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Journal Authors Guidelines

The American Mental Health Counselors Association Journal of Mental Health Counseling

GUIDELINES FOR AUTHORS

The Journal of Mental Health Counseling publishes articles on all aspects of practice, theory, research, and professionalism related to mental health counseling. The Journal is divided into four sections: Practice, Theory, Research, and Professional Exchange. For all qualitative and quantitative research articles, authors must include a detailed description of the participants, with particular to their race, ethnicity, and gender. Authors are expected to discuss the implications of the findings based on the racial, ethnic, and gender composition of the sample or population.

Manuscripts should be well organized and concise so that the development of ideas is clear. Avoid dull, stereotyped writing and the use of jargon. Aim for clear communication of ideas. Include separate pages for author notes and the abstract. The abstract should clearly summarize the main ideas of the manuscript.

Do not use footnotes. The material they would contain should be incorporated in the text. Keep tables to a minimum. Include only essential data and combine tables where possible. Refer to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (5th ed.) for style of tabular presentations. Each table should be on a separate page following the reference section of the manuscript. Final placement of tables is at the discretion of the Editor; in all cases, tables will be placed near the first reference to them in the text. Supply figures (graphs, illustrations, line drawings) as camera-ready art (done by a commercial artist). Be sure to include figure legends on a separate sheet.

Lengthy quotations require permission from the copyright holder for reproduction. Adaptation of tables and figures also requires reproduction approval from the copyrighted source. It is the author’s responsibility to secure such permission and a copy of the publisher’s written permission must be provided to the Editor immediately after acceptance of the article for publication.

References should follow APA style. Check all references for completeness and accuracy including year, volume number, and pages of journal citations. Make certain that all text references are listed in the reference list and vice versa. For other style questions, consult the APA Publication Manual. Consult the APA web site (www.apa.org/journals/webref.html) for the correct format for electronic references.

Typing Requirements

  • Article titles and headings should be as short as possible.
  • The title of the article should appear on the first page. Also include in this page the name and institutional affiliation of each author. Also provide address, telephone number, fax number, and e-mail address for each author.
  • Send four copies of each manuscript; use regular 8" x 11" white paper.
  • Double space all materials. Allow wide margins.
  • Authors must reduce bias in language against persons on the basis of gender, sexual orientation, racial or ethnic group, disability, or age by referring to the guidelines in the APA Publication Manual.
  • Never submit material for concurrent consideration by another publication.
  • Submit manuscripts to:

    James R. Rogers, Ph.D.
    Editor, Journal of Mental Health Counseling
    The University of Akron
    Department of Counseling
    127 Carroll Hall
    Akron, OH 44325-5007
    Email: jrrogers@uakron.edu
    Office: 330.972.8635
    Fax: 330.972.5292

  • Authors must include an email address in their correspondence with the Editor.
  • Final versions of accepted manuscripts must be submitted electronically as well as in hard-copy. The disk format must be IBM compatible. Authors should save their manuscript file in Microsoft Word. No other file formats will be accepted. The author’s name and the software used should be clearly written on the diskette label.


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