Simon Wessely 3200986 224999751 2008-07-11T11:42:43Z Jfdwolff 46555 rv usual [[WP:BLP]] violations - such additions are NOT to be made without discussion on talk - will have this page protected again if this continues '''Simon Wessely''' is a [[United Kingdom|British]] [[psychiatrist]]. He is professor of [[Epidemiology|epidemiological]] and [[liaison psychiatry]] at the [[Institute of Psychiatry]], [[King's College London]] and head of its department of psychological medicine, as well as Director of the King's Centre for Military Health Research. He is also honorary Consultant Psychiatrist at [[King's College Hospital]] and [[Maudsley Hospital]], as well as Civilian Consultant Advisor in Psychiatry to the [[British Army]].<ref name=IOP>[http://www.iop.kcl.ac.uk/staff/profile/?go=10206 Official homepage] at the [[Institute of Psychiatry]], [[King's College London]]. Last updated 4 July 2007. Accessed 30 September 2007.</ref> ==Training and interests== After attending [[King Edward VII School (Sheffield)|King Edward VII School]] in [[Sheffield]] from 1968 to 1975, Wessely studied at [[Trinity Hall, Cambridge]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]] 1978), [[University College, Oxford]] ([[Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery|BM BCh]] 1981), and the [[London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine]] ([[Master of Science|MSc]] 1989). In 1993 the [[University of London]] conferred upon him the degree of [[Doctor of Medicine]].<ref>‘WESSELY, Prof. Simon Charles’, Who's Who 2008, A & C Black, 2008; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2007 [http://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/article/oupww/whoswho/U59395, accessed 27 March 2008]</ref> He completed a medical rotation in Newcastle. After attaining [[Membership of the Royal College of Physicians|medical membership]] he studied psychiatry (his primary interest) at the Maudsley in [[1984]]. His [[1993]] doctoral thesis was on the relationship between [[crime]] and [[schizophrenia]]. Post-doctoral studies included a year at the [[National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery]] and a year studying [[epidemiology]] at the [[London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine]].<ref name=IOP/> His main research interests lie in the "grey areas" between [[internal medicine|medicine]] and [[psychiatry]], clinical epidemiology and [[military health]]. His first paper was entitled "Dementia and Mrs. Thatcher",<ref>{{cite journal |author=Deary IJ, Wessely S, Farrell M |title=Dementia and Mrs Thatcher |journal=Br Med J (Clin Res ed) |volume=291 |issue=6511 |pages=1768 |year=1985 |pmid=3936580 |doi=}}</ref> since then he has published over 500 papers on subjects including [[epidemiology]], [[post traumatic stress]], [[medicine and law]], history of psychiatry, [[chronic pain]], [[somatization disorder|somatisation]], [[Gulf War illness]], chemical and biological [[terrorism]] and deliberate [[self harm]]. He has published most widely on aspects of [[chronic fatigue syndrome]], including its [[aetiology]], history, [[psychology]], [[immunology]], [[sociology]], epidemiology and treatment.<ref name=IOP/>. In private life, he is married with two sons. His interests include [[skiing]] and [[history]], and he has cycled from [[London]] to [[Paris]] in [[2006]] and again in 2007, to raise money for veterans' charities.<ref>[http://www.kcl.ac.uk/kcmhr/information/events/paris07.html Pedal to Paris September 2007], King's Centre for Military Health Research. Last updated 28 September 2007. Accessed 30 September 2007.</ref> ==Work on CFS/ME== {{Refimprove|section|date=October 2007}} The first years after the introduction of the diagnosis [[chronic fatigue syndrome]] (an alternative to [[myalgic encephalomyelitis]]), it was often played down in the media, for example being described as "yuppie flu".<ref>''[[Newsweek]]'' cover story, November [[1990]].</ref> Wessely and his co-workers established that this stereotype was a misnomer, demonstrating an association between [[low blood pressure]] and chronic fatigue and providing reliable data on the prevalence of CFS in the community, showing that it has become an important [[public health]] issue. They developed new measurement tools, established that [[hyperventilation]] was not a risk factor for the illness (but that prior [[depressive illness]]es were), found a particular [[endocrine system|endocrine]] "signature" for CFS that differed from depression, and developed a new rehabilitation strategy for patients. The value of such intervention was later researched in a series of randomised controlled trials and follow-up studies. Other studies looked at [[social stigma|stigma]] and CFS, [[Neuropsychology|neuropsychological]] impairment in CFS, and