Journal of the NZCCP:
Guidelines for authors

The Journal is an open-access forum for original research, literature reviews, case studies and opinion (both clinician and user perspectives), on topics of interest to clinical psychologists practicing in Aotearoa New Zealand. The Journal is published twice a year online and sent directly to members of the NZCCP, meaning that it is read by the majority of clinical psychologists within New Zealand. The practice of Clinical Psychology in New Zealand is underpinned by the ‘Code of Ethics for Psychologists Working in Aotearoa’ to which the NZCCP is a signatory. For this reason, authors must ensure that their submissions conform to the ethical standards articulated within the Code. New Zealand is a diverse culture and clinical psychologists hold a particular responsibility to consider the impact of practice and research on non-dominant cultures. In particular, all submissions should include consideration of the potential implications for New Zealand’s indigenous Māori people, according to the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi/Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

The Journal accepts general submissions, as well as making specific calls for papers related to a particular theme or area of practice.

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Manuscript type and structure

The Journal accepts submissions in a variety of formats, including original research, literature reviews, case studies, reflective/opinion pieces, brief papers, reviews and creative pieces. We ask that authors structure their article accordingly, with the following in mind.

All submissions

• Submission should include a short biographical statement (or pepeha/mihimihi, where appropriate) of approximately 10-50 words, for each named author. An example format would be “Dr Liesje Donkin has a background in both health and clinical psychology and currently works as a Senior Lecturer at AUT University”.
• We encourage authors to include an ‘implications for practice’ section, which may include bullet points, describing the ‘take home’ messages for clinical psychologists in New Zealand.
• Authors must state any potential (real or perceived) conflicts of interest in their submission.
• All authors should give particular consideration to the implications of their submission for Māori and other diverse groups.

Original research, literature reviews, case studies and reflective/opinion pieces

• For original articles and literature reviews, we recommend the following structure: Abstract; Introduction; Methods; Results; Discussion; Conclusions (and/or Implications for Practice)
• Original research papers must include details of any ethical, service or other approval received. Where none was sought, please state this, as well as any reasons.
• The main body of the text should typically be fewer than 4000 words, to include tables andfigures. Longer articles may be considered for inclusion, at the discretion of the Editors.
• Articles should include a maximum of 40 references.
• To facilitate online searching, authors should include 4–6 keywords or phrases.
• Articles should include an unstructured abstract of up to 150 words.- It is common for authors of shorter reflective/opinion pieces to structure their abstract as a simple framing sentence or paragraph such as “Liesje and Wade discuss the benefits of, and evidence behind, formatting styles in academic journals.”

Brief papers

Brief papers include submissions such as our “10 tips”, “The psychologist as…” and “ConsumerVoice” series. These generally would not exceed 1,000 words, although longer articles may be considered, at the discretion of the Editors. Brief papers should include a simple framing sentence of the style described above.

Reviews

Reviews of books, workshops, conferences, and similar events should not exceed 1,500 words.

Creative pieces

We welcome contributions of creative pieces of any description including poetry and artwork from clinicians or clients that reflect therapy and clinical psychology themes. If you are submitting creative work on behalf of another person, please ensure that you include their written consent for the work to be published.

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Style and language

Language

Authors may submit articles in New Zealand English and/or te reo Māori. While we encourage the use of te reo Māori, please be aware that only a small minority of our readers are likely to be fluent and we would encourage authors to consider including translations of te reo text. Authors should seek to use inclusive language and avoid any terms that may be considered derogatory, discriminatory or offensive.

Style

The Journal follows the style guide of the American Psychological Association (APA) 7th Edition. Below are general style rules and a guide to formatting:

• 12-point font
• Double line spacing
• Continuous page numbering
• Define abbreviations at the first use, then use the abbreviation consistently thereafter
• Capitalise all words of four or more letters in the title and headings
• Use italics when introducing a new term (first use of the term only) or for the titles of books, films or other published material
• Levels of heading
  •                           Centred, Bold Type (Uppercase and Lowercase)
  • Flush Left, Bold Type (Uppercase and Lowercase)
  •      Indented, bold type, lowercase paragraph heading ending with a period.
  •      Indented, bold type, italicised, lowercase paragraph heading ending with a period.
  • Indented, italicised, lowercase paragraph heading ending with a period.¹
• References should follow APA style:
  • In-text references should have author(s) and date inparentheses. For example: (White & Green, 2009; Red, Blue, &Orange, 2014). If a source has three or more authors, you must cite the first author followed by et al. For example,(Brown et al., 2015).
  • End references should be in the format:
    • Journal/periodical:
      Author, A. A., Writer, B. B. (year). Title of the article. Title of the Periodical, XX, pp–pp. doi: xxxxx
      (include the doi if available)
    • Book:
      Author, A, A. (year). Title of the work. Location: Publisher.
    • Chapter in an edited book:
      Author, A. A., & Author B, B. (year) Title of Chapter. InA.Editor, B Editor, & C Editor (Eds.), Title of book (pp. x–xx).Location: Publisher

Submission process

Title page

To aid with peer review, all submissions (with the exception of creative pieces) should include a title page that is separate from the manuscript text. The title page should contain:

• Title
• Authors’ names and short bio (see above)
• Telephone and email contact details for the corresponding author
• Total word count (including tables/figures but excluding references).

The title page will not be seen by the reviewers.

Submission

We prefer journal submissions to be made via our online form. If, for any reason, the form is not active, or if you have further questions about the Journal’s process, you can email office@nzccp.co.nz

Submissions for issue 1 are typically accepted up until the 1st of May each year.

Submissions for issue 2 typically accepted up until 1st of November each year.

Submissions (with the exception of creative pieces) will be peer reviewed (anonymously) by two reviewers. When the review process is complete you will be notified whether your manuscript has been accepted for publication. If changes are required, your manuscript will be returned to you along with comments from the reviewers noting the points that need to be addressed.

Suggested Reviewers

To assist the Editors in arranging appropriate review, authors are asked to suggest two or more potential reviewers for their paper. Reviewers should generally be chosen for their known interest or expertise in a particular field, or for their standing in the psychology community, as well as their ability to objectively appraise the submission. Authors should disclose any existing relationship or conflicts of interest with their suggested reviewers. Reviewers are chosen entirely at the discretion of the Editors.