Author Guidelines

Scope | Author Guidelines | Article Types

Scope

Mental Health Clinician (MHC) is a peer-reviewed clinical practice journal indexed in PubMed, PubMed Central (PMC), Scopus, Google Scholar, and other search engines. MHC delves into new topics with each issue to provide psychiatric pharmacists’ and providers’ perspectives on a wide variety of issues related to psychopharmacology and its application to patient care.

Author Guidelines

Once you have thoroughly reviewed the author guidelines below and have a manuscript ready for peer review, please submit it online.

Prior Publication Policy

Manuscripts are accepted for publication with the understanding that their full contents have not been published elsewhere, except in abstract form, or by the express consent of the editorial board.

Mental Health Clinician is willing to evaluate submissions previously posted as preprints on reputable servers like bioRxiv and medRxiv. Authors should note the preprint posting in their cover letter, including the digital object identifier (DOI) or URL, and detail any differences between the preprint and the submitted manuscript. Once an article is submitted for review, authors must not initiate new preprint postings or update existing ones. If the article is accepted for publication, authors must update the preprint with a link to the final published version.

Copyright Policy

Authors must obtain letters of permission from publishers and pay any fees for use of extensive quotations (more than 500 words) or figures/tables that have been previously published or submitted elsewhere. Upon submission, authors are required to agree to the following statement:

The American Association of Psychiatric Pharmacists (AAPP) will hold copyright on all contents of Mental Health Clinician. In order to ensure fullest protection of the rights of both AAPP and its authors, before an article is published, I affirm that I own and have not assigned elsewhere all rights to the article I am submitting, I affirm that I have obtained written permission to use any previously copyrighted material that is included (if applicable), and I hereby assign and transfer to AAPP all rights to this article.

 

Open Access and Article Process Charges

MHC is an open access journal, and all MHC articles are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License. MHC charges a nominal article processing charge after acceptance of $250, which is waived when at least one author is a member of AAPP. Certain articles may incur additional cost if they exceed word count or table count as described below in “Document Preparation and Required Formatting.” MHC does not charge a submission fee.

 

Scientific Misconduct

MHC adheres to the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) recommendations regarding scientific misconduct. Any suspected scientific misconduct (duplicate publication, plagiarism, fabricated data, questions of authorship, undisclosed conflict of interest or other ethical issues) in either submitted or published work will be handled as recommended by the COPE guidelines. The editorial board reserves the right to retract any articles identified as involving scientific misconduct. In such cases, a notice of correction will be published on the website in place of the article.

 

Protection of Research Subjects

The author is responsible for ensuring that the rights of human and/or animal subjects involved in research or publication of materials have been protected, according to the regulations of his or her institution. Reports of research must explicitly describe how the work was evaluated by an Institutional Review Board (IRB) or other similar body in the methods section. Investigations of human subjects should include details in the methods section regarding how informed consent was obtained and whether there was any payment or other incentive provided for participation. Case reports and case series should remove all identifying information to anonymize the patient. Case reports that include protected patient information, case details that could be used to identify a patient, and/or images of patients require attestation of written consent from patients or their representatives.

MHC abides by the ICMJE requirements regarding registration of clinical trials in a WHO-approved public trials registry no later than the time of first patient enrollment as a condition of consideration for publication. The trial registry name, registry URL, and registration number must be included at the end of the abstract.

 

Disclosure of Conflicts of Interest

Disclosure of conflicts of interest is required at the time of submission of work to MHC. All authors will complete and submit an ICMJE Form for Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest http://www.icmje.org/conflicts-of-interest/. Each author is required to complete a separate ICMJE form. Combined disclosure forms are not accepted.

 

ORCID Identifiers

Author and affiliation information should contain valid ORCID identifiers for ALL contributors. Authors must enter the number upon initial submission and include it in their title page. ORCID identifiers can be obtained for free at https://orcid.org.

 

Authorship

MHC adheres to the ICMJE recommendations for authorship. Authorship will be based on the following criteria:

  • Substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work; AND
  • Drafting the work or revising it critically for important intellectual content; AND
  • Final approval of the version to be published; AND
  • Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

 All those designated as authors should meet all four criteria for authorship and all who meet the four criteria should be identified as authors. Those who do not meet all four criteria may be acknowledged by the authors at the end of the manuscript.

