Journal profile · Psychiatry
Psychological Medicine
ISSN 0033-2917 · eISSN 1469-8978 · Cambridge University Press · UNITED STATES · Bimonthly · Founded 1970
Psychological Medicine: CAS Zone 2 · Medicine (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal); impact factor 5.39; hybrid open access; APC about USD 3,550; review 3–6 weeks (community reports); community-reported acceptance: fairly hard; 394 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE, SSCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Psychological Medicine is published by Cambridge University Press and is in Zone 2 of Medicine in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Schizophrenia research and treatment, Mental Health and Psychiatry and Mental Health Treatment and Access, together about 26.9% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Psychological Medicine is a multidisciplinary journal dedicated to publishing high-quality, high-impact research on mental health and mental disorders. Its mission is to advance knowledge on the causes, course, treatment and public health significance of mental illness, and to promote research that improves understanding of the determinants of brain health across the lifespan.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Psychiatry
Editor-in-chief Jianfeng FengPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 6 in mainland China (about 9%); most named United States 25, United Kingdom 14, Netherlands 7, Mainland China 6, Japan 2 (64 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Schizophrenia research and treatmentMedicine13.8%
- Mental Health and PsychiatryArts and Humanities6.9%
- Mental Health Treatment and AccessPsychology6.1%
- Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional DevelopmentPsychology5.2%
- Treatment of Major DepressionMedicine5.1%
- Diverse Scientific and Economic StudiesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance4.5%
- Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive ProcessesPsychology4.5%
- Bipolar Disorder and TreatmentMedicine4.4%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Medicine Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Psychology | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Psychology, Clinical | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Psychiatry | Zone 2 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Medicine Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Psychology, Clinical | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Psychiatry | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Psychology | Zone 1 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Medicine Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Psychology | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Psychology, Clinical | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Psychiatry | Zone 2 |
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
- 5.39LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 9Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 12.2LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 2.19LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.93LetPub ·
- h-index
- 188LetPub ·
- h-index
- 335OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 8,208OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 5.17OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 3.8%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 83.58%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 366LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 14,692 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 295 | 295 | 183 |
| 2025 | 394 | 394 | 1,958 |
| 2024 | 334 | 305 | 3,146 |
| 2023 | 383 | 321 | 5,423 |
| 2022 | 438 | 354 | 9,405 |
| 2021 | 549 | 428 | 19,521 |
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)
- 3–6 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 3,550 / EUR 2,990 / GBP 2,460 | — | — |
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.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
Policy excerpts from the journal's websitePeer review
- Peer review
Peer-reviewed scholarly and scientific research Model summary
original, succinct, authoritative, and peer-reviewed scholarly and scientific research
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Cambridge University Press
- Country or region
- UNITED STATES
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Bimonthly
- Founded
- 1970
- ISSN
- 0033-2917
- Electronic ISSN
- 1469-8978
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Psychological Medicine
What CAS zone is Psychological Medicine in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Psychological Medicine is in Zone 2 of Medicine, and in Zone 1 of the minor category Psychology / Psychology, Clinical / 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 Psychological Medicine?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 5.39; CiteScore 12.2, h-index 335.
How long does peer review take at Psychological Medicine?
Authors report an average review time of 3–6 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.
Where are the editorial board members of Psychological Medicine based?
Of the 64 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 6 (about 9%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (25), United Kingdom (14) and Netherlands (7). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Psychological Medicine?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Psychological Medicine is indexed in SCIE, SSCI and Scopus.
Is Psychological Medicine open access, and what is the APC?
Psychological Medicine is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 3,550.
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: .