Edited by Doctor Andrew Reeves, published by Taylor & Francis

A peer reviewed, quarterly, international journal that is circulated to over 30,000 BACP members and subscribers. CPR is now indexed on PsycINFO. The Counselling and Psychotherapy Research Journal is distinctly different from existing journals in that it promotes writing that is reflexive – authors are encouraged to write about their personal engagement with their research, and their relationship with the intellectual and cultural traditions that inform their work. It is contextualised in that authors are asked to describe the real-world background to their study, in terms of practice setting, client/user experiences, type of intervention, and organisational factors that influenced the study. The journal is practitioner-orientated as papers are written to be read by practitioners and those whose work shapes practice, such as policy makers, supervisors and managers, and is not just aimed at other researchers. The articles in Counselling and Psychotherapy Research are of interest not only to accredited practitioners but also to members of those professions who may use counselling skills in their work – nurses, teachers, social workers, probation workers, for example. Members of BACP are also invited to contribute to this journal by submitting papers for review.

This journal will be mailed to BACP members four times per year, for further subscriptions please contact: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/titles/14733145.asp (libraries and corporations are eligible for a competitive low rate.

Instructions for authors:

1. Introduction

It is essential that authors prepare their manuscripts according to established specifications. Failure to follow them may result in your paper being delayed and the effectiveness of the search capabilities offered by electronic delivery will depend upon the care used by authors in preparing their manuscripts. Therefore, contributors are strongly encouraged to read these instructions carefully before preparing a manuscript for submission, and to check the manuscript for compliance with these notes before submitting it for publication.

2. Submitting a paper to Counselling and Psychotherapy Research

Papers for consideration should be sent as email attachments to the Editor, Andrew Reeves at andrew.reeves@bacp.co.uk

Authors are to note that all submissions of manuscripts should be done electronically only. Electronic submissions should be sent as email attachments using a standard word processing program, such as MS Word.

Please make sure your complete contact address information – including email address – is provided at the time of submission.

3. General guidelines

Counselling and Psychotherapy Research considers all manuscripts on the strict condition that they have been submitted only to Counselling and Psychotherapy Research, that they have not been published already, nor are they under consideration for publication or in press elsewhere. Authors who fail to adhere to this condition will be charged with all costs, which Counselling and Psychotherapy Research incurs and their papers will not be published.

Contributions to Counselling and Psychotherapy Research must report original research and will be subjected to review by referees.

Types of articles

Counselling and Psychotherapy Research invites submissions under the following categories:

• original research into counselling, psychotherapy and the use of counselling in allied professions (e.g. nursing, social work, education, health promotion, health psychology, pastoral care, etc.);
• case studies, where systematic and ethical methods of data collection have been applied;
• critical discussions and reviews of the relevance for practice of existing research studies.

Writing your paper

• For all manuscripts non-discriminatory language is mandatory. Sexist or racist terms should not be used.
• In a covering letter, the senior author should confirm that the paper has not been submitted to another journal, and indicate where in the article any necessary ethical procedures have been followed. Articles must adhere to the Ethical Guidelines for both research and practice of BACP. On receipt of the submission, the Editor will confirm by email.
• Contributions of different lengths are invited: a) Papers of 1,500–2,500 words, including references; b) Papers of 3,500–4,500 words including references.
  In exceptional circumstances longer papers may be published where inclusion of data (eg excerpts from interviews) warrant it. However in general shorter papers will be preferred.
• Authors should include a word count with their manuscript (including references).
• All articles must be printed in 12-point font and double-spaced throughout including the reference section, with wide (3 cm) margins.
• All pages must be numbered.
• Each paper should have three to six keywords.
• Papers are accepted only in English.
• All the authors of a paper should include their full names, affiliations, postal addresses, telephone and fax numbers and email addresses on the cover page of manuscripts.
• Abstracts of no more than 200 words are required for all papers submitted and should precede the text of a paper.
• Manuscripts should be compiled in the following order: title page; abstract; keywords; main text; acknowledgments; appendixes (as appropriate); references; table(s) with caption(s) (on individual sheets); figure caption(s) (as a list).
• All tables and figures should be numbered and presented on separate pages.
• Section headings should be concise.
• When a paper is finally accepted for publication, camera-ready versions of any graphs, figures and diagrams need to be provided by the author(s).
• Authors will receive page proofs for checking. At this point, no substantial changes can be made to the paper. It is essential that proofs are checked and returned within 48 hours.
• When using a word which is or is asserted to be a proprietary term or trade mark authors must use the symbol ® or TM or alternatively a footnote can be inserted using the wording below:
  
  This article includes a word that is or is asserted to be a proprietary term or trade mark. Its inclusion does not imply it has acquired for legal purposes a non-proprietary or general significance, nor is any other judgement implied concerning its legal status.

4. Copyright

It is a condition of publication that authors vest or license copyright in their articles, including abstracts, in the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP). This enables us to ensure full copyright protection and to disseminate the article, and the Journal, to the widest possible readership in print and electronic formats as appropriate. Authors may, of course, use the material elsewhere after publication providing that prior permission is obtained from the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP). Authors are themselves responsible for obtaining permission to reproduce copyright material (any illustration, table or quote of more than 100 words) published elsewhere.

Copies of the permission letters should be sent with the manuscript to the Editors.

5. Notes on style

The Journal follows the ACA referencing style (including referencing).

6. Early electronic offprints

Corresponding authors can now receive their article by email as a complete PDF. This allows the author to print up to 50 copies, free of charge, and disseminate them to colleagues. In many cases this facility will be available up to two weeks prior to publication. Alternatively, corresponding authors will receive the traditional 50 offprints. A copy of the Journal will be sent by post to all corresponding authors after publication. Additional copies of the Journal can be purchased at the author’s preferential rate of £15.00/$25.00 per copy.

7. Page charges

There are no page charges to individuals or institutions.