 

Funding

Authors must report all funding sources which will be included in the Acknowledgments section. All funding support for the research conducted and the publication process, including publishing and licensing/access fees, must be disclosed. Authors are responsible for the accuracy of this information. If in doubt, please check the Open Funder Registry for the correct nomenclature: https://www.crossref.org/services/funder-registry/

 

Preferred Language

Because of its professional audience, MHC generally prefers the term “psychiatric disorders” over similar terms, including “mental illnesses,” “psychiatric illnesses,” “CNS disorders,” “psychiatric conditions,” and others. For example, psychiatric pharmacists treat psychiatric disorders. When needed for clarity, to allow consistency with recent guidelines, or as a distinguishing modifier, it is also acceptable to use: (1) “psychiatric disorders, including substance use disorders (SUDs),” (2) “serious mental illness (SMI),” and (3) “severe and persistent mental illness (SPMI).”

 

Figure/Image File Preparation

Please provide all images in the highest resolution possible in their original format (such as jpgs or tifs, rather than images pasted into a Word document). All media resources must be in compliance with PubMed Central, which provides specific requirements for all image resources. Review the official file submission specifications for images. Note that MHC and AAPP may be able to assist with some necessary file conversions.

 

Document Preparation and Required Formatting

  1. Documents should be prepared in Microsoft Word with:
    1. 12-point font with standard character spacing
    2. Times New Roman font
    3. Double spacing (not necessary within tables, but necessary in References section)
    4. 1-inch margins
    5. One space between sentences
    6. New paragraphs NOT indented but separated from the previous paragraph by a blank line
    7. Line numbers
  2. A title page is required for all submissions. The title page must contain the following information for each author:
    1. Name and degree(s)
    2. Position/title
    3. Institutional affiliation and location (city and state)
    4. Acknowledgments (optional)
    5. ORCID identifier
    6. Statement of the disclosures of interest
  3. Abstracts are required for all articles excluding Letters to the Editor, Editorials, and Applied Psychopharmacology. Abstracts should be provided on the first page of the document and should be clearly delineated from the article itself. The primary objective of the article should be made clear in the abstract. Abstracts should not exceed 250 words.
  4. Manuscript lengths are strongly enforced and are outlined by article type (please see below for specific article type). If you are unable or unwilling to edit your manuscript to the required length, you can obtain higher limits via the following author processing fees (payment due after acceptance and prior to copyediting):
    1. Additional words: $200 per additional 250 words
    2. Additional tables and figures: $250 per table or figure

Submission Process

  1. Author submits manuscript.
  2. All articles are automatically run through a plagiarism check at the time of submission powered by the iThenticate functionality in PeerTrack. A Senior Editor reviews the output of the report for each submission.
  3. If manuscript meets initial quality and content requirements, it is passed on to a handling editor who determines if it is appropriate for external peer review and assigns at least two peer reviewers. If a manuscript does not meet initial quality and content requirements, most authors are notified of this early screening decision within 2 weeks.
  4. The reviewers provide detailed reviews and recommendations regarding publication.
  5. The editor considers all peer review comments and recommendations and notifies senior editor of decision regarding publication (accept, minor revision, major revision, or reject).
  6. Senior editor makes final determination and sends decision letter to author.
  7. On average, the overall time from initial submission through publication is 26 weeks, although it varies significantly based on both reviewer and author response times.

Post-Publication Content Changes

Requests for changes after publication should be directed to the managing editor for review by the editorial board and author(s). If appropriate, corrections will be made to the original article and notice of correction will be posted with link to article.

Post-Publication Name Changes

Authors may contact the managing editor to request a name change for personal reasons. In these cases, the author’s name will be changed without notice of correction.

 

Article Types

Reviews (includes Literature Reviews, Review of Drugs/Pharmacotherapy)

MHC welcomes thorough reviews of the literature that clearly state their contribution to the current state of knowledge in the field of psychiatric disorders and/or their treatments. Please adhere to the following guidelines when submitting a review.

  1. Reviews of the literature should follow the IMRAD (Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion) format that is recommended by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors for both abstract and body of manuscript.
  2. Systematic literature reviews should follow the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) reporting guideline.
  3. The data sources, keywords, study inclusion/exclusion, and any date/language limitations used in the literature search must be clearly described.
  4. Manuscript length (excluding abstract, keywords, tables/figures, and references): 4000 words and 2 tables (or figures). Include this word count in the manuscript file, after the abstract/keywords.

Original Research

MHC welcomes well-written reports of novel research in the areas of pharmacology, pharmacokinetics, pharmacotherapy, pharmacoeconomics, and the evaluation of and practice of pharmacy. Please adhere to the following guidelines when submitting an original research manuscript.