more recently reported [[cytokine]] activation in the illness. He has also traced its historical origins. Wessely's work suggests CFS is generally consequent from some organic trigger, such as a virus, but that the role of psychological, physiological and social factors should also be considered when considering failure of some patients to recover - and that treatments centred around these factors can be effective in many cases. However, his claims in this area are criticised by some other health and academic professionals, and by many patient advocates. He set up the first [[National Health Service]] (NHS) programme solely devoted to patients with CFS, and continues to see sufferers regularly at King's College Hospital.{{Fact|date=October 2007}} He has also been awarded a medal by the [[Royal College of Physicians]] for his work on CFS.{{Fact|date=October 2007}} In 1999 he was elected fellow of the U.K. [[Academy of Medical Sciences]] (FMedSci).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.acmedsci.ac.uk/p59fid376.html |title=Directory of the Academy of Medical Sciences - Professor Simon Wessely FMedSci |accessdate=2007-10-06 }}</ref> Wessely's summarised his view on CFS in a [[2003]] review article, co-authored with [[Baruch Fischhoff]] and published in the ''[[British Medical Journal]]''.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Fischhoff B, Wessely S |title=Managing patients with inexplicable health problems |journal=BMJ |volume=326 |issue=7389 |pages=595–7 |year=2003 |pmid=12637409 |doi=10.1136/bmj.326.7389.595}}</ref> He has also co-authored the 1998 book "Chronic Fatigue and its Syndromes".<ref>{{cite book |author=Hotopf, Matthew; Wessely, Simon; Sharpe, Michael |title=Chronic fatigue and its syndromes |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford [Oxfordshire] |year=1998 |pages= |isbn=0-19-263046-6 |oclc= |doi=}}</ref> ==Military health== More recently, Wessely's work was the first to show that service in the [[1991]] [[Gulf War]] had had a significant effect on the health of UK servicemen and women. Other work suggested a link to particular [[vaccination]] schedules used to protect against [[biological warfare]], and also a link with psychological stress. His group also confirmed that classic psychiatric injury, [[post-traumatic stress disorder]] (PTSD), was not a sufficient explanation for the observed health problems. He and his colleagues in the medical school showed persisting evidence of [[Immune system|immune]] activation, but failed to show that exposure to [[organophosphate]] or [[cholinesterase inhibitor]] agents had caused chronic neurological damage. The group also showed that many veterans who left the Armed Forces with persisting [[mental health]] problems have found it difficult to access [[National Health Service]] (NHS) services.{{Fact|date=October 2007}} This work, and Wessely's evidence to the [[Lloyd Inquiry]],<ref>[http://www.lloyd-gwii.com/report.asp Report of the Lloyd Inquiry] ("Gulf War Illness Public Inquiry"), published [[17 November]] [[2004]].</ref> was crucial in categorising [[Gulf War Syndrome]] as a verifiable consequence of service in the Gulf, and as a result affected Gulf War veterans were able to receive war pensions.{{Fact|date=October 2007}} He recently spent a sabbatical in the Department of War Studies at King's College London.<ref name=IOP/> Wessely's main current research is around various aspects of military health, including further work on the outcome of Gulf War illness, psychological stressors of military life, risk and 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 military psychiatry. In [[2006]] he and his team completed a study on the health of 20,000 UK military personnel who took part in the invasion of [[Iraq]]. The results were published in the medical journal [[The Lancet]].<ref>{{cite journal |author=Hotopf M, Hull L, Fear NT, ''et al'' |title=The health of UK military personnel who deployed to the 2003 Iraq war: a cohort study |journal=Lancet |volume=367 |issue=9524 |pages=1731–41 |year=2006 |pmid=16731268 |doi=10.1016/S0140-6736(06)68662-5}}</ref>. ==Other interests== Wessely also has a long standing interest in how normal people react to adversity, and what, if anything, should be our responses. He was a co-author of an influential [[Cochrane Library|Cochrane Review]] showing that the conventional response, to offer people who have been involved in disaster, immediate psychological debriefing, was not only ineffective, but possibly did more harm than good.<ref name=Cochrane>{{cite journal |author=Rose S, Bisson J, Churchill R, Wessely S |title=Psychological debriefing for preventing post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) |journal=Cochrane database of systematic reviews (Online) |volume= |issue=2 |pages=CD000560 |year=2002 |pmid=12076399 |doi=}}</ref> Since then he has published on civilian reactions to [[the Blitz]], and latterly an early study of reactions to the July 7, 2005 [[London]] bombings.