About the Journal

About the journal

Psicologia Clínica is a journal of original papers in psychology, now adopting continuous publication, which publishes articles in Portuguese, English and Spanish. Manuscripts submitted for publication must be original, not under evaluation by any other journal and must follow the standards of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (2020, 7th edition).

Psicologia Clínica is a publication of the Department of Psychology of the Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio), launched in 1986. The journal was published twice a year since 2001, after a modification and modernization of the older format, which aimed to adapt it to the editorial policy implemented by CAPES throughout Brazil, and four-monthly from 2016 to 2023. In 2024 it adopted continuous publication, with a single annual volume. The journal is of international scope in terms of authors, editorial board, and scientific council, with the institutional affiliation of the authors, editorial board and scientific council indicated in all editions. Its target audience is undergraduate and graduate students, as well as researchers and professionals in psychology and related areas. The articles published are original, unpublished, and produced based on research not published in other journals in the area.

The journal publishes theoretical studies, literature reviews, results of empirical research, professional experience reports, and reviews of recent books, in addition to having occasionally a special section which publishes interviews with renowned researchers. Articles must fall into one of the following thematic sections: (a) Psychoanalysis: clinic and culture; (b) Social psychology: the individual and society; (c) Family, couple, and child: theory and clinical practice; (d) Clinic and neurosciences; (e) Health and human development. Although the journal is thematic, we are gradually opening editorial space for articles in areas adjacent to clinical psychology, to take into account the current movement of diversification and opening new frontiers for researchers and professionals in the clinical area. Accepted articles written or translated into English by the authors with an agreement to be published only in this language may eventually be published earlier, due to a demand for a minimum number of articles in English by the editorial policies of scientific journals.

Articles for publication may be of the following types:

Theoretical study: Debate on topics in the clinical area, theoretical and critical reflections, organized in Introduction (which can be in topics with subtitles); Conclusion or Final Considerations; and References.

Review (integrative, systematic or scope): Theoretical article with a search and selection method for delimiting studies, composed of an Introduction (without subtopics); Method (criteria for including studies in the review, data collection procedures and analysis procedures); Results; Discussion; Conclusion or Final Considerations; and References.

Empirical research: Article based on empirical data (studies of groups of participants or clinical case studies), organized in Introduction (without subtopics); Method (participants, instruments or materials and data collection procedures, ethical procedures, data analysis); Results; Discussion; Conclusion or Final Considerations; and References.

Professional experience report: Article on professional experience that can contribute to the practice of psychology professionals, organized in Introduction (without subtopics); Method (participants, instruments or materials and data collection procedures, ethical procedures, data analysis); Results; Discussion; Conclusion or Final Considerations; and References.

Review of a recently published work: Review of a book published in the last two years, containing data about the work; Introduction (including a justification of the current relevance of the work); Conclusion or Final Considerations; and References.

Interview with a renowned researcher: Interview with researcher(s), contained in thematic sections and special editions, organized with guests of the journal’s editorial board, with a brief description of the interviewee(s), followed by questions and answers.

It is recommended that contributions to the field of clinical psychology be highlighted in all manuscripts.

Submission rules

To submit an article:

  1. Original manuscripts must be submitted online at https://submission.scielo.br/index.php/pc/index (OJS platform).
  2. Authors must upload the following documents into the platform:

2.1. Text of the article, without identifying the authors whether at the top, in the Word file properties, in the article method (such as institution and approval by the ethics committee) or in the references.

2.2. Cover page with identification, according to the template provided by the journal, attached as a supplementary document.

2.3. Letter of submission, attached as a supplementary document, signed by all authors, attesting that the article does not violate the ethical standards of the profession or those of research with animals or human beings, assigning copyright to the journal Psicologia Clínica, declaring that there is no potential conflict of interest in relation to the article and bearing full responsibility for its content.

2.4. Submission checklist, following the template provided by the journal, attached as a supplementary document, signed by the main author, responsible for the article.

  1. All manuscripts must be submitted accompanied by the documents listed in the preceding item. Omission of any of them will be cause for automatic rejection of the manuscript.
  2. All authors must be registered in the system and the data entered must be complete (name, titles, affiliation, address, email, Orcid, etc.).

The authors will be notified immediately upon receipt of the manuscript by the Editorial Board.

Manuscript preparation

The manuscript must be presented in a Word file (doc or docx), with 2.5cm margins all around, numbered in the header on the right, in Times New Roman font, size 12pt, double spaced. It should be 15 to 25 pages long, for theoretical and empirical articles and experience reports, and 6 to 10 pages long for reviews and interviews. All manuscripts must follow the rules of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (2020, 7th edition), detailed here. Submissions that do not fully comply with these norms will be rejected.

The presentation of manuscripts must observe the following order, on separate pages:

  1. Cover page with identification, according to the template provided by the journal (upload as a supplementary document):
  • title in Portuguese, English and Spanish (up to fifteen words each);
  • abbreviated title for header (up to 5 words), in the language of the article;
  • name of each of the authors, followed by the institutional affiliation of each one (Institution, Department, Postgraduate Program, City, State and Country);
  • acknowledgment or indication of funding sources (if applicable);
  • full address of corresponding author (address with zip code and author’s email).
  1. Text of the article, without identification (main document), with all pages numbered sequentially:

2.1. Titles

  • title in Portuguese, English and Spanish (up to 15 words each);
  • abbreviated title for header (up to 5 words), in the language of the article.

Only the first word of the title (and subtitle, if any) must have a capital initial, except for proper names and acronyms.

