Michael H. Stone,

M.D. Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a professional degree. T ...

(born October 27, 1933) is an American psychiatrist and Professor of Clinical Psychiatry at the

Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons (VP&S) is the graduate medical school of Columbia University, located at the Columbia University Irving Medical Center in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan. Founded i ...

in New York City.

Early life and education

Stone was born in

Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, Onondaga County, New York, United States. It is the fifth-most populous city in the state of New York following New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffa ...

, on October 27, 1933. He acquired his

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

from

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

in 1954, where he was mentored by Professor Harry Caplan in Latin and Greek, and completed medical school at

in 1958. He was mentored by psychoanalyst Dr.

Harold Searles Harold Frederic Searles (September 1, 1918 – November 18, 2015) was one of the pioneers of psychiatric medicine specializing in psychoanalytic treatments of schizophrenia. Searles had the reputation of being a therapeutic virtuoso with difficul ...

from 1958 to 1963, and trained in

hematology Hematology ( always spelled haematology in British English) is the branch of medicine concerned with the study of the cause, prognosis, treatment, and prevention of diseases related to blood. It involves treating diseases that affect the produc ...

under Dr. Allyn Ley at Memorial Sloan-Kettering from 1961 to 1963. He completed training in the Columbia Psychoanalytic Institute in 1971, and from 1996 to 2000, was mentored in

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 ...

by Dr. Charles Smith.

Research

Stone's work has lent support to the need for flexibility in the therapeutic approach to treating

Borderline personality disorder Borderline personality disorder (BPD), also known as emotionally unstable personality disorder (EUPD), is a personality disorder characterized by a long-term pattern of unstable interpersonal relationships, distorted sense of self, and strong ...

, as advocated by Drs. John Livesley,

John G. Gunderson John Gunder Gunderson (June 20, 1942 – January 11, 2019) was a professor of psychiatry at Harvard University and a director at the Borderline center at McLean Hospital. Education, residencies and fellowships Born in Two Rivers, Wisconsin, Gunders ...

and

Thomas McGlashan Dr. Thomas McGlashan (born 1942) is an American professor of psychiatry at Yale University, well known for his academic contributions to the study of schizophrenia and other mental illnesses. Professional career He obtained his medical qualificat ...

. He has described long-term follow-up of patients diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder, 25–50 years after initial contact. In 2017, the American Academy of Psychoanalysis and Dynamic Psychiatry awarded him for a paper describing treatment recommendations for persons with this condition. Stone is also recognized for refining the concept of

psychopathy Psychopathy, sometimes considered synonymous with sociopathy, is characterized by persistent Anti-social behaviour, antisocial behavior, impaired empathy and remorse, and Boldness, bold, Disinhibition, disinhibited, and Egotism, egotistical B ...

, as described by Dr.

Robert D. Hare Robert D. Hare (born 1 January 1934) is a Canadian forensic psychologist, known for his research in the field of criminal psychology. He is a professor emeritus of the University of British Columbia where he specializes in psychopathology and ...

and Dr. David Cooke. From 2006 to 2007, he was the host of the

Discovery Channel Discovery Channel (known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery) is an American cable channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav. , Discovery Channe ...

’s "

Most Evil ''Most Evil'' is an American forensics television program on Investigation Discovery, first aired in 2006, presented by forensic psychiatrist Dr. Michael H. Stone of Columbia University during the program's first three seasons, and by forensic ...

", a true crime program based upon the 22-point Gradations of Evil scale he developed to examine acts of violence which provoke the emotional reaction association commonly termed "evil". According to Stone, "evil" acts are generally shocking and horrible, bewildering, and premeditated, and involve wildly excessive degrees of suffering. His scale, which distinguishes acts with more "human" motivations, such as crimes of self-defense and passion, from violence associated with various degrees of psychopathy and sadism, was formally described in his 2009 book The Anatomy of Evil in 2009 and further delineated alongside clinical psychologist Dr. Gary Brucato in its follow-up volume, The New Evil: Understanding the Emergence of Modern Violent Crime, in 2019. Stone is the author of 11 other books, including The Borderline Syndromes (1980) and Personality-Disordered Patients: Treatable and Untreatable (1996), as well as over 250 articles in professional journals. He has lectured throughout the United States and in forty other countries. Honors for his work have included the Chester Scrignar honorary lecture at Tulane in 2013; the Silverman Lecture at New York Presbyterian/Cornell Hospital in 2013; inclusion in the 2017 and 2018 editions of Who's Who in America; and the 2018 Visionary of the Year Award.

Personal life

Stone lives in New York City with his wife Beth. Both are patrons of the

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is operat ...

and the

New York City Ballet New York City Ballet (NYCB) is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. Balanchine and Jerome Robbins are considered the founding choreographers of the company. Léon Barzin was the company' ...

. Stone has two sons and three grandchildren.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stone, Michael H. 1933 births Living people American forensic psychiatrists Columbia University faculty Cornell University alumni Television personalities from Syracuse, New York