Scope and relevance
Confirm that the work has a substantive connection to psychotherapy practice or research. Use the published scope when the fit is uncertain.
Editorial guidance
Editors’ Guidelines
A practical reference for editors assessing psychotherapy practice and research submissions for scope, scholarly quality, ethical information and constructive peer review.
On this pageWorkflowAssessmentConfidentialityParticipantsClarification
Assigned manuscripts
A clear editorial sequence
These steps reflect the responsibilities currently described for IJPR editors. They do not set a response-time promise, a decision hierarchy or a numerical reviewer requirement.
Assess fit
Read the submission against IJPR’s psychotherapy remit and its relevance to clinical practice, research or therapeutic intervention.
Check the record
Consider scientific merit, originality, required documentation, ethics information, reporting guidance and presentation.
Declare a conflict
Do not handle work where a personal, institutional, collaborative or competing interest could affect judgement; seek editorial-office instruction on the next step.
Seek expertise
Select reviewers whose clinical psychology or psychotherapy expertise matches the manuscript’s subject matter.
Communicate clearly
Use reviewer input and the manuscript record to give authors constructive feedback and a clear editorial rationale.
Editorial assessment
Apply the same scholarly standards to every submission
The current IJPR guidance asks editors to assess relevance, scientific quality and ethical requirements. A reviewer recommendation informs the assessment; it does not remove the need for editorial judgement.
Scholarly quality
Consider originality, scientific merit, methodological soundness, clinical relevance and whether the conclusions are supported by the material provided.
Reviewer selection
Invite reviewers with relevant subject expertise. Reviewer comments should be handled as confidential editorial material and weighed alongside the manuscript record.
Revisions and decisions
When revisions are needed, communicate what authors should address in clear, respectful terms. The published IJPR material does not define fixed decision categories or timelines.
- Keep the decision focused on the manuscript and applicable journal requirements.
- Request clarification when a material concern cannot be resolved from the submission.
- Use respectful, specific language in author-facing communication.
- State the reason for a requested revision or decision clearly in the author-facing communication.
Conflicts and confidentiality
Protect the review process
IJPR’s existing guidance requires confidentiality and asks editors to step back from conflicts. The checks below make those principles usable without creating an unverified handling procedure.
Competing interests
Editors should identify potential conflicts before handling a manuscript, including personal relationships, recent collaboration, institutional connections and interests that could affect impartiality. Do not handle the manuscript until the editorial office confirms the appropriate route.
Confidential material
Treat the manuscript, reviewer reports and editorial discussion as confidential. Do not share material outside the editorial process without first obtaining editorial-office instruction.
Editor and board submissions
An editor should not take part in assessing a manuscript where that editor has a personal or professional interest. A documented reassignment route still needs an approved IJPR procedure.
External tools and AI
IJPR has not yet published a journal-specific rule for generative-AI or other external tools. Do not send confidential manuscript, review or editorial material to an external service unless its use has been confirmed by the editorial office.
Psychotherapy research
Participant protection and research integrity
IJPR’s published materials require appropriate ethical review and documented informed consent for human-participant research. Editors should look for clear documentation and seek guidance where material raises a concern.
Clinical and sensitive material
Do not substitute personal clinical judgement for documented ethics requirements. IJPR author guidance says that therapy notes, session transcripts, recordings, intake forms, signed consent documents and direct identifiers must not appear in a manuscript. Review indirect-identification risks too, including dates, locations, rare events, family details, occupations, quotations and distinctive narrative facts. Ask the editorial office for the applicable journal procedure when consent to publish or de-identification is unclear.
Research-integrity concerns
Existing IJPR material identifies overlap, fabrication and image manipulation as concerns. Preserve the editorial record and ask for guidance rather than making an unsupported finding or promising a particular outcome.
Respectful terminology
Use precise, non-stigmatising language when discussing diagnosis, trauma, abuse, self-harm, culture, identity or treatment outcomes. Reported evidence and ethical documentation remain the basis for assessment.
Before release
Procedures that still need an approved IJPR statement
The following topics are not stated as established IJPR policy on this page because the current source record does not define their operational details.
Editorial independence
A journal-specific statement is needed to define the separation of editorial decisions from APC payments, waiver requests, services, memberships and commercial considerations.
Approval requiredEscalation and misconduct
A maintained route is needed for the assessment, communication and resolution of suspected misconduct, complaints, appeals and reconsideration requests.
Approval requiredAI and data handling
A published rule is needed for approved systems, disclosure, retention and the handling of confidential material in AI-assisted workflows.
Approval requiredClinical case material
A journal procedure is needed for consent to publish, de-identification and the handling of sensitive psychotherapy records or narrative data.
Approval requiredRelated journal information
Use the relevant guidance
These pages provide the journal context that editors and reviewers should consult alongside the manuscript record.
Aims & Scope
Check the journal’s psychotherapy remit and boundaries.
Editorial Policies
Review the current journal-level policy record.
Reviewer Guidelines
See the reviewer-facing guidance and responsibilities.
Instructions for Authors
Check the current author requirements and manuscript preparation information.
Editorial Board
View the journal’s listed editorial leadership.
Peer Review
Read the publisher’s current public overview of peer review.
Need clarification before taking an editorial action?
Ask the editorial office for the current journal procedure when a conflict, confidentiality, ethics or research-integrity concern is not addressed by the published guidance.
Contact the editorial officeInternational Journal of Psychotherapy Practice and Research · ISSN 2574-612X