Instructions for Authors
Comprehensive guidelines for preparing and submitting your behavioral therapy and mental health research manuscripts to the Journal of Behavior Therapy and Mental Health.
Prepare Your Manuscript for Publication
The Journal of Behavior Therapy and Mental Health welcomes original research manuscripts, review articles, case reports, and short communications covering all aspects of behavioral interventions, psychotherapy, and mental health treatment. These guidelines provide detailed instructions for manuscript preparation to help authors submit high-quality manuscripts that meet our editorial and formatting requirements for efficient processing.
Following these guidelines carefully will expedite the review process and minimize delays during production. If you have questions about any aspect of manuscript preparation for behavioral therapy research, please contact our editorial office at [email protected] before submission. Our team is available to assist authors with formatting questions and technical requirements for their mental health manuscripts.
JBTM publishes several types of manuscripts to accommodate different mental health research outputs. Each manuscript type has specific requirements for length, structure, and content. Authors should select the most appropriate format for their behavioral therapy research findings based on the nature and scope of their work.
Original Research Articles
Full-length research papers presenting novel findings in behavioral therapy research, clinical trials, or psychological intervention studies. Research articles must include abstract, introduction, materials and methods, results, discussion, and references sections following the IMRAD structure. There is no strict word limit, but clarity is essential.
Review Articles
Comprehensive reviews synthesizing current knowledge in specific mental health research areas. Reviews typically range from five thousand to ten thousand words and should provide critical analysis of recent advances, identify knowledge gaps, and suggest future directions for behavioral therapy research.
Case Reports
Detailed descriptions of unusual or instructive clinical cases in psychotherapy. Case reports should include patient presentation, assessment measures, treatment protocol with session details, and clinical outcome with discussion of implications for mental health clinical practice.
Short Communications
Brief reports of up to three thousand words presenting preliminary behavioral findings, negative results, or confirmatory studies. Short communications should include a structured abstract of no more than two hundred words summarizing key findings.
Research manuscripts should follow the standard IMRAD structure (Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion) with additional sections as described below. Adherence to this structure facilitates peer review and reader comprehension of your behavioral therapy research findings.
- Title: Concise and informative, accurately reflecting mental health research content. Avoid abbreviations. Maximum twenty words capturing the essential findings.
- Authors and Affiliations: List all authors with complete names, institutional affiliations, and email addresses. Identify the corresponding author with complete contact information.
- Abstract: Structured abstract of no more than three hundred words summarizing background, objectives, methods, results, and conclusions of your behavioral therapy research.
- Keywords: Provide five to eight keywords for indexing. Include relevant psychology and mental health terminology to enhance discoverability by the research community.
- Introduction: Provide background on the behavioral research question, state the hypothesis clearly, and explain study objectives and significance for the field.
- Materials and Methods: Describe experimental design, participant populations, psychological assessment measures, treatment protocols, and analytical approaches in sufficient detail for replication.
- Results: Present findings using text, figures, and tables. Include effect sizes and confidence intervals. Avoid interpretation in the results section.
- Discussion: Interpret results in context of existing mental health literature, discuss clinical implications and limitations, suggest future research directions.
- Conclusions: Summarize main behavioral therapy findings and their significance in a concise paragraph highlighting contributions to the field.
- Acknowledgments: Acknowledge funding sources, patient contributions, and technical assistance that supported the research.
- References: List all cited works using numbered references in order of appearance throughout the manuscript.
Manuscripts must be submitted as Microsoft Word documents with specific formatting for behavioral therapy research manuscripts submitted to JBTM.
Document Format
Use twelve-point Times New Roman or Arial font throughout the manuscript. Set line spacing to double throughout including references and figure legends. Number all pages consecutively from the title page. Set margins to one inch on all sides for consistent formatting.
Figures and Images
Submit figures as separate high-resolution files in TIFF, PNG, or JPEG format. Minimum resolution three hundred DPI for print quality. Include descriptive legends explaining all elements. Flow diagrams, assessment score graphs, and treatment outcome figures should be clearly labeled.
Tables
Create tables using Microsoft Word table function rather than tab-delimited text. Number tables consecutively and provide descriptive titles. Include demographic data, outcome measure scores, and statistical analyses in clearly formatted tables.
All research involving human subjects must be approved by an institutional review board or ethics committee and conducted according to the Declaration of Helsinki. Include ethics statements confirming approval and informed consent in manuscripts. Research involving vulnerable populations such as children or psychiatric patients requires particular attention to consent procedures and participant protection.
Clinical trials must be registered in a public trials registry before enrollment begins. Include the registration number in the manuscript. Animal studies are uncommon in behavioral research but must be approved by an institutional animal care committee if applicable.
Authors should follow established reporting guidelines to ensure comprehensive and transparent reporting of their behavioral therapy research. CONSORT guidelines should be followed for randomized controlled trials of psychological interventions. PRISMA guidelines apply to systematic reviews and meta-analyses. STROBE guidelines apply to observational studies. CARE guidelines should be followed for case reports.
Manuscripts should be submitted through our online submission system at ManuscriptZone. First-time users must create an account before submitting. The submission process requires uploading the manuscript file, cover letter, and supplementary materials including any additional datasets or treatment protocol details.
Cover Letter Requirements
Include a cover letter explaining significance of your behavioral therapy research, confirming originality of the work, disclosing conflicts of interest, and suggesting three to five potential reviewers with psychology or psychiatry expertise who do not have conflicts of interest.
All manuscripts undergo initial editorial assessment followed by single-blind peer review by mental health experts. Reviewers are selected based on expertise in specific psychological treatment areas. Authors typically receive reviewer comments within two to four weeks of submission. The editorial team provides clear guidance on required revisions.
Ready to Submit Your Research?
Your behavioral therapy research can advance global understanding and improve patient outcomes through open access publication in JBTM.
