Timetable: Currently, mostly, we have a backlog of about 10+ articles in the 'pipeline': enough for at least 1 or 1.5 new issues; plus the potential for a "Special Issue". Newly submitted articles (now) will therefore probably not become published for at least 6-8 months (at the very earliest). However, as mentioned, we are also starting to publish articles, online, in advance of their printed publication (see here), so it may appear sooner, especially if there might be special interest.
Manuscripts: Manuscripts (articles and/or submissions) should be in the form of:
- Full-length theoretical, clinical, descriptive and research articles, which should not exceed between 5000-6000 words (including abstract and references), or
- Medium-length articles (about 3000-4000 words), or
- Shorter reports & quick reflections: for more rapid publication (1000-2500 words).
- Book Reviews should usually be about 750-1000 words (which do not now need to be peer-reviewed), but if they are substantively longer, then they would need to be peer-reviewed.
- News Items or Announcements can be up to 400-600 words (and these will not be peer-reviewed).
- Word Counts: We usually allow a 10% +/- margin of error on word counts.
- In exceptional circumstances, longer articles (> about 6,500 words, or variations on these guidelines) may be considered for publication: however, the authors would need specific approval from the Editors in advance of their submission. Please let us know, well in advance.
Publication decisions are based purely on merit and suitability, as long as there is also a basic conformity within all these guidelines. We do not discriminate between the (about 1,000) different types of psychotherapy; we do not discriminate about the country of origin; as a rule, we do not publish articles that are primarily about 'psychology', 'psychiatry', 'sociology', philosophy' and/or any other (non-psychological) therapies, counselling, etc. - unless they specifically relate to 'psychotherapy' as well.
Criteria for Acceptance: We really welcome: - original research articles; research reports; review articles; descriptions of new techniques or methodologies (ideally with some supportive indications); theoretical articles; clinical articles; case histories; interviews; etc. ... that are to do with psychotherapy. Once submitted, the Editor(s) will review the article according to the following criteria:
- Does the manuscript 'inform' the international field of psychotherapy and add to the 'body' of knowledge?
- Does it describe a new, unique or interesting theory, perspective, technique or methodology that enhances existing knowledge and/or practice?
- Is the manuscript respectful toward other methods, modalities, professions, people, or other aspects of the field of psychotherapy?
- Are there any other issues ... suggestions for further studies; reflections; further questions; political or cultural considerations; etc.? Does the article take us ... in fact, further?
With respect to specific research articles:
- Is the literature review recent and up-to-date? Have you checked for newly published material?
- Do the findings / results / conclusions etc. really answer the research question; are they coherent; and do they stay within the main thesis
- Has (where applicable) the research study been accepted by an ethics committee and (if so) has a suitable 'ethics statement' been attached to the article?
- Has the author researched, read or referenced reasonably widely and reflexively, exploring their own possible "angles of bias", and presenting a reasonably wide, balanced and up-to-date viewpoint?
Fees: Authors will not be asked for any fees or payments for the publication of their article (unless the article requires an extensive English edit, as indicated below).
Author's Information: The submission must contain a 'front page' with the following information: all of the authors' names, plus their professional titles, affiliations and/or places of work; all of the authors' contact details, their postal addresses + e-mail addresses; their main activities; tel/fax numbers, web-sites, etc. (optional) - as well as some basic biographical information (no more than about 20-30 words maximum) about each author.
This 'front page' should also include any other necessary statements about: conflicts of interest, sponsorship, sources of funding, connections to industry, ethics committee approval, etc.
None of the following pages - i.e. the rest of the article - should contain any information that specifically identifies the author or authors.
If the author has referenced their own publications extensively, they will probably need to submit an 'anonymised' version with their surnames and references redacted.
Competing Interests or Conflicts of Interest: Authors are required to declare any competing interests ("conflict of interests"). Such disclosure may not invalidate their article, but any such interests must be declared on submission of the article. Such interests might include the sources of any financial links, funding or grants, and any associations with organisations that may be (or may seen to be) relevant to the submitted article.
Such a statement - on the front page - should read (something like): "I/We have read and understood IJP's policy on declaration of interests and declare that we have no such competing interests." or (something like): "I/We have read and understood IJP's policy on declaration of interests and declare the following: 1) A... B... is a [salaried/unpaid] member of the [group/company/organisation] X... Y... which is developing/promoting Z ...; etc."
Please read the attached policy (here), complete the form, and submit it with your article.
Permissions: The author is required to obtain - in advance - all necessary permissions to reproduce any copyrighted material (including pictures and diagrams) in their article. A copy of these written permissions should be attached to their submission.
Without this submission, there is a basic understanding / presumption that the contribution's contents have not been published previously. (Previously published articles need a special permission from the IJP Editors and will also require any appropriate permissions from the previous publication, attached with the submission.) Articles should also not be submitted elsewhere for publication at the same time as the submission has been sent to the IJP.
