Call For Papers

Author Guidelines – European Journal of Parental Alienation Practice

Manuscript submission:

New submissions should be made to brian@parentalalienation.eu

Papers submitted for publication should be original work not previously published in English and not currently submitted elsewhere for consideration. If accepted for publication, a paper cannot be published elsewhere in any language without the consent of both Editor and publisher. It is a condition of acceptance that parentalalienation.eu automatically acquires the copyright throughout the world.

By submitting a manuscript to or reviewing for this publication, your name, email address, and affiliation, and other contact details the publication might require, will be used for the regular operations of the publication, including, when necessary, sharing with the publisher and partners for production and publication. The publication and the publisher recognize the importance of protecting the personal information collected from users in the operation of these services and have practices in place to ensure that steps are taken to maintain the security, integrity, and privacy of the personal data collected and processed.

Cover Letter

A cover letter should be submitted with your manuscript and must include a statement that the data has not been published and is not under consideration for publication elsewhere. It will be presumed that all listed authors of a manuscript have agreed to the listing and have seen and approved the manuscript. The cover letter should include a statement outlining what is new, impact making and original about the paper and why it should be considered for publication.

A statement from the authors agreeing to be held accountable for all aspects of the work and any questions relating to the accuracy or integrity of the work should also be included.

Manuscript Format - Free format submission

Manuscripts can be uploaded either as a single document (containing the main text, tables and figures). The main manuscript file can be submitted in Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx) format.

Before you submit, you will need:

Your manuscript: this can be a single file including text, figures, and tables, or separate files – whichever you prefer. All required sections should be contained in your manuscript, including abstract, introduction, methods, results, and conclusions. Figures and tables should have legends. References may be submitted in any style or format, as long as it is consistent throughout the manuscript. If the manuscript, figures, or tables are difficult for you to read, they will also be difficult for the editors and reviewers. If your manuscript is difficult to read, the editorial office may send it back to you for revision.

The title page of the manuscript, including statements relating to our ethics and integrity policies:

·         funding statement (if applicable)

·         conflict of interest disclosure

·         ethics approval statement

·         permission to reproduce material from other sources.

Important: the journal operates a double-blind peer review policy. Please anonymise your manuscript and prepare a separate title page containing author details.

Your co-author details, including affiliation and email address. We will communicate with the primary author only.

If you are invited to revise your manuscript after peer review, the journal will also request the revised manuscript to be formatted according to journal requirements as described below.

1.    Manuscripts should allow for 'blind/anonymised' refereeing and must not contain author names or any identifiable data.

2.    Manuscripts must be typed in double spacing throughout, including quotation, notes, and references in the following order:

Title Page: to contain the title of the paper, word count, suggested running head (short title for your paper), key words, author names, affiliations, and contact details for the corresponding author.

Abstract: on a separate sheet, the title to be repeated followed by a summary of not more than 150 words. The suggested running head should also be present.

Practitioner Points: two to six bullet points of no more than 180 characters each (including spaces), up to a total of 480 characters.

References: References in published papers are formatted according to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th edition). However, references may be submitted in any style or format, as long as it is consistent throughout the manuscript.

The word limit, excluding abstract and practitioner points will vary depending on the type of paper you are submitting. Generally, 3-6000 words. This may be flexible.

Style: Whilst Journal style is generally formal, originality in presentation does not necessarily preclude publication if clarity and readability is thereby enhanced.

Margins should be ample, approximately 1-1/2" (4 cm) top and bottom, 1-1/4" (3 cm) left and 1" (2.5 cm) right.

Justification: Please centre-justify the text. The right margin should be ragged.

Typeface: Times or Times New Roman is best for proofreading and for computer translation.

Type size: 12 points. Type size should be full size at all times, including in footnotes, references, picture legends, etc.

Spacing: All text should be double-spaced, including the text in footnotes, references, picture legends, etc.

Page numbers: Please include page numbers.

Your manuscript will be returned to you if you fail to conform to these requirements.

Case material and Confidentiality

The European Journal of Parental Alienation Practice readers particularly welcome papers which link theory and practice, and such papers are often enhanced by case material.

The author takes responsibility for de-identifying material to protect client confidentiality. While recognising that it is often details and contextual features which give an account its richness, these need to be de-identified as much as possible without jeopardising their integrity (i.e., being adequate to support the author’s claims).  All possible identifying information must be altered.  Another way of protecting confidentiality is by presenting composite case material, made up of different aspects from several similar cases.

