeda who pleaded guilty in U.S. federal court to conspiring to kill citizens of the United States as part of the September 11 attacks. He is serv ...

.Roberts, Joel (April 19, 2006).
Victims' Kin Take Stand For Moussaoui.
''

CBS News CBS News is the news division of the American television and radio service CBS. CBS News television programs include the ''CBS Evening News'', ''CBS Mornings'', news magazine programs '' CBS News Sunday Morning'', '' 60 Minutes'', and '' 48 H ...

'' First co-authored ''Am I Okay?: A Layman's Guide to the Psychiatrist's Bible'' with psychiatrist

Allen Frances Allen J. Frances (born 2 October 1942) is an American psychiatrist. He is currently Professor and Chairman Emeritus of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Duke University School of Medicine. He is best known for serving as cha ...

.Frances A, First MB (2000). ''Am I Okay?: A Layman's Guide to the Psychiatrist's Bible.'' Simon and Schuster,

Selected publications

*Kupfer DA, First MB, Regier DA (2002). A Research Agenda for DSM-V. American Psychiatric Publishing, *First MB, Pincus HA, Levine JB, Williams JB, Ustun B, Peele R (2004). Clinical utility as a criterion for revising psychiatric diagnoses. ''

Am J Psychiatry ''The American Journal of Psychiatry'' is a monthly peer-reviewed medical journal covering all aspects of psychiatry, and is the official journal of the American Psychiatric Association. The first volume was issued in 1844, at which time it was ...

''. 2004 Jun;161(6):946-54. *Crawford TN, Cohen P, Johnson JG, Kasen S, First MB, Brook JS (2005). Self-Reported Personality Disorder in the Children in the Community Sample: Convergent and Prospective Validity in Late Adolescence and Adulthood. '' J Pers Disord''. 2005 Feb;19(1):30-52. *First MB (2005). Desire for Amputation of a Limb: Paraphilia, Psychosis, or a New Type of Identity Disorder. ''

Psychological Medicine ''Psychological Medicine'' is a peer-reviewed medical journal in the field of psychiatry and related aspects of psychology and basic sciences. According to the '' Journal Citation Reports'', the journal has a 2020 impact factor of 7.723. His ...

'', 2005, 35:919-928. *First MB, Westen D (2007). Classification for clinical practice: how to make ICD and DSM better able to serve clinicians. ''

International Review of Psychiatry The ''International Review of Psychiatry'' is a bimonthly peer-reviewed medical journal published by Taylor & Francis on behalf of the Institute of Psychiatry ( King's College London). The editors-in-chief are Dinesh Bhugra (Institute of Psychia ...

''. 2007;19: 473-481. *First MB, Spitzer RL, Williams JBW, Gibbon M: Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID-I) - Research Version, Biometrics Research, New York, NY, USA *First MB (2010). DSM-5 Proposals for Paraphilias: Suggestions for Reducing False Positives Related to Use of Behavioral Manifestations. '' Arch Sex Behav'', 2010 Aug 10, *Kendler KS, First MB (2010). Alternative futures for the DSM revision process: iteration v. paradigm shift. '' Br J Psychiatry''. 2010 Oct;197(4):263-5.

References

External links

Michael First, M.D.
via Columbia University Medical Center

{{DEFAULTSORT:First, Michael 1956 births Living people American psychiatrists Columbia University faculty

Life and career

Selected publications

See also

References

External links