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Rubin GJ, Brewin CR, Greenberg N, Simpson J, Wessely S |title=Psychological and behavioural reactions to the bombings in London on 7 July 2005: cross sectional survey of a representative sample of Londoners |journal=BMJ |volume=331 |issue=7517 |pages=606 |year=2005 |pmid=16126821 |doi=10.1136/bmj.38583.728484.3A | url= http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/331/7517/606}}</ref> In many venues, he has argued that people are more [[Psychological resilience|resilient]] than we give them credit for, and that the best thing we can do in the immediate aftermath of trauma is to offer practical support and encourage people to turn to their own social networks, such as family, friends, colleagues or family doctor.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Wessely S |title=The London attacks--aftermath: Victimhood and resilience |journal=N. Engl. J. Med. |volume=353 |issue=6 |pages=548–50 |year=2005 |pmid=16093462 |doi=10.1056/NEJMp058180}}</ref><ref>Simon Wessely. "[http://www.spiked-online.com/Articles/0000000CAC61.htm The bombs made enough victims - let's not make more: A leading psychiatrist argues that the last thing Londoners need now is trauma counselling]". Spiked-Online.com], July 2005.</ref> However, after a few months, when most distress has reduced, then for the minority who are still psychologically distressed or disabled it is appropriate to offer evidence-based psychological interventions.<ref name=Cochrane/> Wessely was interviewed for the [[2006 in television|2006]] [[BBC]] [[docudrama]] ''[[Nuremberg: Nazis on Trial]]''.{{Fact|date=May 2008}} ==Publications== Wessely has co-authored books on CFS, psychological reactions to terrorism, [[randomised controlled trial]]s, and a new history of military psychiatry, ''From Shell Shock to PTSD''.<ref>Simon Wessely, Edgar Jones. ''Shell Shock to PTSD: Military Psychiatry from 1900 to the Gulf War''. Psychology Press, 2005. ISBN 1-84169-580-7.</ref> ==Opposition and criticism== Areas of Wessely's work have been the subject of criticism from patients' groups and scientists.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Goudsmit E |title=Treating chronic fatigue with exercise. Exercise, and rest, should be tailored to individual needs |journal=BMJ |volume=317 |issue=7158 |pages=599; author reply 600 |year=1998 |month=August |pmid=9721125 |doi= |url=http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/317/7158/599/a}} {{PMC|1113801}}</ref> Some critics hold him responsible for promulgating the view that [[chronic fatigue syndrome]] is primarily a psychiatric condition, an approach termed the "psychiatric paradigm" by opponents. Wessely counters that few deny a potential physical mechanism, but that the effects are mainly functional; research conducted under his direction has detected markers of physical abnormalities in CFS.<ref>{{cite news | last = Burne | first = Jerome | title = Special report: battle fatigue | work = The Guardian | date = 2002-03-30 | url = http://www.guardian.co.uk/medicine/story/0,,676067,00.html | accessdate = 2008-05-15}}</ref> ==Notes== {{reflist|2}} ==External links== * [http://internal.iop.kcl.ac.uk/ipublic/staff/profile/?go=10206 Official homepage] * [http://www.kcl.ac.uk/kcmhr KCL.ac.uk] - The King's Centre For Military Health Research (KCMHR) is a joint initiative of the Institute of Psychiatry and the Department of War Studies at King's College London (Wessely's webpage at King's College) :* [http://www.kcl.ac.uk/kcmhr/research/iraq/team/s_wessely.html KCL.ac.uk] - "Health & Wellbeing of UK Armed Forces Personnel: Professor Simon Wessely - Principal Investigator", KCMHR * [http://www.gresham.ac.uk/event.asp?PageId=4&EventId=448 Gresham.ac.uk] - 'Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue: The true story of Gulf War Syndrome' (transcript of a lecture at [[Gresham College]]), Simon Wessely (January 25, 2006) * [http://www.nato.int/science-old/e/020325-arw2.htm&e=9797 NATO.int] - 'NATO-Russia Advanced Research Workshop on Social and Psychological Consequences of Chemical, Biological, and Radiological Terrorism', Simon Wessely, [[North Atlantic Treaty Organization]] (March 25-27, 2002) * [http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/wessely1 Project-Syndicate.org] - 'The Trouble with Treating Trauma', Simon Wessely (August, 2003) {{DEFAULTSORT:Wessely, Simon}} [[Category:English psychiatrists]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Military psychiatrists]] [[Category:Old Edwardians (Sheffield)]] [[Category:Academics of King's College London]]