Instructions to Authors

Authors should submit their work via the journal's online Manuscript Central site - http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/uacp. All text documents are best submitted as Microsoft Word files. All figures and tables should be submitted as separate files.

Submission is a representation that the manuscript has not been published previously and is not currently under consideration for publication elsewhere. A statement transferring copyright from the authors (or their employers, if they hold the copyright) to the American Academy of Clinical Psychiatrists will be required before the manuscript can be accepted for publication. The Editor-in-Chief will supply the necessary forms for this transfer. Such a written transfer of copyright, which previously was assumed to be implicit in the act of submitting a manuscript, is necessary under the U.S. Copyright Law in order for the publisher to carry through the dissemination of research results and reviews as widely and effectively as possible.

All original published papers are considered for the American Academy of Clinical Psychiatrists Clinical Research Award. Winners are selected annually from articles published during the calendar year. The awards are given at the next annual Academy meeting and include a cash prize, engraved plaque, and reimbursement for reasonable expenses to attend the meeting. Judging is conducted by the Academy's Research Award Committee and all decisions of the judges are final.

Single case reports will only be accepted as “Letters to the Editor.” They can have a maximum of 500 words, 1 table, and 5 references. A report that involves two or more cases may be submitted as a regular article.

A title page is to be provided and should include the title of the article, author's name (with degree), author's affiliation, and suggested running head. The affiliation should comprise the department, institution (usually university or company), city, and state (or nation) and should be typed as a footnote to the author's name. The suggested running head should be less than 80 characters (including spaces) and should comprise the article title or an abbreviated version thereof. For office purposes, the title page should include the complete mailing address, e-mail, and telephone number of the one author designated to review proofs.

A structured abstract of no more than 200 words is to be provided, divided into the following sections: Background, Methods, Results, and Conclusions. A list of 3-6 keywords is to be provided directly below the abstract. Keywords should express the precise content of the manuscript, as they are used for indexing purposes.

All sections should carry headings (such as Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusions, Acknowledgments, References, etc.), typed flush left. All reports involving research with human subjects must specify in the Methods that approval was obtained from an institutional review board and that appropriate consent was obtained from the subjects. Grant support of any kind must be acknowledged; include the name of the granting agency or company and grant number. Any possible conflict of interest, financial or otherwise, related to the submitted work must be clearly indicated in the manuscript. Any possible conflict of interest, financial, or otherwise, related to the submitted work must be clearly indicated in the manuscript. Acknowledgments (including those for grant and financial support) must be typed in one paragraph on a separate page that directly precedes the References section. Authorship must be attributed only to persons who participate actively in (1) conception and design, (2) analysis and interpretation of data, and (3) drafting and revising the paper. Other contributions to the work should be recognized in the Acknowledgments section. The Editor-in-Chief may require justification of authorship assignment.

Illustrations (photographs, drawings, diagrams, and charts) are to be numbered in one consecutive series of Arabic numerals. The captions for illustrations should be included at the time of submission, as per the online instructions. Electronic artwork should be in TIFF or EPS format (1200 dpi for line art and 300 dpi for half-tones and gray-scale art).

Tables must be numbered (with Arabic numerals) and referred to by number in the text. Tables should be submited as separate files.

List references (type double-spaced) numerically in order of text appearance at the end of the paper (after text and before tables and figure-caption list). Use the appropriate Arabic numeral in parentheses on the baseline for citation in the text. References are numbered and listed in order of their appearance in text. References should conform to AMA Manual of Style, 5th ed. Abbreviations of journal names should conform to Index Medicus style; journals not listed in Index Medicus should not be abbreviated. The style and punctuation of the references are illustrated by the following examples:

Journal Article

1. Ibarra P, Bruehl SP, McCubbin JA, Carlson CR, Wilson JF, Norton JA, Montgomery TB. An unusual reaction to opioid blockade with naltrexone in a case of post-traumatic stress disorder: a case study. J Traumatic Stress. 1994;7:301-309.

Book

2. Schuckit MA. Drug and Alcohol Abuse: A Clinical Guide to Diagnosis and Treatment. New York, NY: Plenum Press; 1989.

Contribution to a Book

3. Cunningham CE, Cappelli M. Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder: a research article. In: Bellack AS, Mersen M, eds. Handbook of Behavior Therapy in the Psychiatric Setting. New York, NY: Plenum Press; 1993:513-540.

Footnotes must be avoided. When their use is absolutely necessary, footnotes should be numbered consecutively using Arabic numerals and should be typed at the bottom of the page to which they refer. Place a line above the footnote, so that it is set off from the text. Use the appropriate superscript numeral for citation in the text.