Submit a manuscript

1. Does the work fit the journal

   A manuscript is in scope when it makes a substantive contribution to behavior therapy or mental health: understanding processes or determinants, characterizing conditions and experiences, developing assessment, evaluating prevention or treatment, or studying recovery and services. Aims and Scope sets out the test and where the boundary falls.

2. Is the manuscript prepared

   Structure, reporting standards, figures, references and the declarations below are set out in the Instructions for Authors.

3. Which route

   Choose one of the three below. Authors must use only one submission route for the same manuscript. Submitting the same work through two routes creates duplicate records and delays it.

Primary route · ManuscriptZone

The journal's submission system. oap.manuscriptzone.net

Alternative route · Manuscript submission form

A form that records the manuscript and its files. openaccesspub.org/manuscript-submission-form

Assisted route · Editorial office

Authors who need assistance may write to the editorial office. [email protected]

• Manuscript file in an editable format, with numbered pages and continuous line numbers
• Title page as a separate file: title, all authors with affiliations and ORCID iDs, and the corresponding author’s contact details
• Abstract and keywords, structured as the article type requires
• Figures at publication resolution, one file each, with captions in the manuscript
• Tables as editable text in the manuscript, not as images
• Supplementary material, each file named and referred to in the text
• Reporting checklist for the study design, where one applies
• Ethics documentation reference, and consent-to-publish where participants are identifiable

If double-blind review is requested: For double-blind review, remove author names, affiliations, acknowledgments, funding details, institution names, and other identifying information from the reviewer manuscript. Provide identifying information separately in the title-page file or submission form.

Ethical approval and consent

The approving body and reference, and how consent was obtained and documented.

Trial registration

Interventional clinical trials must be registered in an accepted public trial registry at or before the first participant provides consent for enrollment. The registry name, registration number, and registration date must be reported in the manuscript.

Data availability

Every empirical research manuscript must include a data-availability statement.

Funding

Every source, with grant numbers, or a statement that the work received no specific funding.

Competing interests

Financial and non-financial, for every author, or a statement that there are none.

Author contributions

What each author did.

AI use

Any use of generative AI in preparing the manuscript, with the tool and the purpose. AI cannot be listed as an author.

Prior dissemination

Any preprint, thesis or conference abstract the work has already appeared in.

1. Acknowledgment

   The editorial office confirms receipt and checks that the submission is complete. An incomplete submission is returned for the missing items before it goes further.

2. Editorial screening

   All submissions undergo initial editorial screening. Manuscripts that meet the journal's scope and minimum requirements proceed to independent peer review. Manuscripts outside the journal’s subject matter are returned at this stage so that authors can submit elsewhere without waiting through a review.

3. Peer review

   Manuscripts that proceed to external peer review are normally evaluated by at least two independent subject-matter experts. Single-blind by default; double-blind review is available on request.

4. Decision

   Editorial decisions are based on scope, scientific quality, methodological rigor, ethical compliance, reporting quality, and relevance to the journal. The decision and the reviews are sent to the corresponding author.

5. Revision

   Where revision is invited, authors respond point by point. A revised manuscript normally returns to the editor, and to the reviewers where the changes are substantial.

6. Acceptance and production

   Decisions remain independent of fees, services, memberships or editorial roles. After acceptance the article is copy-edited and typeset, proofs are sent for approval, the article processing charge is invoiced, and the article is registered with Crossref and published open access under CC BY 4.0.

The journal publishes no target or guaranteed period for any of these stages. Where a manuscript is with the editorial office longer than an author expects, write and ask — the office will say where it is.