  1. Original research manuscripts must clearly specify the research question and its relevance to the current state of knowledge in the field.
  2. Original research manuscripts should follow the IMRAD (Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion) format that is recommended by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors for both abstract and body of manuscript.
  3. Manuscript length (excluding abstract, keywords, tables/figures, and references):
    1. Retrospective: 2000 words and 4 tables (or figures). Include this word count in the manuscript file, after the abstract/keywords.
    2. Prospective: 3000 words and 4 tables (or figures). Include this word count in the manuscript file, after the abstract/keywords.

Case Report

MHC welcomes well-written case reports that clearly and thoroughly describe patient circumstances, implicated medication(s) involved, and relevant clinical circumstances. Please adhere to the following guidelines when submitting a case report.

  1. Case reports are described in the following order: Background, Case Report, Discussion, and Conclusion.
  2. The diagnostic criteria used for any diagnoses mentioned must be specified whenever possible.
  3. References for scales/assessment tools used must be provided when applicable.
  4. Manuscript length (excluding abstract, keywords, tables/figures, and references): 1500 words and 2 tables (or figures). Include this word count in the manuscript file, after the abstract/keywords.

Case Report with Literature Review

MHC welcomes well-written case reports that clearly and thoroughly describe patient circumstances, implicated medication(s) involved, relevant clinical circumstances, and provide a concise review of relevant literature. Please adhere to the following guidelines when submitting this type of case report.

  1. Case reports are described in the following order: Background, Case Report, Discussion, and Conclusion.
  2. The data sources, keywords, and any date/language limitations used in the literature search must be specified in the discussion.
  3. The diagnostic criteria used for any diagnoses mentioned must be specified whenever possible.
  4. References for scales/assessment tools used must be provided when applicable.
  5. Manuscript length (excluding abstract, keywords, tables/figures, and references): 2000 words and 2 tables (or figures). Include this word count in the manuscript file, after the abstract/keywords.

Psychopharmacology Pearl

With an invitation from an editor, MHC welcomes review articles intended to highlight both the evidence base available and/or controversial areas of clinical care for psychiatric and neurologic conditions as well as strategies of clinical decision making used by expert clinicians. As pearls, articles reflect the views and practice of each author as substantiated with evidence-based facts as well as opinion and experience. Articles are edited by members of the AAPP Psychopharmacology Pearls Editorial Board (to ensure appropriateness for BCPP Recertification Continuing Education) as well as peer reviewed by MHC reviewers.

Applied Psychopharmacology

With an invitation from an MHC editor, Applied Psychopharmacology articles are focused on selected medication related problems using illustrative cases as a guide.

Please adhere to the following guidelines when submitting this type of manuscript.

  1. Case-based discussions are to be presented in the following order:
    1. Background
    2. Illustrative case
    3. Evidence-based discussion
    4.  Recommended strategies to prevent or resolve the medication related problem
    5. Conclusion
  2. Abstracts are not required
  3. A “Practice Points” table is required, listing 3-4 key insights from the article
  4. Manuscript length (excluding keywords, tables/figures, and references): 1250 words and 1 table or figure in addition to the “Practice Points” table

Innovative Practice

MHC welcomes well-written articles that describe the background, day-to-day activities, patient population, setting, and other information related to a psychiatric pharmacist. Manuscript length (excluding abstract, keywords, tables/figures, and references): 1500 words and 2 tables (or figures). Include this word count in the manuscript file, after the abstract/keywords.

 

Letters to the Editor

MHC welcomes letters to the editor. Letters written in response to manuscripts published in MHC must be submitted within 60 days of publication of that material.

  1. Manuscript length: 500 words only.
  2. When letters are written in response to manuscripts published in MHC, authors of the original material will have an opportunity to respond. Author responses to letters to the editor must also be limited to 500 words and should be returned to the editors within 30 days of their receipt. When possible, letters to the editor and their corresponding author responses will be published together 2 issues after the publication of the original content being discussed. The timeline may vary and is per Editor discretion.

Letters and author responses should be submitted using the standard manuscript submission process. Submission does not guarantee publication. If the letter is in response to a published article, please state so in your cover letter.

 

Text

  1. Identify all measurements and units in metric (centimeter, gram, second). SI units (eg, moles/mL) should not be used.
  2. Precisely identify all drugs and chemicals by generic name.
  3. When commercial products are referred to by brand name, denote, in parentheses, the trade name or model no.; the manufacturer’s name, city, and state or country at the first mention of such a product. All other references to such products need not denote this information.
  4. With the exception of the References section of the text (see “References” below), the journal follows the American Medical Association (AMA) Manual of Style, 11th Edition with some adjustments based on the discretion of the editorial board and copyeditors.

