Journal profile · PSYCHIATRY
Lancet Psychiatry
ISSN 2215-0374 · Elsevier · ENGLAND
Lancet Psychiatry: CAS Zone 1 · Medicine (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal); impact factor 20.63; hybrid open access; APC about USD 7,280; median 47 days to acceptance (66 articles, last 24 months); 218 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE, SSCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Lancet Psychiatry is published by Elsevier 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 Treatment and Access, Schizophrenia research and treatment and Mental Health and Psychiatry, together about 31.1% of its articles. Its main subfields are Clinical Psychology. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
The Lancet Psychiatry is an authoritative forum for key opinion leaders across medicine, government, and health systems to influence clinical practice, explore global policy, and inform constructive, positive change worldwide. The journal publishes clinical research, expert reviews, and provocative comment and opinion in mental health, providing a clear, independent perspective about the clinical advances and practice-changing research shaping clinical psychiatry.The Lancet Psychiatry publishes papers that reflect the rich variety of ongoing clinical research, including psychopharmacology, psychotherapy and psychosocial approaches to all psychiatric disorders, across the life course. The journal covers innovative treatments and the biological research underpinning such developments, novel methods of service delivery, and new ways of thinking about mental illness promoted by social psychiatry. The journal also advocates strongly for the rights of people with mental health disorders and highlights the voices of service users.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): PSYCHIATRY
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Mental Health Treatment and AccessPsychology12.4%
- Schizophrenia research and treatmentMedicine11.3%
- Mental Health and PsychiatryArts and Humanities7.5%
- Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional DevelopmentPsychology5.7%
- Treatment of Major DepressionMedicine5.3%
- Suicide and Self-Harm StudiesPsychology5.1%
- Bipolar Disorder and TreatmentMedicine4.2%
- COVID-19 and Mental HealthPsychology3.8%
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: yesReview 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
- 20.63LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 21.1Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 39.4LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 39.4Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 8.07LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 8.35LetPub ·
- h-index
- 36LetPub ·
- h-index
- 219OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 1,374OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 8.72OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 1.9%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 31.63%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 69LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 3,888 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 168 | 59 | 234 |
| 2025 | 218 | 87 | 1,352 |
| 2024 | 252 | 94 | 3,975 |
| 2023 | 244 | 133 | 5,221 |
| 2022 | 255 | 118 | 12,899 |
| 2021 | 316 | 200 | 15,303 |
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
Review time from article dates manuscript dates registered with PubMed · to
47 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 15 days – 74 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 29 days (39 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 60 days
- Sample
- 66 articles with submission and acceptance dates (461 in the window); the latest was accepted on
Only articles that were accepted and published are counted, not the time spent on rejected manuscripts, so this usually runs longer than a publisher's "time to first decision".
Other sources
- Submission to first decision
- 3 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 36 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance
- 33 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 52 daysPublisher website ·
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 7,280 / EUR 6,810 / GBP 5,830 / JPY 902,940 | — | — |
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
- Elsevier
- Country or region
- ENGLAND
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 2215-0374
- Print ISSN
- 2215-0366
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Lancet Psychiatry
What CAS zone is Lancet Psychiatry in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Lancet 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 Lancet Psychiatry?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 20.63; CiteScore 39.4, h-index 219.
How long does peer review take at Lancet Psychiatry?
Based on the dates recorded on 66 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 47 days (interquartile range 15–74 days). 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 Lancet Psychiatry?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Lancet Psychiatry is indexed in SCIE, SSCI and Scopus.
Is Lancet Psychiatry open access, and what is the APC?
Lancet Psychiatry is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 7,280.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex; 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: .