Hello
Steven A. Cole, MD, MA
About Me
Steven Cole, MD, MA (Sociology) is Professor of Psychiatry, Emeritus at Stony Brook University School of Medicine, and Clinical Professor of Scientific Education and Psychiatry at the Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell. Trained at Harvard, Duke University, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Dr. Cole is Board Certified in Adult Psychiatry and has attained Added Qualifications in both Geriatric Psychiatry and Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry. He has received grants and contracts from the Jonathan D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and many others, most related to depression in primary care or in the medically ill.
Dr. Cole has achieved wide recognition as an expert on medical communication. He published a premier textbook on the medical interview, first published in 1991, with its fourth edition now in press, Cole SA, Frankel RM, Bird J, Skeff KM: The Medical Interview for Relationship-Centered Care: The Three Function Approach, Elsevier, in press, 2026.
Dr. Cole is a member of MINT, (Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers) and with contributions from MINT and other colleagues, developed Brief Action Planning (BAP) and BAP-MI, pragmatic, evidence-informed/evidence-based, and versatile MI-consistent skill sets designed to support patient self-management and facilitate health behavior change. He has published more than 50 peer-reviewed journal articles, 35 book chapters, and 150 scholarly posters and presentations nationally and internationally.
Dr. Cole is the Founder and current Director of the BAP Professional Network (www.BAPPN.org), a 501 3c, not for profit.
Full CV (PDF) »
Stony Brook University »
Dr. Cole has achieved wide recognition as an expert on medical communication. He published a premier textbook on the medical interview, first published in 1991, with its fourth edition now in press, Cole SA, Frankel RM, Bird J, Skeff KM: The Medical Interview for Relationship-Centered Care: The Three Function Approach, Elsevier, in press, 2026.
Dr. Cole is a member of MINT, (Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers) and with contributions from MINT and other colleagues, developed Brief Action Planning (BAP) and BAP-MI, pragmatic, evidence-informed/evidence-based, and versatile MI-consistent skill sets designed to support patient self-management and facilitate health behavior change. He has published more than 50 peer-reviewed journal articles, 35 book chapters, and 150 scholarly posters and presentations nationally and internationally.
Dr. Cole is the Founder and current Director of the BAP Professional Network (www.BAPPN.org), a 501 3c, not for profit.
Full CV (PDF) »
Stony Brook University »