Signed consent must always be sought to include accounts of clinical material, even though de-identified.  When children and young people are included in the material described, their consent too will need to be sought, according to their level of understanding.

Every paper that contains case material must be accompanied by:

A statement in the letter to the editor from the author(s) specifying whether the material presented is disguised/generic/composite; or

A statement in the letter to the editor that the author has gained signed consent from patients/clients or teachers/students authorizing publication of the material. Please note that upon signing the author agreement the author becomes liable for any third-party information collated and takes complete responsibility for preparing the work and gaining the relevant permissions and consent.

Evaluation of Manuscripts

The Editorial office will acknowledge receipt of manuscripts. The Editor will arrange for evaluation by at least two assessors. Following receipt of the assessors comments the Editor will advise the authors about the decision concerning the manuscript. This will be done as rapidly as possible with the aim being 12 weeks for a first decision. Revised manuscripts may take longer to reach a final decision.

If your paper is accepted, the author identified as the formal corresponding author for the paper will receive an email prompting them to complete the license agreement on behalf of all authors of the paper.

Following acceptance for publication an article is copy edited for conformity to the style of publication, clarity of presentation, punctuation, standard usage of terms, etc.

Advice to Authors

Writing is a very enjoyable and satisfying way of being involved in the world of parental alienation. The exchange of ideas and experience is important both for the development of our chosen field and for the development of the individual practitioner. We intellectually sustain ourselves by creating a healthy and vibrant literature. Parental Alienation needs to develop authors and The European Journal of Parental Alienation Practice wants to hear from you.

These are the types of papers that are regularly submitted to the EJPATP:

(The word count for all these papers does not include tables and figures.)

Research Article (3,000-6,000 words)

It is considered good practice (as recommended for example by the UK National Institute for Health Research) for researchers to include participants throughout the process of studies, from design to interpretation to dissemination.

A research paper should include:

·         An introduction to the principal concepts and theoretical issues relevant to the study

·         Previous work

·         Description of methodology including participants

·         Results/Findings

·         Discussion of results, including implications for future research and practice

Suggested headings for systematic reviews are:

·         background or context.

·         objective.

·         search strategy.

·         inclusion criteria.

·         data extraction and synthesis.

·         main results; discussion and conclusions.

Please ensure that you include the standard points for practice.

Case Study (up to 2,000 words*)

*Longer papers may be considered at the discretion of the Editor if it is felt the manuscript fulfils the role of a full paper.

The EJPATP Journal welcomes case studies. A case study paper should include the following:

·         Theoretical/Research Basis

·         Introduction of the case including presenting issues

·         Relevant background information

·         Systemic case conceptualisation

·         Self-reflexivity

·         Description of intervention/ treatment

·         Outcomes and follow up

·         Implications/contributions to the field

For anonymised case studies informed consent to publish must be obtained from all participants in the treatment and/or all family members before submission.

CONSENT TO PUBLISH MUST ALWAYS BE OBTAINED FROM CLIENTS/FAMILIES BEFORE SUBMISSION

Theoretical Article (4,000-6,000 words)

We welcome the submission of articles of this nature. A paper of this type would include:

·         A brief general introduction

·         A review of previous statements of the issues

·         A definition of problems and solutions

·         A development of an argument (Research based work which was undertaken for a thesis may be referenced)

·         Relation of theory to practice

·         Issues to be resolved.

Often, we will ask one of the reviewers to write a commentary on the paper to stimulate debate through the Journal pages.

Teaching and Learning in Action (up to 2,000 words*)

*Longer papers may be considered at the discretion of the Editor if it is felt the manuscript fulfils the role of a full paper.

These should include:

·         Practitioners Points – key ideas for trainers from paper

·         Description of context – situation in which teaching event occurred, experience and constitution of participants and trainers, pre and post learning required for this session.

·         Aims of teaching event – aims and learning outcomes.

·         Theoretical Description which includes systemic theory / practice and education / learning/ pedagogical theory

·         Description of event – pre reading, structure of session, length, didactic, experiential

·         Feedback from participants – formal and informal

·         Learning as a result of experience – trainers’ own evaluation, any suggested changes as a result of feedback or experience, suggestions for application in other settings

Additional Notes to Authors:

EJPATP has an international readership, so spell out details that might be unfamiliar to the Irish/ European field.

EJPATP welcomes the linking of previous literature in a substantive, explanatory sense and therefore advises authors to reference other papers where possible.