Submission guidelines

Prior to submission, please carefully read and follow the submission guidelines detailed below. Manuscripts that do not conform to the submission guidelines may be returned without review.

Submissions are handled only through our Editorial Manager platform, and the only official journal website is through APA. If you believe you interacted with a fraudulent website for this journal, please email APA Journalsopens in new window. Review our resource for authors for more information on identifying predatory journals.

To submit to the Editorial Office of Jeff Zimmerman, please submit manuscripts electronically through the Manuscript Submission Portal.

Prepare manuscripts according to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association using the 7^th edition. Manuscripts may be copyedited for bias-free language (see Chapter 5 of the Publication Manual). APA Style and Grammar Guidelines for the 7^th edition are available.

Please note that the author affiliation in the byline identifies where the author(s) worked (or studied) when the work was conducted. Include a dual affiliation only if two institutions contributed substantial support to the study. If the affiliation has changed since the work was completed, give the current affiliation in the author note (see section 2.6 of the Publication Manual). Affiliation and contact information are not updated postpublication.

Submit Manuscriptopens in new window

Submissions are first evaluated by the editor. A submitted manuscript may be rejected without detailed comments after an initial review if the manuscript is considered out of scope or of insufficient quality for publication in Practice Innovations.

After initial review by the editor, the manuscript will be assigned to an action editor who selects and sends the manuscript to at least two reviewers for critical evaluation. Every manuscript is treated by the editors and reviewers as privileged information, and they are instructed to exclude themselves from reviewing any manuscript that might involve a potential conflict of interest. Comments from reviewers are examined by the action editor, who then makes the final decision on acceptance or rejection of the manuscript and communicates that to the author. Manuscripts may undergo one or more rounds of revision prior to final acceptance.

This journal has adopted a policy of masked review for all submissions.

Make every effort to ensure that the manuscript itself contains no clues to the authors’ identity.

Client/patient confidentiality is your professional, ethical, and legal imperative. The journal requires that patient identity be thoroughly disguised in published articles.

Special issues are curated sets of thematically related manuscripts organized by emerging and leading scholars in a specific area of interest. Special issues may be organized by members of the editorial board or by external guest editors and decided upon the editor’s discretion.

For some special issues, authors may be invited to submit an abstract. In those cases, the abstract is reviewed by the special issue editor(s) and upon acceptance of the abstract, authors are asked to submit their manuscript. Acceptance of a special issue abstract does not guarantee acceptance of the manuscript. The manuscript is reviewed following the same processes as described under

Practice Innovations offers APC Open Access where authors can make their article freely available for an article processing charge (APC) of $3,000. Authors can find more information about self-archiving options, APA Open Access, and open access agreements.

Review APA’s Journal Manuscript Preparation Guidelines before submitting your article.

Articles should not exceed 25–30 pages inclusive of tables, figures, and references. Authors may request consideration of longer papers, in advance of submission, when there is clear justification for additional length.

Authors must include a cover letter when they first submit their manuscript to the journal for publication. The cover letter is a formal way to communicate with journal editors and editorial staff during the manuscript submission process. Cover letters should be addressed to the journal editor and should include the manuscript title, authors, notice of any conflicts of interest or disclosures, and the contact details for the corresponding author. Authors it should also specify that this is an original manuscript that has not been published elsewhere. Please refer to the APA Style website for further guidance.

Authors should review the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, Seventh Edition’s chapter on bias-free language guidelines carefully, and should ensure their manuscripts follow the guidelines outlined here.

Specifically relevant to articles in Practice Innovations, Section 5.6 (“Participation in Research”) of the Publication Manual (7^th ed.) includes guidance for using appropriate terms to describe participants:

“Use the term ‘patient’ to describe an individual diagnosed with a mental health, behavioral health, and/or medical disease, disorder, or problem who is receiving services from a health care provider (e.g., psychologist, physician, nurse, or other provider). This language is consistent with the language used in the health care system and promotes psychologists as being perceived a part of, and consistently integrated into, the culture of interprofessional, integrated health care. However, in academic, business, school, or other settings, the term ‘client’ (or some other term) might be preferred instead of ‘patient.’ Within all contexts, respect the individual and/or cultural preferences expressed by recipients of psychological services and their families when you choose language to describe those individuals, families, or populations. (For further information, see Resolution for the Use of the Term Patient; APA, 2018.)”

Double-space all copy. Other formatting instructions, as well as instructions on preparing tables, figures, references, metrics, and abstracts, appear in the Manual. Additional guidance on APA Style is available on the APA Style website.

Below are additional instructions regarding the preparation of display equations, computer code, and tables.

