Professor Simon Wessely  MA BM BCh MSc MD FRCP FRCPsych FMedSci
Professor of Epidemiological and Liaison Psychiatry
Director, King's Centre for Military Health Research

biography

Professor Simon Wessely MA, BM BCh, MSc, MD, FRCP, FRCPsych, F Med Sci.

Director, King’s Centre for Military Health Research, Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London

Simon Wessely is Professor of Epidemiological and Liaison Psychiatry at the Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London, and Honorary Consultant Psychiatrist at King’s and Maudsley Hospitals. He started at Cambridge, and read Art for his Part 2, developing an abiding love for Vassily Kandinsky and equal hatred for the work of Marc Chagall. He then attended clinical school at Oxford, followed by two years on a medical rotation in Newcastle being a real doctor and getting medical membership. However, he always intended to study psychiatry, and started training at the Maudsley in 1984, and has not really left Camberwell since, other than a year at the National Hospital for Neurology, and a year studying epidemiology at the London School of Hygiene. He also spent a sabbatical in the Department of War Studies at King’s College London.

His research interests are in the grey areas between medicine and psychiatry, clinical epidemiology, psychiatric injury and military health. His first paper was called “Dementia and Mrs Thatcher”, but since then he has published over 500 papers on many subjects, including epidemiology, post traumatic stress, psychological debriefing, chronic fatigue syndrome, history, chronic pain, somatisation, Gulf War illness, military health and terrorism.

His main current research is around various aspects of military health, including the so called “Gulf War Syndrome”, psychological stressors of military life, PTSD, risk communication, risk and benefits of military service, screening and health surveillance within the Armed Forces, social and psychological outcomes of ex service personnel, and historical aspects of war and psychiatry. He is Director of the King’s Centre for Military Health Research Unit at King’s College London. In 2006 the unit published the first results of a study of the physical and psychological health of 12,000 UK military personnel, half of whom have served in the Iraq conflict. Further work has looked at issues such as vaccination risk taking, screening, stress management, Op Tempo and alcohol. All the cohort are currently being followed up.

Professor Wessely is Honorary Civilian Consultant Advisor in Psychiatry to the Army. He is PI on a Home Office funded study of psychological and behavioural reactions to the London bombings and CBRN terrorism in partnership with the Health Protection Agency, and a study of the impact of the recent polonium incidents in London.

He has recently co authored books on chronic fatigue syndrome, the randomised controlled trial in psychiatry, and a new history of shell shock – but none has yet reached the best seller lists. He is more proud of the fact, contrary to the expectations of his friends and family, he recently completed the Pedal to Paris to raise money for the Royal British Legion.

activities and interests

MAIN AREAS OF CURRENT ACTIVITY

Clinical: Consultation Liaison Psychiatry, psychiatry of physical illness, assessment and management of chronic fatigue syndrome: assessment of health anxiety

Research: Aetiology, epidemiology and mangement of chronic fatigue syndrome and other unexplained illnesses; Epidemiological studies on the health consequences of service with the UK Armed Forces in the 1991 Gulf War and the current Iraq War: Risk assessment and communication: psychosocial consequences of environmental incidents: infection, immunity and chronic fatigue syndrome: nature, outcome and prevention of post traumatic stress disorders;

Teaching: Epidemiology: randomised controlled trials; unexplained symptoms

Administration: Director, Centre for Military Health Research: Acting Director, Clinical Trials Unit; Chairmain, Academic Board: Member, KCL Council;

Advisory: Advisor in Psychiatry for British Army Medical Services: Chair, Nato Working Group on Psychosocial Consequences of Chem/Bio Terrorism: Risk Communication issues for MOD, NATO and others: Science and Media Centre

last updated: Wednesday, July 04, 2007