WASHINGTON — The American Psychological Association announces the publication of a new journal serving practitioners through clinical, practical and applied research articles on standards, practices and methods in the training (both graduate and postgraduate) of mental health professionals.
To be published quarterly, Practice Innovations (ISSN 2377-889X), is designed as a cross-disciplinary publication with a multi-theoretical scope that supports innovation and the highest standards of care in mental health practice. The journal will publish articles that serve to improve clinical and consulting practices on individual, family, small group and community levels. These articles will strive to have impact on direct practice, consultation, prevention and the application of ethical issues, and provide ideas for the expansion of the application of the skill sets of mental health professionals into new settings and practice markets.
Practice Innovations welcomes articles from scientists that are written from a perspective in which the procedures and findings presented are directly usable to the reader. Articles from practitioners who are doing cutting-edge work are also encouraged. As noted in the journal’s inaugural editorial, such articles must also demonstrate scientific rigor and make a compelling case as to why practitioners might want to replicate the innovation in their local community, and why researchers should take this work seriously and want to investigate the applications of the innovations in a more comprehensive manner.
More information about the journal as well as guidelines regarding submissions can be found on the journal’s homepage. Prospective authors and subscribers are encouraged to visit the site.
The editor of Practice Innovations is Steven Walfish, PhD, a clinical assistant professor in the department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the Emory University School of Medicine and a licensed psychologist who has been in independent practice since 1982. He received his PhD in clinical–community psychology from the University of South Florida. He is past editor of The Independent Practitioner, the bulletin of APA Div. 42 (Psychologists in Independent Practice), and has served on the editorial boards of several journals. He has published in the areas of substance abuse, weight loss surgery, and professional training and practice. Walfish has received the Award for Outstanding Research in Consulting Psychology from APA's Division of Consulting Psychology, the Walter Barton Award for Outstanding Research in Mental Health Administration from the American College of Mental Health Administration, and the Award for Mentoring from the APA Division of Independent Practice. In 2010, he was elected a fellow of the APA.
Practice Innovations is the official journal of APA Div. 42 (Psychologists in Independent Practice)opens in new window. The division offers tools and learning opportunities to increase professional skill building and practice development across the career span of professionals in independent practice and academia.
Articles published in Practice Innovations will also be available through APA’s PsycARTICLES®, the most used full-text database in psychology and one of the most popular databases in all scholarly disciplines and fields. PsycARTICLES is available to a global audience of nearly 3,700 institutions and 80 million potential users.
The American Psychological Association, in Washington, D.C., is the largest scientific and professional organization representing psychology in the United States. APA's membership includes more than 117,500 researchers, educators, clinicians, consultants and students. Through its divisions in 54 subfields of psychology and affiliations with 60 state, territorial and Canadian provincial associations, APA works to advance the creation, communication and application of psychological knowledge to benefit society and improve people's lives.