The British Journal of Clinical Psychology publishes original contributions to scientific knowledge in clinical psychology. This includes descriptive comparisons, as well as studies of the assessment, aetiology and treatment of people with a wide range of psychological problems in all age groups and settings. The level of analysis of studies ranges from biological influences on individual behaviour through to studies of psychological interventions and treatments on individuals, dyads, families and groups, to investigations of the relationships between explicitly social and psychological levels of analysis.
The following types of paper are invited:
Papers reporting original empirical investigations
Theoretical papers, provided that these are sufficiently related to the empirical data
Review articles which need not be exhaustive but which should give an interpretation of the state of the research in a given field and, where appropriate, identify its clinical implications
Brief reports and comments
1. Circulation
The circulation of the Journal is worldwide. Papers are invited and encouraged from authors throughout the world.
2. Length
Papers should normally be no more than 5000 words (excluding abstract, reference list, tables and figures), although the Editor retains discretion to publish papers beyond this length in cases where the clear and concise expression of the scientific content requires greater length.
3. Submission and reviewing
All manuscripts must be submitted via our online peer review system. The Journal operates a policy of anonymous peer review.
4. Manuscript requirements
Contributions must be typed in double spacing with wide margins. All sheets must be numbered.
Tables should be typed in double spacing, each on a separate page with a self-explanatory title. Tables should be comprehensible without reference to the text. They should be placed at the end of the manuscript with their approximate locations indicated in the text.
Figures can be included at the end of the document or attached as separate files, carefully labelled in initial capital/lower case lettering with symbols in a form consistent with text use. Unnecessary background patterns, lines and shading should be avoided. Captions should be listed on a separate sheet. The resolution of digital images must be at least 300 dpi.
For articles containing original scientific research, a structured abstract of up to 250 words should be included with the headings: Objectives, Design, Methods, Results, Conclusions. Review articles should use these headings: Purpose, Methods, Results, Conclusions. Please see the document below for further details:
For reference citations, please use APA style. Particular care should be taken to ensure that references are accurate and complete. Give all journal titles in full.
SI units must be used for all measurements, rounded off to practical values if appropriate, with the imperial equivalent in parentheses.
In normal circumstances, effect size should be incorporated.
Authors are requested to avoid the use of sexist language.
Authors are responsible for acquiring written permission to publish lengthy quotations, illustrations, etc. for which they do not own copyright.
For guidelines on editorial style, please consult the APA Publication Manual published by the American Psychological Association.
5. Brief reports and comments
These allow publication of research studies and theoretical, critical or review comments with an essential contribution to make. They should be limited to 2000 words, including references. The abstract should not exceed 120 words and should be structured under these headings: Objective, Method, Results, Conclusions. There should be no more than one table or figure, which should only be included if it conveys information more efficiently than the text. Title, author name and address are not included in the word limit.
6. Publication ethics
All submissions should follow the ethical submission guidelines outlined the the documents below:
Supplementary data too extensive for publication may be deposited with the British Library Document Supply Centre. Such material includes numerical data, computer programs, fuller details of case studies and experimental techniques. The material should be submitted to the Editor together with the article, for simultaneous refereeing.
8. Copyright
On acceptance of a paper submitted to a journal, authors will be requested to sign an appropriate assignment of copyright form. To find out more, please see our Copyright Information for Authors.