Simon Wessely

89.9k total citations · 17 hit papers
695 papers, 54.8k citations indexed

About

Simon Wessely is a scholar working on Clinical Psychology, Psychiatry and Mental health and General Health Professions. According to data from OpenAlex, Simon Wessely has authored 695 papers receiving a total of 54.8k indexed citations (citations by other indexed papers that have themselves been cited), including 310 papers in Clinical Psychology, 278 papers in Psychiatry and Mental health and 226 papers in General Health Professions. Recurrent topics in Simon Wessely's work include Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Research (207 papers), Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Research (200 papers) and Migration, Health and Trauma (116 papers). Simon Wessely is often cited by papers focused on Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Research (207 papers), Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Research (200 papers) and Migration, Health and Trauma (116 papers). Simon Wessely collaborates with scholars based in United Kingdom, United States and Australia. Simon Wessely's co-authors include Neil Greenberg, Samantha K. Brooks, Louise Smith, Rebecca Webster, Lisa Woodland, Gideon James Rubin, Matthew Hotopf, Trudie Chalder, G. James Rubin and Nicola T. Fear and has published in prestigious journals such as New England Journal of Medicine, The Lancet and JAMA.

In The Last Decade

Simon Wessely

673 papers receiving 51.6k citations

Hit Papers

5 papers align trajectories

What are hit papers?

Hit papers significantly outperform the citation benchmark for their cohort. A paper qualifies if it has ≥500 total citations, achieves ≥1.5× the top-1% citation threshold for papers in the same subfield and year (this is the minimum needed to enter the top 1%, not the average within it), or reaches the top citation threshold in at least one of its specific research topics.

The psychological impact of quarantine and how to reduce it: rapid review of the evidence

2020 10.7k citations Simon Wessely, Neil Greenberg et al. The Lancet profile →
Development of a fatigue scale

1993 2.3k citations Simon Wessely et al. profile →
Mental health before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: a longitudinal probability sample survey of the UK population

2020 1.9k citations Stephani L. Hatch, Matthew Hotopf et al. profile →
Managing mental health challenges faced by healthcare workers during covid-19 pandemic

2020 1.4k citations Neil Greenberg, Simon Wessely et al. profile →
Public perceptions, anxiety, and behaviour change in relation to the swine flu outbreak: cross sectional telephone survey

2009 858 citations Simon Wessely et al. BMJ profile →
Functional somatic syndromes: one or many?

1999 830 citations Simon Wessely et al. The Lancet profile →
Psychological debriefing for preventing post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

2002 751 citations Simon Wessely et al. profile →
The psychological effects of quarantining a city

2020 702 citations Simon Wessely et al. profile →
The assessment of fatigue

2004 660 citations Simon Wessely et al. profile →
Health-protective behaviour, social media usage and conspiracy belief during the COVID-19 public health emergency

2020 613 citations Simon Wessely et al. Psychological Medicine profile →
Diagnosis and classification of disorders specifically associated with stress: proposals for ICD-11

2013 546 citations Simon Wessely et al. profile →
Population based study of fatigue and psychological distress

1994 543 citations Simon Wessely et al. BMJ profile →
What are the consequences of deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan on the mental health of the UK armed forces? A cohort study

2010 445 citations Nicola T. Fear, Margaret Jones et al. The Lancet profile →
A review of current evidence regarding the ICD-11 proposals for diagnosing PTSD and complex PTSD

2017 441 citations Simon Wessely et al. profile →
Proposals for mental disorders specifically associated with stress in the International Classification of Diseases-11

2013 383 citations Simon Wessely et al. The Lancet profile →
Exercise and the Prevention of Depression: Results of the HUNT Cohort Study

2017 323 citations Stephani L. Hatch, Simon Wessely et al. profile →
Mental health responses to the COVID-19 pandemic: a latent class trajectory analysis using longitudinal UK data

