Greg Simon, MD, MPH, is a psychiatrist and senior investigator well-known for his extensive research on practical approaches to improving mental health care. He seeks to develop and evaluate effective real-world strategies that support better mental health and wellness. Current areas of emphasis include identifying and assessing suicide risk, improving care for treatment-resistant depression, and early intervention for mental health conditions in children and youth.
Dr. Simon leads the Mental Health Research Network (MHRN), a consortium of research centers affiliated with 13 large health systems across the United States, including Kaiser Permanente Washington. This network, funded through a cooperative agreement with the National Institute of Mental Health, aims to improve the efficiency, relevance, and impact of mental health clinical and health services research. Now in its second five-year funding cycle, the MHRN is exploring a broad range of issues—including suicide prevention, improving heart health in people with serious mental illness, using electronic medical records to improve follow-up care for depression, and understanding the causes of racial and ethnic disparities in mental health care.
Dr. Simon and his MHRN colleagues are conducting several large studies across MHRN health systems, including:
Dr. Simon is an editor for the Cochrane Collaboration’s depression and anxiety review group, sits on the editorial board for General Hospital Psychiatry, and serves on the advisory board for the National Institutes of Health’s All of Us Program (formerly Precision Medicine Initiative). Earlier, he served on the editorial boards of Psychiatric Services and Psychological Medicine and chaired the scientific advisory board for the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance. Dr. Simon has practiced adult psychiatry in Kaiser Permanente Washington's Mental Health and Wellness Service since 1990 and is a research professor in psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the University of Washington.
Depression; bipolar disorder; suicide prevention; self-management; treatment adherence
Comorbidity of mental health conditions with obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and substance use disorders.
Ludman E, Simon GE, Ichikawa LE, Operskalski BH, Arterburn D, Linde JA, Jeffery RW, Rohde P, Finch EA. Does depression reduce the effectiveness of behavioral weight loss treatment? Behav Med. 2010;35(4):126-34. PubMed
Ludman EJ, Russo JE, Katon WJ, Simon GE, Williams LH, Lin EH, Heckbert SR, Ciechanowski P, Young BA. How does change in depressive symptomatology influence weight change in patients with diabetes? Observational results from the Pathways longitudinal cohort. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2010 Jan;65(1):93-8. Epub 2009 Oct 12. PubMed
Patel V, Simon G, Chowdhary N, Kaaya S, Araya R. Packages of care for depression in low- and middle-income countries. PLoS Med. 2009;6(10):e1000159. Epub 2009 Oct 6. PubMed
Simon GE, Ludman EJ, Rutter CM. Incremental benefit and cost of telephone care management and telephone psychotherapy for depression in primary care. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2009;66(10):1081-9. PubMed
Simon GE, Arterburn DE. Does comorbid psychiatric disorder argue for or against surgical treatment of obesity? Gen Hosp Psychiatry. 2009;31(5):401-2. Epub 2009 Jul 3. PubMed
Simon GE, Ludman EJ. It's time for disruptive innovation in psychotherapy. Lancet. 2009;374(9690):594-5. PubMed
Simon GE. Practical lessons from effectiveness trials of care management and psychoeducation for bipolar disorder. J Clin Psychiatry. 2009;70(8):e28. PubMed
Widome R, Linde JA, Rohde P, Ludman EJ, Jeffery RW, Simon GE. Does the association between depression and smoking vary by body mass index (BMI) category? Prev Med. 2009;49(5):380-3. Epub 2009 Jul 30. PubMed
Simon G. Review: second-generation antidepressants have similar effectiveness, but specific adverse effects differed. Evid Based Med. 2009;14(3):82. PubMed
Simon GE. CBT improves maternal perinatal depression in rural Pakistan. Evid Based Ment Health. 2009;12(2):45. PubMed
Safety planning and risk screening improved outcomes for adult patients.
A new grant funds modeling work to make personalized treatment possible.
KPWHRI research finds ways to increase use of a firearm safety tool.
Study finds that many patients who might benefit from clozapine don’t receive it.
KPWHRI researchers are contributing to better mental health care for people nationwide.