Group Health psychiatrist Greg Simon has been a driving force in mental health research at Group Health Research Institute (GHRI) since the early 1990s. With a knack for finding effective real-world strategies, he consistently pursues a rigorous and diverse research agenda, helping improve mental health treatment at home and abroad.

Dr. Simon has led several studies showing that simple, relatively inexpensive care management programs can significantly improve the lives of people with mood disorders—both at Group Health and in clinics serving low-income urban patients in developing countries. In 2004, the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) reported findings from Dr. Simon and colleagues showing that phone-based care management and psychotherapy are effective treatments for depression, in part because they included vigorous outreach to people who may not otherwise seek or follow through with treatment. His research with colleagues in Chile found that organized programs to improve depression treatment had even greater benefit in a disadvantaged urban clinic there than they do in more advanced settings in the United States.

Dr. Simon is especially interested in developing and studying programs that empower patients to become more active partners in their care and to achieve a full, rewarding life—not just a decrease in symptoms and side effects. He frequently partners with the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance (DBSA), the nation's largest patient-run organization for people living with mental health conditions. He also chairs their scientific advisory board.

Other areas where Dr. Simon has made key contributions include obesity and depression, health plan coverage for antidepressants, the impact of mood disorders in the workplace, and suicide risk. In 2007, he shed new light on speculation that some antidepressant medications increase suicide risk: Dr. Simon's analyses showed that the pattern of suicide attempts after starting antidepressants was the same as the pattern after starting psychotherapy—suggesting that suicide risk has little to do with specific effects of medication.

Dr. Simon's success as a physician scientist is notable. Recognized among the greater Seattle area's best doctors in 2006 and 2007, he has also been thrice honored for his contributions to mental health research and care, with two awards from the American Psychiatric Association and another from the DBSA.

For the National Advisory Mental Health Council, Dr. Simon serves as one of 15 mental health researchers who advise on research priorities and new research directions. The Council advises the secretary of Health and Human Services and the directors of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and National Institute of Mental Health on all policies and activities relating to the conduct and support of mental health research, research training, and other programs.

Dr. Simon is also editor for the mood disorders section of Current Opinion in Psychiatry and for the Cochrane Collaboration's depression and anxiety review group. He also sits on the editorial board for General Hospital Psychiatry and Psychological Medicine. He has practiced adult psychiatry in Group Health's Behavioral Health Service since 1990 and holds an appointment as a research professor in psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the University of Washington.

Related information:

• Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance (DBSA)
• National Advisory Mental Health Council
• Cochrane Collaboration

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Recent publications

Simon GE, Ludman EJ. Should mental health interventions be locally grown or factory-farmed? Am J Psychiatry. 2013 Apr 1;170(4):362-5. doi: 10.1176/appi.ajp.2013.13010043.

Simon GE. Benefits and costs of improving depression treatment in people with heart disease: comment on "Centralized, stepped, patient preference-based treatment for patients with post-acute coronary syndrome depression." JAMA Intern Med. 2013 Mar 7:1-2. doi: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2013.925 [Epub ahead of print]. PubMed

Ding VY, Hubbard RA, Rutter CM, Simon GE. Assessing the accuracy of profiling methods for identifying top providers: performance of mental health care providers. Health Serv Outcomes Res Methodol. 2013;13(1):1-17. Epub 2012 Sep 18. PubMed

Boudreau DM, Arterburn D, Bogart A, Haneuse S, Theis MK, Westbrook E, Simon G. Influence of body mass index on the choice of therapy for depression and follow-up care. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2013 Mar;21(3):E303-E313. doi: 10.1002/oby.20048. PubMed

Imel ZE, Hubbard RA, Rutter CM, Simon G. Patient-rated alliance as a measure of therapist performance in two clinical settings. J Consult Clin Psychol. 2012 Dec 10 [Epub ahead of print]. PubMed

Simon GE, Rutter CM, Stewart C, Pabiniak C, Wehnes L. Response to past depression treatments is not accurately recalled: comparison of structured recall and patient health questionnaire scores in medical records. J Clin Psychiatry. 2012;73(12):1503-8. doi: 10.4088/JCP.12m07883. PubMed

Simon GE, Peterson D, Hubbard R. Is treatment adherence consistent across time, across different treatments and across diagnoses? Gen Hosp Psychiatry. 2012 Nov 8. pii: S0163-8343(12)00319-2. [Epub ahead of print]. PubMed

Hunkeler EM, Hargreaves WA, Fireman B, Terdiman J, Meresman JF, Porterfield Y, Lee J, Dea R, Simon GE, Bauer MS, Unutzer J, Taylor CB. A web-delivered care management and patient self-management program for recurrent depression: a randomized trial. lid - 10.1176/appi.ps.005332011 [doi] Psychiatr Serv. 2012 Sep 15. doi: 10.1176/appi.ps.005332011 [Epub ahead of print]. PubMed

Fishman PA, Ding V, Hubbard R, Ludman EJ, Pabiniak C, Stewart C, Morales L, Simon GE. Impact of deductibles on initiation and continuation of psychotherapy for treatment of depression. Health Serv Res. 2012 Aug;47(4):1561-79. doi: 10.1111/j.1475-6773.2012.01388.x. Epub 2012 Feb 29. PubMed

Arterburn D, Westbrook EO, Ludman EJ, Operskalski B, Linde JA, Rohde P, Jeffery RW, Simon GE. Relationship between obesity, depression, and disability in middle-aged women. Obes Res Clin Pract. 2012;6(3):e197-e206. Epub 2012 Mar 3. PubMed

Simon GE, Imel ZE, Ludman EJ, Steinfeld BJ. Is dropout after a first psychotherapy visit always a bad outcome? Psychiatr Serv. 2012;63(7):705-7. PubMed

To view more publications, please see Dr. Simon's CV.

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