Gary Brucato

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Gary Brucato, Ph.D. is an American clinical psychologist, researcher and author in the areas of psychosis and serious violence who has been the Assistant Director of the Center of Prevention and Evaluation (COPE) at the New York State Psychiatric Institute (NYPSI) and Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUMC) in Manhattan, New York since 2013. He is an Associate Research Scientist at CUMC. [1]

Doctor of Philosophy Postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities in many countries

A Doctor of Philosophy is the highest university degree that is conferred after a course of study by universities in most countries. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. As an earned research degree, those studying for a PhD are usually required to produce original research that expands the boundaries of knowledge, normally in the form of a thesis or dissertation, and defend their work against experts in the field. The completion of a PhD is often a requirement for employment as a university professor, researcher, or scientist in many fields. Individuals who have earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree may, in many jurisdictions, use the title Doctor or, in non-English-speaking countries, variants such as "Dr. phil." with their name, although the proper etiquette associated with this usage may also be subject to the professional ethics of their own scholarly field, culture, or society. Those who teach at universities or work in academic, educational, or research fields are usually addressed by this title "professionally and socially in a salutation or conversation." Alternatively, holders may use post-nominal letters such as "Ph.D.", "PhD", or "DPhil". It is, however, considered incorrect to use both the title and post-nominals at the same time.

Psychosis abnormal condition of the mind that involves a loss of contact with reality

Psychosis is an abnormal condition of the mind that results in difficulties determining what is real and what is not. Symptoms may include false beliefs (delusions) and seeing or hearing things that others do not see or hear (hallucinations). Other symptoms may include incoherent speech and behavior that is inappropriate for the situation. There may also be sleep problems, social withdrawal, lack of motivation, and difficulties carrying out daily activities.

Violence use of physical force or power with the intent to inflict harm

Violence is "the use of physical force so as to injure, abuse, damage, or destroy.". Less conventional definitions are also used, such as the World Health Organization's definition of violence as "the intentional use of physical force or power, threatened or actual, against oneself, another person, or against a group or community, which either results in or has a high likelihood of resulting in injury, death, psychological harm, maldevelopment, or deprivation."

Contents

Biography

Brucato was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1978. He received his B.A. from St. John's University (New York City campus) in 2000, and his M.A. and Ph.D. from The New School for Social Research in 2003 and 2008, respectively. His mentors and teachers have included forensic psychologist Dr. Ali Khadivi; neurologist Dr. Marcel Kinsbourne; clinical psychologists Dr. David A. Shapiro and Dr. Herbert J. Schlesinger; developmental psychologist and historian Dr. John D. Hogan; and forensic psychiatrist Dr. Michael H. Stone. Prior to CUMC, his clinical and research training, and postdoctoral work included positions at Creedmoor Psychiatric Center, Beth Israel Medical Center, Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center, The Zucker Hillside Hospital at Long Island Jewish Medical Center, and Mount Sinai Services/Elmhurst Hospital Center (including the Rikers Island women’s forensic unit). He resides in New York City. [2]

St. Johns University (New York City) university in New York City, New York, United States

St. John's University is a private Catholic university in New York City. Founded and run by the Congregation of the Mission in 1870, the school was originally located in the neighborhood of Bedford–Stuyvesant in the borough of Brooklyn. In the 1950s, the school was relocated to its current site at Utopia Parkway in Hillcrest, Queens. St. John's also has campuses in Staten Island and Manhattan in New York City and overseas in Rome, Italy. In addition, the university has a Long Island Graduate Center in Hauppauge, along with academic locations in Paris, France, and Limerick, Ireland. The university is named after Saint John the Baptist.

The New School for Social Research (NSSR) is an educational institution that is part of The New School in New York City, United States. The university was founded in 1919 as a home for progressive thinkers. The New School for Social Research explores and promotes global peace and justice as more than theoretical ideals. The New School for Social Research enrolls more than 1,000 students from all regions of the United States and from more than 70 countries.

Marcel Kinsbourne is an Austrian-born pediatric neurologist and cognitive neuroscientist who was an early pioneer in the study of brain lateralization.