2021 262 citations Matthew Hotopf, Stephani L. Hatch et al. profile →

Peers

Simon Wessely

CP

PMH

GHP

SP

SPS

Glyn Lewis United Kingdom

Bernd Löwe Germany

Cathy D. Sherbourne United States

Anthony F. Jorm Australia

Jordi Alonso Spain

Dan J. Stein South Africa

Peter B. Jones United Kingdom

Kathleen R. Merikangas United States

John E. Ware United States

Hans‐Ulrich Wïttchen Germany

Glyn Lewis United Kingdom

Simon Wessely

16.4k ×0.6

CP

10.9k ×0.7

PMH

7.0k ×0.5

GHP

7.7k ×1.1

SP

3.0k ×0.6

SPS

Citations per year, relative to Simon Wessely Simon Wessely (= 1×) peers Glyn Lewis

Countries citing papers authored by Simon Wessely

Since Specialization

Citations

This map shows the geographic impact of Simon Wessely's research. It shows the number of citations coming from papers published by authors working in each country. You can also color the map by specialization and compare the number of citations received by Simon Wessely with the expected number of citations based on a country's size and research output (numbers larger than one mean the country cites Simon Wessely more than expected).

Fields of papers citing papers by Simon Wessely

Since Specialization

Physical SciencesHealth SciencesLife SciencesSocial Sciences

This network shows the impact of papers produced by Simon Wessely. Nodes represent research fields, and links connect fields that are likely to share authors. Colored nodes show fields that tend to cite the papers produced by Simon Wessely. The network helps show where Simon Wessely may publish in the future.

Co-authorship network of co-authors of Simon Wessely

This figure shows the co-authorship network connecting the top 25 collaborators of Simon Wessely. A scholar is included among the top collaborators of Simon Wessely based on the total number of citations received by their joint publications. Widths of edges represent the number of papers authors have co-authored together. Node borders signify the number of papers an author published with Simon Wessely. Simon Wessely is excluded from the visualization to improve readability, since they are connected to all nodes in the network.

All Works

Sort: Min cites: Since: Top N: Style:

20 of 20 papers shown

1.

Scott, Lauren J, Danielle Lamb, Chris Penfold, et al.. (2025). Predictors of sickness absence and intention to leave the profession among NHS staff in England during the COVID-19 pandemic: a prospective cohort study. BMJ Open. 15(6). e097483–e097483.

2.

Stevelink, Sharon A. M., Danielle Lamb, Neil Greenberg, Simon Wessely, & Ira Madan. (2024). O-062 A MORE ACCURATE PREVALENCE OF PTSD AND COMMON MENTAL DISORDERS IN HEALTHCARE WORKERS IN ENGLAND: A TWO-PHASE EPIDEMIOLOGICAL SURVEY. Occupational Medicine. 74(Supplement_1). 0–0. 1 indexed citations

3.

Rhead, Rebecca, Lisa Harber-Aschan, Juliana Onwumere, et al.. (2024). Ethnic inequalities among NHS staff in England: workplace experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. Occupational and Environmental Medicine. 81(3). 113–121. 3 indexed citations

4.

Keegan, Thomas, et al.. (2024). Sarin exposure, mortality and cancer incidence in UK military veterans involved in human experiments at Porton Down: 52-year follow-up. Occupational and Environmental Medicine. 81(9). 480–488.

5.

Sharp, Marie‐Louise, Margaret Jones, Lisa Hull, et al.. (2023). Health and well-being of serving and ex-serving UK Armed Forces personnel: protocol for the fourth phase of a longitudinal cohort study. BMJ Open. 13(10). e079016–e079016. 2 indexed citations

6.

MacManus, Deirdre, Hannah Dickson, Roxanna Short, et al.. (2019). Risk and protective factors for offending among UK Armed Forces personnel after they leave service: a data linkage study. Psychological Medicine. 51(2). 236–243. 8 indexed citations

7.