Tables and Figures

  1. Tables and corresponding captions/titles should be included in the manuscript file, at the end of the manuscript after the References. Example of brief descriptive title: Table 1: Patient Demographics.
  2. Tables summarize or represent information that is formatted in rows and columns. They should be named consecutively as they appear in the body of the manuscript. Numerical order is required.
  3. Many manuscripts include tables summarizing existing studies, which can include many columns. For readability purposes, consolidate the columns as illustrated in the table below.

Heading

Required

Example

Study, y

Yes

Adler et al59(2004)

Study Characteristics

Yes

Study design (duration):

Randomized controlled trial; control participants received usual care from PCP

(6-mo intervention period with 18-mo follow-up)

 

Setting:

Nine primary care clinics

 

Patient population (sample size):

MDD, dysthymia

 

N = 533

(intervention group, 268; control group, 265)

Intervention and Results

Yes

Pharmacists monitored medication therapy, provided therapeutic recommendations to PCPs, and provided patient education and advice.

Results: Patients in the intervention group had higher adherence rates of antidepressant medication use at 6 mo than patients in the control group (57.5% vs 46.2%, P = .03).

Depression outcomes at 6 mo, based on mBDI scores, did not vary significantly between intervention and control groups but favored intervention group (P = .16).

Comment

No

Study did not exclude patients who were already taking antidepressants, who were unwilling to try antidepressants, or who had comorbid psychiatric disorders....

Other

No

 
  1. Unlike the Tables, Figures should be submitted as separate files, 1 image per file. Figure captions/titles should NOT remain in the separate image files, but appear in the manuscript file, also after the References. Example of brief descriptive title: Figure 1: Relationship between Major Depressive Disorder and Alcohol Use.
  1. Figures summarize or represent information visually. They should be named consecutively as they appear in the body of the manuscript. Numerical order is required. Refer to Figure/Image File Preparation for further guidance regarding figure files.
  2. All abbreviations in Tables and Figures should be defined. Footnotes with a list of abbreviations and their definitions may be used.

References

  1. References must be numbered and listed by the order of their appearance in the text.
  2. Abbreviations of journal titles conform to those used by the U.S. National Library of Medicine and used in Index Medicus.
  3. References must conform to the style of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM) under the National Institute of Health (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/bsd/uniform_requirements.html).
    1. Tip: Include the DOI in the reference (available for most Medline entries), and the copyeditors can automatically complete/correct the remaining information for you.
       
    2. Ex: “DOI: 10.9740/mhc.n117932”
    3. List a maximum of 6 authors; if more than 6, list the first 6 then et al.
  4. When referencing package inserts, it is encouraged to use http://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/ for easier online access to up-to-date information. An example NLM reference is:
    1. Valeant Pharmaceuticals North America LLC. LIBRIUM (chlordiazepoxide hydrochloride) capsule, gelatin coated. 2007 [rev. 2013 Nov; cited 2014 Mar 11]. In: DailyMed [Internet]. [2005] - . [about 10 p.]. Bethesda (MD): National Library of Medicine (US). Available from: http://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/lookup.cfm?setid=a243ce25-2aa0-4879-86ec-455db3a63c5e
  5. Identify abstracts and letters in parentheses at the end of the manuscript title.
  6. In-text citations should be denoted by a superscript number after the period of the sentence with no space between “period” and citation (eg, ....as seen in older patients.4)
  7. References should be restricted to closely pertinent material. Accuracy of the citation is the author’s responsibility. References should conform exactly to the original spelling, accents, punctuation, etc. Authors should be sure that all references listed have been cited in text.
  8. When to reference
    1. When quoting, paraphrasing, or summarizing ideas from another person or paper.
    2. When using previously published data, diagram, or image.
    3. When using controversial facts or opinions that may be challenged.
    4. When providing, quoting, or paraphrasing background information that is not known as “general knowledge” in the field.
    5. For additional guidance, consider these references:
  1. Stuart MC, editor. The Complete Guide to Medical Writing. 1st Edition. London, UK: Pharmaceutical Press; 2007.
  2. Blessing JD, editor. Introduction to Research and Medical Literature for Health Professionals. 3rd Edition. Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Publishers, Inc; 2013.
  1. Provide direct references to key original (primary) research sources whenever possible. Avoid citing databases such as Micromedex® or Lexicomp®.