''Psychological Medicine'' is a
peer-reviewed
Peer review is the evaluation of work by one or more people with similar competencies as the producers of the work (peers). It functions as a form of self-regulation by qualified members of a profession within the relevant field. Peer review ...
medical journal
A medical journal is a peer-reviewed scientific journal that communicates medical information to physicians, other health professionals. Journals that cover many medical specialties are sometimes called general medical journals.
History
The first ...
in the field of
psychiatry
Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of mental disorders. These include various maladaptations related to mood, behaviour, cognition, and perceptions. See glossary of psychiatry.
Initial psych ...
and related aspects of
psychology
Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...
and basic sciences. According to the ''
Journal Citation Reports
''Journal Citation Reports'' (''JCR'') is an annual publicationby Clarivate Analytics (previously the intellectual property of Thomson Reuters). It has been integrated with the Web of Science and is accessed from the Web of Science-Core Collect ...
'', the journal has a 2020
impact factor
The impact factor (IF) or journal impact factor (JIF) of an academic journal is a scientometric index calculated by Clarivate that reflects the yearly mean number of citations of articles published in the last two years in a given journal, as i ...
of 7.723.
History
The journal was established in 1969 by
Michael Shepherd, who remained its editor until 1993. For its first five years, the journal was published by the
British Medical Association
The British Medical Association (BMA) is a registered trade union for doctors in the United Kingdom. The association does not regulate or certify doctors, a responsibility which lies with the General Medical Council. The association's headquar ...
; subsequently,
Cambridge University Press
Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII of England, King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press
A university press is an academic publishing hou ...
assumed publication. Shepherd favoured the term "Psychological Medicine" over "Psychiatry" and he attached great importance to the title which he resurrected from the ''Journal of Psychological Medicine'', first conceived by
Forbes Benignus Winslow. He defined psychological medicine as including not only psychiatry, but also the study of abnormal behaviour. He concentrated on original high-quality works across the wide spectrum of both psychiatry and its allied disciplines. Shepherd contributed extensively himself, investing much time and care towards the journal's success.
According to his successor, ''Psychological Medicine'' was to become perhaps Shepherd's greatest and most enduring creation set in an already highly distinguished academic and research career.
See also
*
List of psychiatry journals
The following is a list of journals in the field of psychiatry. Psychiatry journals generally publish articles with either a general focus (meaning all aspects of psychiatry are included) or with a more specific focus. This list includes notable p ...
References
External links
* {{Official website, http://journals.cambridge.org/psm
Monthly journals
Psychiatry journals
Abnormal psychology journals
Publications established in 1969
Cambridge University Press academic journals
Psychotherapy journals