O’Connell, Nicola, Timothy R. Nicholson, Simon Wessely, & Anthony S. David. (2019). Characteristics of patients with motor functional neurological disorder in a large UK mental health service: a case–control study. Psychological Medicine. 50(3). 446–455. 31 indexed citations

8.

Leightley, Daniel, Zoe Chui, Margaret Jones, et al.. (2018). Integrating electronic healthcare records of armed forces personnel: Developing a framework for evaluating health outcomes in England, Scotland and Wales. International Journal of Medical Informatics. 113. 17–25. 10 indexed citations

9.

Hines, Lindsey A., Rachael Gribble, Simon Wessely, Christopher Dandeker, & Nicola T. Fear. (2014). Are the Armed Forces Understood and Supported by the Public? A View from the United Kingdom. Armed Forces & Society. 41(4). 688–713. 38 indexed citations

10.

Wessely, Simon. (2014). Headhunters: the Search for a Science of the Mind, Ben Shephard. The Bodley Head/Vintage Publishing (2014), 323, £25·00, ISBN: 9781847921888. The Lancet. 1 indexed citations

11.

Iacoponi, Eduardo, et al.. (2013). A novel method of assessing quality of postgraduate psychiatry training: experiences from a large training programme. BMC Medical Education. 13(1). 85–85. 3 indexed citations

12.

Hughes, Gwenda, Carlos Martínez, E Myon, C. Taïeb, & Simon Wessely. (2005). The impact of a diagnosis of fibromyalgia on health care resource use by primary care patients in the UK: An observational study based on clinical practice. Arthritis & Rheumatism. 54(1). 177–183. 158 indexed citations

13.

Moncrieff, Joanna, Simon Wessely, & Rebecca Hardy. (2004). Active placebos versus antidepressants for depression (Review). UCL Discovery (University College London). 105 indexed citations

14.

Unwin, Catherine, Matthew Hotopf, Lisa Hull, et al.. (2002). Women in the Persian Gulf: Lack of Gender Differences in Long-Term Health Effects of Service in United Kingdom Armed Forces in the 1991 Persian Gulf War. Military Medicine. 167(5). 406–413. 15 indexed citations

15.

Unwin, Catherine, Matthew Hotopf, Lisa Hull, et al.. (2002). Women in the Persian Gulf: Lack of Gender Differences in Long-Term Health Effects of Service in United Kingdom Armed Forces in the 1991 Persian Gulf War. Military Medicine. 167(5). 406–413. 32 indexed citations

16.

Reid, Sean D., Matthew Hotopf, L. Hull, et al.. (2002). Reported chemical sensitivities in a health survey of United Kingdon military personnel. Occupational and Environmental Medicine. 59(3). 196–198. 18 indexed citations

17.

Wessely, Simon. (1998). Session 5. Specific Syndromes with Predominantly Somatic Presentation. The Keio Journal of Medicine. 47(supplement1). A16–A19. 2 indexed citations

18.

Hotopf, Matthew & Simon Wessely. (1997). The earth may move, but let's keep our feet on the ground. BMJ. 315(7123). 1645.1–1645.1. 3 indexed citations

19.

Wessely, Simon. (1997). Chronic fatigue syndrome: a 20th century illness?. PubMed. 23 Suppl 3. 17–34. 35 indexed citations

20.

Wessely, Simon. (1995). Approaching Hysteria: Disease and its Interpretations. BMJ. 310(6988). 1209.2–1210. 3 indexed citations

Rankless uses publication and citation data sourced from OpenAlex, an open and comprehensive bibliographic database. While OpenAlex provides broad and valuable coverage of the global research landscape, it—like all bibliographic datasets—has inherent limitations. These include incomplete records, variations in author disambiguation, differences in journal indexing, and delays in data updates. As a result, some metrics and network relationships displayed in Rankless may not fully capture the entirety of a scholar's output or impact.

Explore authors with similar magnitude of impact