Developing JMHC Content-Related Submission Guidelines

Over the past year, the Editorial Board members, the associate editors and I have engaged in an e-mail-based discussion aimed at provided clarification to potential contributors to the journal through the development of content-related submission guidelines. As with many journals, the JMHC receives a number of submissions that are judged as not appropriate for the journal because of the topic. Sometimes these determinations are made at the editorial office upon receipt of the manuscripts and sometimes the decision is made following the initial round of reviews. In either case, this process can be frustrating and needlessly time consuming for both the authors and the editorial board members who are providing their expertise in reviewing manuscripts as a professional service. While it is unlikely that any set of guidelines would completely eliminate the possibility that a manuscript would be judged as inappropriate for the journal based on content domain, the consensus of the board members was that a statement of general guidelines would reduce the potential of this occurring. With this in mind, Dr. Michael Accordino drafted an initial guideline statement that was distributed to the editorial board for comment. This statement was as follows: Topics suitable for the Journal of Mental Health Counseling should relate directly to the practice of mental health counseling (e.g. Assessment and diagnosis, psychotherapy, treatment planning and utilization review, brief and solution-focused therapy, alcoholism and substance abuse treatment, psychoeducational and prevention programs, crisis management, and research), theory related to the practice of mental health counseling, or professional issues that mental health counselors encounter. Manuscripts that only look at counselor-counselee dynamics are more appropriate for Journal of Counseling and Development or Counselor Education and Supervision and are not particularly suitable for the JMHC unless there is a strong explicit connection made to the practice of mental health counseling. Furthermore, any submission to the JMHC must include a discussion of implications for mental health counseling practice. This initial statement of content-related guidelines prompted a number of responses from the members of the editorial board. The major reactions were collated and are paraphrased below. These reactions are not presented in any particular order. * Research participants in manuscripts relevant to the JMHC should not be college students from undergraduate classes unless a strong case can be made for the relevance of the sample to the practice of mental health counseling. * There was concern that the list of topics provided in the initial statement may be seen by potential authors as exhaustive and there was a suggestion to broaden the list by using basic ideas rather than identifying specific foci. * Multicultural issues relevant to practice of mental health counseling should be included in the statement. * International submissions and mental health issues in other nations (as may be particularly useful for those working with immigrant populations) should be incorporated into the statement. * The appreciation of both quantitative and qualitative research methodologies in research submitted to the JMHC should be highlighted. …