Journal profile · Psychiatry
BRITISH JOURNAL OF PSYCHIATRY
ISSN 0007-1250 · eISSN 1472-1465 · Royal College of Psychiatrists · ENGLAND · Monthly
BRITISH JOURNAL OF PSYCHIATRY: CAS Zone 1 · Medicine (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal); impact factor 8.56; hybrid open access; APC about USD 4,920; review 4–8 weeks (community reports); community-reported acceptance: fairly hard; 386 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE, SSCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
BRITISH JOURNAL OF PSYCHIATRY is published by Royal College of Psychiatrists and is in Zone 1 of Medicine in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Mental Health and Psychiatry, Schizophrenia research and treatment and Psychiatric care and mental health services, together about 32.5% of its articles. Its main subfields are Clinical Psychology. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
The British Journal of Psychiatry (BJPsych) is a leading international peer-reviewed journal, covering all branches of psychiatry with a particular emphasis on the clinical aspects of each topic. Published monthly on behalf of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, the journal is committed to improving the prevention, investigation, diagnosis, treatment, and care of mental illness, as well as the promotion of mental health globally. In addition to authoritative original research articles from around the world, the journal publishes editorials, review articles, commentaries on contentious articles, a comprehensive book review section and a lively, well-informed correspondence column. BJPsych is essential reading for psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, and all professionals with an interest in mental health.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Psychiatry
Editor-in-chief Gin Malhi AllowPublisher website
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Mental Health and PsychiatryArts and Humanities12.6%
- Schizophrenia research and treatmentMedicine12.4%
- Psychiatric care and mental health servicesPsychology7.5%
- Diverse Scientific and Economic StudiesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance6.9%
- Mental Health Treatment and AccessPsychology6.3%
- Psychotherapy Techniques and ApplicationsPsychology5.6%
- Treatment of Major DepressionMedicine4.2%
- Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional DevelopmentPsychology4%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Medicine Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Psychiatry | Zone 1 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Medicine Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Psychiatry | Zone 1 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Medicine Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Psychiatry | Zone 1 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIESSCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor
- 8.56LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 12Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 9.9LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 2.03LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 2.19LetPub ·
- h-index
- 209LetPub ·
- h-index
- 378OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 11,141OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 2.81OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 5.9%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 80.9%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 165LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 33,112 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 296 | 212 | 140 |
| 2025 | 386 | 286 | 1,222 |
| 2024 | 223 | 221 | 1,178 |
| 2023 | 204 | 203 | 1,693 |
| 2022 | 216 | 178 | 2,481 |
| 2021 | 196 | 170 | 3,322 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
- Average review time (community reports)
- 4–8 weeksLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- Fairly hardLetPub ·
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | USD 4,920 / GBP 2,985 | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Royal College of Psychiatrists
- Country or region
- ENGLAND
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Monthly
- ISSN
- 0007-1250
- Electronic ISSN
- 1472-1465
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about BRITISH JOURNAL OF PSYCHIATRY
What CAS zone is BRITISH JOURNAL OF PSYCHIATRY in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, BRITISH JOURNAL OF PSYCHIATRY is in Zone 1 of Medicine, and in Zone 1 of the minor category Psychiatry; it is a Top journal. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 1 of Medicine. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of BRITISH JOURNAL OF PSYCHIATRY?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 8.56; CiteScore 9.9, h-index 378.
How long does peer review take at BRITISH JOURNAL OF PSYCHIATRY?
Authors report an average review time of 4–8 weeks; the community-reported acceptance is “Fairly hard”. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
Which databases index BRITISH JOURNAL OF PSYCHIATRY?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, BRITISH JOURNAL OF PSYCHIATRY is indexed in SCIE, SSCI and Scopus.
Is BRITISH JOURNAL OF PSYCHIATRY open access, and what is the APC?
BRITISH JOURNAL OF PSYCHIATRY is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 4,920.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, Publisher website; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-25). Last updated: .