We strongly encourage you to use MathType (third-party software) or Equation Editor 3.0 (built into pre-2007 versions of Word) to construct your equations, rather than the equation support that is built into Word 2007 and Word 2010. Equations composed with the built-in Word 2007/Word 2010 equation support are converted to low-resolution graphics when they enter the production process and must be rekeyed by the typesetter, which may introduce errors.

To construct your equations with MathType or Equation Editor 3.0:

• Go to the Text section of the Insert tab and select Object.
• Select MathType or Equation Editor 3.0 in the drop-down menu.

If you have an equation that has already been produced using Microsoft Word 2007 or 2010 and you have access to the full version of MathType 6.5 or later, you can convert this equation to MathType by clicking on MathType Insert Equation. Copy the equation from Microsoft Word and paste it into the MathType box. Verify that your equation is correct, click File, and then click Update. Your equation has now been inserted into your Word file as a MathType Equation.

Use Equation Editor 3.0 or MathType only for equations or for formulas that cannot be produced as Word text using the Times or Symbol font.

Because altering computer code in any way (e.g., indents, line spacing, line breaks, page breaks) during the typesetting process could alter its meaning, we treat computer code differently from the rest of your article in our production process. To that end, we request separate files for computer code.

In online supplemental material

We request that runnable source code be included as supplemental material to the article. For more information, visit Supplementing Your Article With Online Material.

In the text of the article

If you would like to include code in the text of your published manuscript, please submit a separate file with your code exactly as you want it to appear, using Courier New font with a type size of 8 points. We will make an image of each segment of code in your article that exceeds 40 characters in length. (Shorter snippets of code that appear in text will be typeset in Courier New and run in with the rest of the text.) If an appendix contains a mix of code and explanatory text, please submit a file that contains the entire appendix, with the code keyed in 8-point Courier New.

Use Word’s Insert Table function when you create tables. Using spaces or tabs in your table will create problems when the table is typeset and may result in errors.

Authors who feel that their manuscript may benefit from additional academic writing or language editing support prior to submission are encouraged to seek out such services at their host institutions, engage with colleagues and subject matter experts, and/or consider several vendors that offer discounts to APA authors.

Please note that APA does not endorse or take responsibility for the service providers listed. It is strictly a referral service. Use of such service is not mandatory for publication in an APA journal. Use of one or more of these services does not guarantee selection for peer review, manuscript acceptance, or preference for publication in any APA journal.

APA can place supplemental materials online, available via the published article in the APA PsycArticles^® database.

All manuscripts must include an abstract containing a maximum of 250 words typed on a separate page. After the abstract, please supply up to five keywords or brief phrases.

Please submit a short statement of 1–2 sentences, written in conversational English, that summarizes the article’s findings and why they are important to practice. This new article feature allows authors greater control over how their work will be interpreted by a number of audiences (e.g., practitioners, policy makers, news media).

Please refer to the Guidance for Translational Abstracts and Public Significance Statements to help you write this text.

List references in alphabetical order. Each listed reference should be cited in text, and each text citation should be listed in the references section.

Examples of basic reference formats:

Journal article

McCauley, S. M., & Christiansen, M. H. (2019). Language learning as language use: A cross-linguistic model of child language development. Psychological Review, 126(1), 1–51. https://doi.org/10.1037/rev0000126opens in new window

Authored book

Brown, L. S. (2018). Feminist therapy (2nd ed.). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/0000092-000opens in new window

Chapter in an edited book

Balsam, K. F., Martell, C. R., Jones. K. P., Safren, S. A. (2019). Affirmative cognitive behavior therapy with sexual and gender minority people. In G. Y. Iwamasa & P. A. Hays (Eds.), Culturally responsive cognitive behavior therapy: Practice and supervision (2nd ed., pp. 287–314). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/0000119-012opens in new window

Data set citation

Alegria, M., Jackson, J. S., Kessler, R. C., & Takeuchi, D. (2016). Collaborative Psychiatric Epidemiology Surveys (CPES), 2001–2003 [Data set]. Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research. https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR20240.v8opens in new window

Software/Code citation

Viechtbauer, W. (2010). Conducting meta-analyses in R with the metafor package.  Journal of Statistical Software, 36(3), 1–48. https://www.jstatsoft.org/v36/i03/opens in new window

Wickham, H. et al., (2019). Welcome to the tidyverse. Journal of Open Source Software, 4(43), 1686, https://doi.org/10.21105/joss.01686opens in new window

All data, program code, and other methods must be appropriately cited in the text and listed in the references section.

Tables should adhere to APA Styleopens in new window. Use Word’s Insert Table function to create tables, and do not insert tabs or extra spaces to align columns as this will create problems when the table is typeset.