Research

Brucato’s research has focused upon the phenomenology of early psychotic conditions, including schizophrenia and mood disorders with psychotic features, in their attenuated or prodromal phases, [3] [4] [5] as well as the relationship between psychotic symptoms and violence risk. [6] [7] [8] He and his research team at COPE investigate potential biomarkers [9] and screening measures for optimally identifying vulnerability for psychosis; [10] study related issues of stigma; [11] and examine distinctions between individuals experiencing auditory versus visual hallucinations and illusions. [12]

Schizophrenia Mental disorder characterized by abnormal behavior and misinterpretation of reality

Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by abnormal behavior, strange speech, and a decreased ability to understand reality. Other symptoms may include false beliefs, unclear or confused thinking, hearing voices that do not exist, reduced social engagement and emotional expression, and lack of motivation. People with schizophrenia often have additional mental health problems such as anxiety, depression, or substance-use disorders. Symptoms typically come on gradually, begin in young adulthood, and, in many cases, never resolve.

Social stigma is the disapproval of, or discrimination against, a person based on perceivable social characteristics that serve to distinguish them from other members of a society. Social stigmas are commonly related to culture, gender, race, intelligence and health.

Alongside Dr. Ragy Girgis at CUMC, Brucato has proposed a model of psychosis and violence in which approximately one-third of individuals at risk for psychotic illness experience intrusive, ego-dystonic violent thoughts, images and fantasies, with a small portion progressing to actual aggressive acts which closely temporally coincide with the onset of syndromal psychosis. Such aggression is random and unfocused, rarely affecting previously envisioned targets. He and Girgis have proposed that violence risk remains elevated through the resolution of the first episode of psychosis, and thereafter becomes rare across the lifetime, except with poor adherence with prescribed psychotropic medications, or the disinhibiting effects of substance or alcohol use. [13] [14] Their research group has also described abnormal amygdalar morphometry in persons at risk of psychosis who experience intrusive violent ideation. [15]

In 2019, Brucato and Dr. Michael H. Stone coauthored The New Evil: Understanding the Emergence of Modern Violent Crime, [16] in which they collaborated to expand upon and better distinguish between 22 motivational profiles of persons who engage in serial murder, mass murder and spree murder; protracted torture; rape and sexual assault; cannibalism; child abuse; and other violent acts, previously proposed by Stone on the Discovery Channel program "Most Evil," which he hosted from 2006 and 2007, and further delineated in his book The Anatomy of Evil in 2009. [17] [18] The now expanded Gradations of Evil scale Stone and Brucato describe in The New Evil delineates between acts with more “human” motivations, such as homicides in self-defense and crimes of passion, and violence associated with personalities characterized by various levels of psychopathic and sadistic traits and behaviors. [19] [20] [21] [22] Additionally, they addressed the psychological, biological and sociological factors behind particularly cruel and violent acts, exploring the wider question of “evil.” They considered the effects of new technologies, and sociological and historical factors since a possible cultural tipping-point in the 1960s that may have set the stage for an era of what Stone and Brucato call "new” evil. This includes (1) crimes that were not possible due to technologies that did not exist prior to the 1960s, such as the Internet, social media and availability to civilians of semiautomatic weapons; (2) violent acts not known to have ever occurred before the 1960s, such as fetal abduction; (3) offenses, such as serial sexual homicide, which became far more common in the Western world during this period; and (4) crimes which have been common across history, but which appear to have taken on new levels of audacity or cruelty in the post-1960s era, which the authors attribute to cultural changes affecting personality and behavior. [23] [24] [25] [26]

Michael H. Stone, M.D. is an American psychiatrist and Professor of Clinical Psychiatry at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York City.

Mass murder act of murdering a large number of people

Mass murder is the act of murdering a number of people, typically simultaneously or over a relatively short period of time and in close geographic proximity. The FBI defines mass murder as murdering four or more people during an event with no "cooling-off period" between the murders. A mass murder typically occurs in a single location where one or more people kill several others.

Torture intentional infliction of physical or mental suffering upon a person or an animal

Torture is the act of deliberately inflicting severe physical or psychological suffering on someone by another as a punishment or in order to fulfill some desire of the torturer or force some action from the victim. Torture, by definition, is a knowing and intentional act; deeds which unknowingly or negligently inflict suffering or pain, without a specific intent to do so, are not typically considered torture.