Electronic Submission: The author(s) should make their submission as an attached document, e-mailed to the IJP Editor: to admin@ijp.org.uk.
You can also submit an article or news item or comment via this website using the "Submit Online" tab (above). (N.B. If you do submit a manuscript via the website, please also send us an e-mail (admin@ijp.org.uk) informing us of the details of your submission with a copy of the submission as an attachment - just as a safety check).
Layout & Formatting: After the initial 'Front Page' (see above), the submission should begin with the title of the article and then the abstract and keywords.
* Please use a 'clean' (new) Microsoft Word program document.
* Please set the 'Normal' text (in the "Styles" menu) to Times New Roman, 12-point font size, double-spaced, with 'normal' settings (i.e. no paragraph spacings, etc.).
* Headings can be in bold; sub-headings in italics.
* The setting of the document's language ("Tools" menu) should be 'English UK'.
* The "Page Set-up" should be A4 (vertical, portrait) and margins set at 2 cm, with 1.25 cm for headers & footers.
* Please, do not put any text or page numbering in the headers or footers. Please (and again please), try avoid any 'fancy' formatting, watermarks, styles, etc.
Journalistic Style: The basic 'style' of the Journal contains the following conventions:
- One (or two) spaces should be inserted between each sentence - though please make it consistent.
- Line-spacing should be set at 1.5; there can be an extra line-space inserted between sections.
- Please do not use any formatted spaces before or after the paragraphs.
- Indent the first line of paragraphs by 1.25 cm.
- Please try to keep footnotes and/or endnotes to a minimum: we may make changes to these.
- With quotations in the main text from other books and articles, please always give the reference and the page number of the quotation's source: e.g. (Smith, 1900, p. 50). Proper quotations should have double inverted commas either side: e.g. "Friends, Romans, Countrymen ..."
- Make sure that dashes are both preceded by, and followed by, one space (e.g. “He is — after all — a great student.”).
- Similar to British conventions, please make sure that punctuation is placed outside of any quotation marks unless the punctuation is a component of the original quoted material.
- As mentioned above, please try to use English (UK) - rather than English (US) language spellings - it helps with spell-checkers, etc.
- Please otherwise consult the APA Style Essentials (see here); or the APA Publication Manual (see here).
Abstract & Key Words: Underneath the title, the article must continue with an Abstract - of no more than about 150 words) - and about 4 to 6 Key Words. These will be translated - at the IJP's expense - into French, German & Russian (when appropriate). The author can supply a translation of the Abstract & Key Words in their own mother-tongue, if they so wish.
*** Authors with their 'first language' being other than English: ***
*** The IJP only accepts articles written in good literary English. However, the author can present an abstract of their article, suitably translated into English, to the IJP Editor, for an initial check for suitability. If the article seems suitable for publication in the IJP, the author will then be encouraged to have the entire article translated, into good English, for the review process. Any costs for such a translation and/or language corrections are the total responsibility of the author. An acknowledgement of the translator's name should be included in the form of a sub-title after the author's name, or as a notation after the author's biographical details. The author is not advised to try and translate the article themselves (see below). ***
Language: All submissions must be made in good literary English. If the author's mother-tongue is not English, then they should have the article properly translated, or (at the very least) checked out by someone with English as their mother-tongue. The translation or corrections should be done by a competent, natural English-speaker, ideally with some familiarity of the topic.
Please Note: The author's own translations are nearly always insufficient. Articles submitted in poor English, or with poor translations into English, may well be rejected - purely on those grounds, rather than on any other grounds. However, if the article shows sufficient merit and the mistakes are relatively small, the IJP editors reserve the right to charge an 'English-language' editing fee. This fee has a maximum of €250.00 for an (about) 5,000 word article; or at a rate of about €50.00 per hour, or €50.00 per 1,000 words. If extensive pre-publication editing, layout and preparation of references is needed, this can also be charged at the same rate.
The author will be consulted first about any such potential 'editing' charges, and would need to agree to these charges prior to the submission being accepted. There are - as mentioned (above) - no other charges or fees for publication in the Journal.
Publishing in a Language - other than One's Own: Being an 'international' journal, we are very aware of many of the difficulties faced by authors who wish to publish in a language other than their own 'mother-tongue': i.e. usually in "English". As an 'international' journal, we wholeheartedly welcome such submissions. We are sorry that we cannot communicate with you in your language. We always try to use clear and concise English in all our communications: so, if you do not understand something, or you wish us to clarify something in our communications, please just ask!
We also ask our reviewers (many of whom also have English as a second-language) to be clear and concise in their review and especially in any comments for the author(s).
Additionally, we will probably/often 'suggest' some minor corrections - usually to punctuation, style, word order, syntax, etc. - at some stage during the editorial process (usually in red text), so as to make your article more easily readable by others, who often also have English as their second language. We will always ask if these 'suggestions' are acceptable to you, as it has to remain 'your' article. If they are, please convert the red text 'suggestions' into black text.