Preferred formats for graphics files are TIFF and JPG, and preferred format for vector-based files is EPS. Graphics downloaded or saved from web pages are not acceptable for publication. Multipanel figures (i.e., figures with parts labeled a, b, c, d, etc.) should be assembled into one file. When possible, please place symbol legends below the figure instead of to the side.

Resolution 

• All color line art and halftones: 300 DPI 
• Black and white line tone and gray halftone images: 600 DPI 

Line weights 

• Adobe Photoshop images 
• Color (RGB, CMYK) images: 2 pixels 
• Grayscale images: 4 pixels 
• Adobe Illustrator Images 
• Stroke weight: 0.5 points 

APA offers authors the option to publish their figures online in color without the costs associated with print publication of color figures.

The same caption will appear on both the online (color) and print (black and white) versions. To ensure that the figure can be understood in both formats, authors should add alternative wording (e.g., “the red (dark gray) bars represent”) as needed.

Color figure fees

For authors who prefer their figures to be published in color both in print and online, original color figures can be printed in color at the editor's and publisher's discretion provided the author agrees to pay: 

• $900 for one figure 
• An additional $600 for the second figure 
• An additional $450 for each subsequent figure

We strongly encourage you to use MathType (third-party software) or Equation Editor 3.0 (built into pre-2007 versions of Word) to construct your equations, rather than the equation support that is built into Word 2007 and Word 2010. Equations composed with the built-in Word 2007/Word 2010 equation support are converted to low-resolution graphics when they enter the production process and must be rekeyed by the typesetter, which may introduce errors.

To construct your equations with MathType or Equation Editor 3.0:

• Go to the Text section of the Insert tab and select Object.
• Select MathType or Equation Editor 3.0 in the drop-down menu.

If you have an equation that has already been produced using Microsoft Word 2007 or 2010 and you have access to the full version of MathType 6.5 or later, you can convert this equation to MathType by clicking on MathType Insert Equation. Copy the equation from Microsoft Word and paste it into the MathType box. Verify that your equation is correct, click File, and then click Update. Your equation has now been inserted into your Word file as a MathType Equation.

Use Equation Editor 3.0 or MathType only for equations or for formulas that cannot be produced as Word text using the Times or Symbol font.

Because altering computer code in any way (e.g., indents, line spacing, line breaks, page breaks) during the typesetting process could alter its meaning, we treat computer code differently from the rest of the article in the production process. Supply separate files for computer code.

In online supplemental material

Runnable source code should be included as supplemental material to the article. For more information, visit supplementing your article with online material.

In the text of the article

If authors would like to include code in the text of the published article, submit a separate file with your code exactly as it should appear, using Courier New font with a type size of 8 points. An image will be made of each segment of code in your article that exceeds 40 characters in length. (Shorter snippets of code that appear in text will be typeset in Courier New and run in with the rest of the text.) If an appendix contains a mix of code and explanatory text, please submit a file that contains the entire appendix, with the code keyed in 8-point Courier New.

Authors of accepted papers must obtain and provide to the editor on final acceptance all necessary permissions to reproduce in print and electronic form any copyrighted work, including test materials (or portions thereof), photographs, and other graphic images (including those used as stimuli in experiments).

On advice of counsel, APA may decline to publish any image whose copyright status is unknown.

• Download Permissions Alert Form (PDF, 13KB)opens in new window

Commentaries and rebuttals on articles recently published in Practice Innovations will be considered and are subject to peer review. Commentaries, which may also be solicited by the editorial staff, should provide new and important information on the same topic as the original paper. The goal of the commentary should be clearly stated in the first paragraph. Commentaries may present data or other evidence in support of their intended point(s). A commentary should generally be submitted no later than 3 months from the print date of the article to which it corresponds. If submitted later, authors must present a strong rationale for considering a comment beyond the standard time frame.

Commentaries and rebuttals must be limited to 1,200 words (about six double-spaced text pages). Commentaries should not summarize the original article, but rather, should assume the reader has already read the article. Commentaries should discuss key focal points in response to the original article. Up to 10 references may be provided that clearly support the primary tenets. References are not included in the word count.

Commentaries and rebuttals should include an abstract and keywords. The title should consist of a brief content-related title followed by a subtitle that identifies the target article, as in “Brief Content-Related Title: Commentary (or “Rebuttal to Commentary”) on Authors (20xx).” Commentaries should follow APA style.

Authors of commentaries must disclose in their cover letter any real or perceived conflicts of interest with any of the authors of the original paper.

Commentaries and rebuttals are customarily handled by the action editor for the original manuscript. Commentaries and rebuttals should be scholarly in focus and should avoid hostility and personal attacks.