Stone and Brucato have also worked with Dr. Ann Burgess and colleagues at Boston College to establish systematic definitions for the terms dismemberment and mutilation, and examine various motives for homicides involving these features. [27] [28]

Ann C. Wolbert Burgess is a researcher whose work has focused on developing ways to assess and treat trauma in rape victims. She is a professor at the William F. Connell School of Nursing at Boston College.

Boston College private research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States

Boston College is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. The university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. The university's name reflects its early history as a liberal arts college and preparatory school in Boston's South End. It is a member of the 568 Group and the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities. Its main campus is a historic district and features some of the earliest examples of collegiate gothic architecture in North America.

Dismemberment The act of removing limbs or other body parts of a living or dead person

Dismemberment refers, in general terms, to the act of cutting, tearing, pulling, wrenching or otherwise removing the limbs of a living thing. It has been practiced upon human beings as a form of capital punishment, especially in connection with regicide, but can occur as a result of a traumatic accident, or in connection with murder, suicide, or cannibalism. As opposed to surgical amputation of the limbs, dismemberment is often fatal to all but the simplest of creatures. In criminology, a distinction is made between offensive dismemberment, in which dismemberment is the primary objective of the dismemberer, and defensive dismemberment, in which the motivation is to destroy evidence.

Related Research Articles

Schizoaffective disorder is a mental disorder characterized by abnormal thought processes and an unstable mood. The diagnosis is made when the person has symptoms of both schizophrenia and a mood disorder—either bipolar disorder or depression—but does not meet the diagnostic criteria for schizophrenia or a mood disorder individually. The main criterion for the schizoaffective disorder diagnosis is the presence of psychotic symptoms for at least two weeks without any mood symptoms present. Schizoaffective disorder can often be misdiagnosed when the correct diagnosis may be psychotic depression, psychotic bipolar disorder, schizophreniform disorder or schizophrenia. It is imperative for providers to accurately diagnose patients, as treatment and prognosis differs greatly for each of these diagnoses.

Stimulant psychosis is a mental disorder characterized by psychotic symptoms which involves and typically occurs following an overdose on psychostimulants; however, it has also been reported to occur in approximately 0.1% of individuals, or 1 out of every 1,000 people, within the first several weeks after starting amphetamine or methylphenidate therapy.

Suicidal ideation Having an unusual preoccupation with suicide

Suicidal ideation, also known as suicidal thoughts, is thinking about, considering, or planning suicide. The range of suicidal ideation varies from fleeting thoughts, to extensive thoughts, to detailed planning.

The trauma model of mental disorders, or trauma model of psychopathology, emphasises the effects of physical, sexual and psychological trauma as key causal factors in the development of psychiatric disorders, including depression and anxiety as well as psychosis, whether the trauma is experienced in childhood or adulthood. It conceptualises victims as having understandable reactions to traumatic events rather than suffering from mental illness.

Dr. Thomas McGlashan is an American professor of psychiatry at Yale University, well known for his academic contributions to the study of schizophrenia and other mental illnesses.

<i>Most Evil</i> television series

Most Evil is an American forensics television program on Investigation Discovery presented by forensic psychiatrist Dr. Michael H. Stone of Columbia University during Seasons 1 & 2; and by forensic psychologist Dr. Kris Mohandie during Season 3. On the show, the presenter rates murderers on a scale of evil that Stone himself has developed. The show features profiles on various murderers, serial killers, and mass murder of various degrees of psychopathy.

Psychopathy is traditionally a personality disorder characterized by persistent antisocial behavior, impaired empathy and remorse, and bold, disinhibited, and egotistical traits. It is sometimes considered synonymous with sociopathy. Different conceptions of psychopathy have been used throughout history that are only partly overlapping and may sometimes be contradictory.

Homicidal ideation is a common medical term for thoughts about homicide. There is a range of homicidal thoughts which spans from vague ideas of revenge to detailed and fully formulated plans without the act itself. Many people who have homicidal ideation do not commit homicide. 50-91% of people surveyed on university grounds in various places in the United States admit to having had a homicidal fantasy. Homicidal ideation is common, accounting for 10-17% of patient presentations to psychiatric facilities in the United States.

Menstrual psychosis is a term describing psychosis with a brief, sudden onset related to the menstrual cycle, often in the late luteal phase just before menstruation. The symptoms associated to it are dramatic and may include delirium, mania or mutism. Most psychiatrists do not recognise the syndrome as a distinct condition.