Commentary and rebuttal submissions that meet journal standards for further consideration will be peer reviewed. Authors may be asked to revise the commentary or rebuttal. If a commentary is deemed acceptable for publication, authors of the original submission are typically given an advanced copy of the accepted commentary so that they may accept or decline the opportunity to reply to the commentary.

Where a commentary is accepted for publication, the author(s) of the original article will be invited to submit a single response. Both the commentary and the author response will be subject to editorial and peer review. To promote a balanced, timely, and manageable scholarly exchange, the journal will not ordinarily consider further replies, rejoinders, or continuing commentary following publication of the author response. This policy is intended to facilitate constructive academic dialogue while avoiding open-ended exchanges that may delay publication, place disproportionate demands on authors, reviewers, and editors, or shift the journal's focus from the dissemination of new scholarship to the continuation of extended debate.

Accepted commentaries and rebuttals are published together in the earliest possible issue of the journal.

APA holds policies that apply to all journals published. These include policies on author contributorship and responsibilities of authors; author name changes after publication; the use of generative artificial intelligence; funder information and conflict-of-interest disclosures; duplicate publication; data publication and reuse; and preprints. Please also refer to individual journal submission guidance for specific practices and requirements for manuscript submission.

A key convention in the publication of research is the peer review process, in which the quality and potential contribution of each manuscript is evaluated by one's peers in the scientific community. Like other scientific journals, APA journals utilize a peer review process to guide manuscript selection and publication decisions.

In light of changing patterns of scientific knowledge dissemination, APA requires authors to provide information on prior dissemination of the data and narrative interpretations of the data/research appearing in the manuscript (e.g., if some or all were presented at a conference or meeting, posted on a listserv, shared on a website, including academic social networks like ResearchGate, etc.). This information (2–4 sentences) must be provided as part of the author note.

APA policy prohibits an author from submitting the same manuscript for concurrent consideration by two or more publications.

APA requires authors to reveal any possible conflict of interest in the conduct and reporting of research (e.g., financial interests in a test or procedure, funding by pharmaceutical companies for drug research).

APA Journals aims to address systemic inequities and bias, promote equitable opportunities for researchers, and foster an inclusive environment within the psychological research and scholarly publishing communities, representative of the wide array of people that psychology consists of and serves. Please refer to individual journal submission guidance for specific EDI practices and requirements for manuscript submission.

The APA Journals™ Program is committed to publishing transparent, rigorous research; improving reproducibility in science; and aiding research discovery. Open science practices vary across subfields and per editor discretion, and APA Publishing supports all efforts to improve openness and transparency, especially as they improve diversity, equity, and inclusion. Please refer to individual journal submission guidance for specific OS practices and requirements for manuscript submission.

The APA Journals Office supports authors’ choices on how to publish their work. We are committed to offering options that we believe comply with most funder and institutional requirements and support both self-archiving (“green”) and APC (paid for via an article processing charge and also known as “gold”) Open Access options. Submitting a manuscript for peer review is free of charge.

APA’s current policies on generative AI include:

• When a generative AI model is used in the drafting of a manuscript for an APA publication, the use of AI must be disclosed in the methods section and cited.
• AI cannot be named as an author on an APA scholarly publication.

APA policy prohibits an author from submitting the same manuscript for concurrent consideration by two or more publications. Preprints are allowed.

Authors of accepted papers must obtain and provide on final acceptance all necessary permissions to reproduce in print and electronic form any copyrighted work, including test materials (or portions thereof), photographs, and other graphic images (including those used as stimuli in experiments).

On advice of counsel, APA may decline to publish any image whose copyright status is unknown.

It is a violation of APA Ethical Principles to publish “as original data, data that have been previously published” (Standard 8.13).

APA Ethical Principles also state that “after research results are published, psychologists do not withhold the data on which their conclusions are based from other competent professionals who seek to verify the substantive claims through reanalysis and who intend to use such data only for that purpose, provided that the confidentiality of the participants can be protected and unless legal rights concerning proprietary data preclude their release” (Standard 8.14).

APA expects authors to make their data available if asked during the editorial process and for at least five years after the date of publication.

If the manuscript is accepted, the corresponding author is required to sign and submit a Certification of Compliance with APA Ethical Principles (PDF, 26KB).opens in new window

See APA’s Publishing Policies page for more information on publication policies, including information on author contributorship and responsibilities of authors, author name changes after publication, the use of generative artificial intelligence, funder information and conflict-of-interest disclosures, duplicate publication, data publication and reuse, and preprints.

Visit the Journals Publishing Resource Center for more resources for writing, reviewing, and editing articles for publishing in APA journals.