Early intervention in psychosis is a clinical approach to those experiencing symptoms of psychosis for the first time. It forms part of a new prevention paradigm for psychiatry and is leading to reform of mental health services, especially in the United Kingdom and Australia.

Barbara A. Cornblatt is a professor of psychiatry and molecular medicine at Hofstra Northwell School of Medicine. Cornblatt is known for research on the treatment and cause of serious mental illness, with a specific focus on Psychosis and Schizophrenia. Her focus is on finding treatments to help the youth with mental illnesses led to the development of the Recognition and Prevention Program, which she founded in 1998. In 1996 she was the recipient of the Joseph Zubin Award.

Jeffrey Lieberman American psychiatrist

Jeffrey Alan Lieberman is an American psychiatrist who specializes in schizophrenia and related psychoses and their associated neuroscience (biology) and drugs. He was principal investigator for CATIE, the largest and longest independent study ever funded by the United States National Institute of Mental Health to examine existing therapies for schizophrenia.

Long-term effects of cannabis

The long-term effects of cannabis have been the subject of ongoing debate. Because cannabis is illegal in most countries, research presents a challenge; as such, there remains much to be concluded.

Patrick McGorry Irish–Australian psychiatrist

Patrick Dennistoun McGorry FAA FASSA FAHMS FRCP FRANZCP is an Irish-born Australian psychiatrist known for his development of the early intervention services for emerging mental disorders in young people.

Substance-induced psychosis is a form of substance use disorder where psychosis can be attributed to substance use. It is a psychosis that results from the effects of chemicals or drugs, including those produced by the body itself. Various psychoactive substances have been implicated in causing or worsening psychosis in users.

Neurocriminology

Neurocriminology is an emerging sub-discipline of biocriminology and criminology that applies brain imaging techniques and principles from neuroscience to understand, predict, and prevent crime.

At risk mental state is the clinical presentation of those considered at risk of developing psychosis or schizophrenia. Such states were formerly considered treated as prodromes, emerging symptoms of psychosis, but this view is no longer prevalent as a prodromal period can not be confirmed unless the emergence of the condition has occurred.

Celso Arango is a Spanish psychiatrist who has worked extensively as a clinician, researcher, and educator in psychiatry and mental health, notably in the field of child and adolescent psychiatry, psychosis, and mental health promotion. As a result of this work, Dr. Arango has received national and international recognition with the most prestigious awards and distinctions in the field of psychiatry.

References

  1. ↑ "Gary Brucato, PhD". Columbia University Department of Psychiatry.
  2. ↑ Michael H. Stone & Gary Brucato. The New Evil: Understanding the Emergence of Modern Violent Crime (Amherst, New York: Prometheus Books, 2019), pp. 503-504.
  3. ↑ Brucato, Gary; et al. (August 2017). "Baseline demographics, clinical features and predictors of conversion among 200 individuals in a longitudinal prospective psychosis-risk cohort". Psychological Medicine. 11 (47): 1923–1935. doi:10.1017/S0033291717000319.
  4. ↑ Crump, Francesca; et al. (December 2018). "Attenuated first-rank symptoms and conversion to psychosis in a clinical high-risk". Early Intervention in Psychiatry. 6 (12): 1213–1216. doi:10.1111/eip.12529.
  5. ↑ Ciarleglio, Adam J.; et al. (May 2019). "A Predictive Model for Conversion to Psychosis in Clinical High-Risk Patients". Psychological Medicine. 7 (49): 1128–1137. doi:10.1017/S003329171800171X.
  6. ↑ Brucato, Gary; et al. (January 2018). "A Longitudinal Study of Violent Behavior in a Psychosis-Risk Cohort". Neuropsychopharmacology. 2 (43): 264–271. doi:10.1038/npp.2017.151.
  7. ↑ Brucato, Gary; et al. (April 2019). "Prevalence and Phenomenology of Violent Ideation and Behavior among 200 Young People at Clinical High-Risk for Psychosis: An Emerging Model of Violence and Psychotic Illness". Neuropsychopharmacology. 5 (44): 907–914. doi:10.1038/s41386-018-0304-5.
  8. ↑ Feng, X.; et al. (May 30, 2019). "Amygdalar volume and violent ideation in a sample at clinical high-risk for psychosis". Psychiatry Research Neuroimaging (287): 60–62. doi:10.1016/j.pscychresns.2019.04.003.
  9. ↑ Lieberman, Jeffrey A.; et al. (August 2018). "Hippocampal dysfunction in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia: A selective review and hypothesis for early detection and intervention". Molecular Psychiatry. 8 (23): 1764–1772. doi:10.1038/mp.2017.249.
  10. ↑ Ciarleglio, Adam J.; et al. (May 2019). "A Predictive Model for Conversion to Psychosis in Clinical High-Risk Patients". Psychological Medicine. 7 (49): 1128–1137. doi:10.1017/S003329171800171X.
  11. ↑ Yang, Larry H.; et al. (June 2019). "Impact of "psychosis risk" identification: Examining predictors of how youth view themselves". Schizophrenia Research (208): 300–307. doi:10.1016/j.schres.2019.01.037.
  12. ↑ Lehembre-Shiah, E.; et al. (January 1, 2017). "Distinct Relationships Between Visual and Auditory Perceptual Abnormalities and Conversion to Psychosis in a Clinical High-Risk Population". JAMA Psychiatry (74): 104–106. doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2016.3055. PMC   5337304 .
  13. ↑ Brucato, Gary; et al. (January 2018). "A Longitudinal Study of Violent Behavior in a Psychosis-Risk Cohort". Neuropsychopharmacology. 2 (43): 264–271. doi:10.1038/npp.2017.151.
  14. ↑ Brucato, Gary; et al. (April 2019). "Prevalence and Phenomenology of Violent Ideation and Behavior among 200 Young People at Clinical High-Risk for Psychosis: An Emerging Model of Violence and Psychotic Illness". Neuropsychopharmacology. 5 (44): 907–914. doi:10.1038/s41386-018-0304-5.
  15. ↑ Feng, X.; et al. (May 30, 2019). "Amygdalar volume and violent ideation in a sample at clinical high-risk for psychosis". Psychiatry Research Neuroimaging (287): 60–62. doi:10.1016/j.pscychresns.2019.04.003.
  16. ↑ Michael H. Stone & Gary Brucato. The New Evil: Understanding the Emergence of Modern Violent Crime (Amherst, New York: Prometheus Books, 2019)
  17. ↑ Liptak, Adam (2007-04-02). "Adding Method to Judging Mayhem". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2018-10-27. Retrieved 2018-10-27. Dr. Stone, a professor of clinical psychiatry at Columbia, said he had put the scale together based on the biographies of hundreds of killers.
  18. ↑ Michael H. Stone. The Anatomy of Evil (Amherst, New York: Prometheus Books, 2009).
  19. ↑ Janos, Adam. ""Dahmer and Others: Ranking Serial Killers on a Scale of Evil"". A&E TV.
  20. ↑ Haney, Katie. ""What Do We Know About Female Psychopaths?"". New York Magazine: The Cut.
  21. ↑ "The Karen Conti Show," WGN Radio, April 7, 2019, https://wgnradio.com/2019/04/07/karen-conti-full-show-4-7-19/.
  22. ↑ "The Dana Prezer Show," Scared Monkeys Radio, April 4, 2019, http://scaredmonkeysradio.com/2019/04/04/the-dana-pretzer-show-thursday-april-4-2019-please-join-dana-pretzer-tonight-at-9-pm-et-with-special-guests-ron-franscell-dr-gary-brucato/.
  23. ↑ Ramsland, Katherine. ""All Things Truly Wicked"". Psychology Today.
  24. ↑ Khedaroo, Jennifer. ""Doctors pen book examining the worst crimes in the past 60 years"". Queens Ledger.
  25. ↑ Interview with David Schrader for "Midnight in the Desert" radio program, Rowland Network Communications LLC, February 18, 2019, http://midnightinthedesert.com/michael-stone-and-gary-brucato/.
  26. ↑ Ramsland, Katherine. ""What Makes Female Psychopaths Different? Callous and opportunistic, female psychopaths are the rarest of a rare breed. Though they share much with their male counterparts, they may be even better equipped to elude detection."". Psychology Today.
  27. ↑ Michael H. Stone & Gary Brucato. The New Evil: Understanding the Emergence of Modern Violent Crime (Amherst, New York: Prometheus Books, 2019), p. 83.
  28. ↑ Ramsland, Katherine. ""All Things Truly Wicked"". Psychology Today.
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