2.2. Abstract (on new page)

  • resumo (abstract) in Portuguese (150 to 200 words);
  • palavras-chave (keywords) in Portuguese (three to five);
  • abstract in English (translation, 150 to 200 words);
  • keywords in English (translation);
  • resumen (abstract) in Spanish (translation, 150 to 200 words);
  • palabras clave (keywords) in Spanish (translation).

Abstracts must be a single paragraph, with the same font, body, spacing and alignment as the main text. They must not contain references, acronyms, and abbreviations. Abstracts must be succinct, highlighting the problem investigated, objectives, method, results and conclusions or final considerations and highlighting the importance of the manuscript for the area of clinical psychology.

The indication “keywords” (and equivalents in other languages) must be in italics, followed by a colon, with the terms separated by commas. All keywords must be obtained from the BVS-PSI (http://www.bvs-psi.org.br/).

2.3. Text (on new page)

Sections will be indicated by bold titles. Do not start a new page with each section; separate them with a blank line. Second-level titles, if any, must be in italics. Do not use more than two levels of subtitles. Only the first letter of each title must be capitalized, except for proper names and acronyms. The initial section of the article must have a subtitle (generally, “Introduction”) different from the title of the article.

In general, the text of the article must be organized into Introduction, Method, Results, Discussion, Conclusion or Final considerations and References. If necessary, other sections may be added. In some studies, it may be convenient to present results and discussion together, although such a strategy is not recommended as a rule.

2.4. Notes

Only use notes if they are essential, in which case they should be placed in a “Notes” section, on a new page, after the references, denoted by Arabic numbers. In the text, the respective calls will have these numbers, in superscript. The footnote or endnote tool of Word should not be used.

2.5. Annexes

Only use annexes if they are truly necessary to understand the text. They must appear on a new page, after the references and notes.

2.6. Figures and Tables

Figures and tables must each be inserted on separate pages, at the end of the file.

Figures must be in jpeg or png format, measuring up to 11cm x 17.5cm, and must be legible if printed in black and white, even if presented in color. Figures must also be sent separately in editable files for text review.

Tables must be prepared with the Word table tool (not as an image), in the same font as the text, without using color or shading, and cannot exceed a width of 11cm (or 17.5cm, if in landscape orientation). If a table extends over more than one page, use the Word feature to repeat the header on each page.

Each table will have notes with captions specifying the meaning of abbreviations and symbols used. Tables obtained from pre-existing works must mention it in the notes (“Source:…”). This is unnecessary if the table was created by the authors themselves.

Copyrighted images must be accompanied by a letter authorizing the use of the image for publication.

Suggested places for inserting figures and tables will be indicated throughout the text – for example: [insert Table 1]. Each figure and table must be mentioned in the text at least once, with the word written with capital initial, along with the respective number – for example: Table 1.

2.7. References and citations

All manuscripts must cite references following the rules of the 7th edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, detailed here. Do not start a new page for the References section and do not number them. Use the same font, body and text spacing, but with an outdent of 1.25cm. References must be cited in alphabetical order, by the author’s surname. Each reference must appear as a new paragraph and surnames must have only the initial capitalized. Never use a dash to indicate works by the same author(s); repeat the names.

Observe the citation rules, giving credit to the authors and the publication dates of the studies mentioned. Literal citation of a text requires referring to the page number of the work from which it was copied. All works mentioned must have the year of publication the first time they are cited in each paragraph. Avoid using secondary citations, especially when the original manuscript can be easily retrieved; if used, secondary citations must inform the original references. Do not use op. cit., ibid., idem.

Literal quotes with up to 40 words must be in the body of the text, between quotation marks, indicating the author’s surname, the year, and the page – for example: Bueno (2019, p. 32). Citations with more than 40 words must be in a new paragraph, with the same font, body and spacing as the text, but with a 1.25cm indentation from the left margin, followed by the reference, with the author’s surname, year, and page – for example: (Bueno, 2019, p. 32).

All references available online must include an active link. Articles in journals with DOI must present the full link (for example, https://doi.org/‌10.1109/5.771073), always with “https” and without “dx.”; manuscripts without a DOI must have a URL with “https” whenever available.

2.7.1. Authors

In the references section, all authors of the work must appear, unless there are more than 20 (in which case, list the first 19, followed by ‘...’ and the last), with surname and initials. For work of institutional authorship, use the acronym and full name, separated by a dash: APA – American Psychiatric Association (2014).

When citing:

  • work with one author: Rodrigues (2020) or (Rodrigues, 2020).
  • work with two authors: Soares and Vieira (2023) or (Soares & Vieira, 2023).
  • work with three or more authors: use the first author’s surname followed by et al. (“et al.” should not be in italics; the period should come after “al”, which is an abbreviation, and not after “et”): Nascimento et al. (2022) or (Nascimento et al., 2022).
  • work of institutional authorship: use only the acronym: APA (2014) or (APA, 2014).

2.7.2. Year

Use the year of publication of the cited edition. In the case of old and republished works, use the year of original publication and the year of the cited edition, separated by ‘/’ (for example: Freud, 1912/1969). If there are references by the same author and the same years of original publication and the cited edition, use lowercase letters to distinguish them (for example: Freud, 1939/1969a).

2.7.3. Secondary citation or reference

This is a citation of a work discussed in another publication consulted, without using the original. For example: Selye (1936, as cited in Lipp, 2001, p. 30). In the references section, list only the work consulted (in this case, Lipp, 2001). This type of citation should be avoided, and it is preferable to search for the original manuscript to cite it.

Examples according to APA standards (7th ed.):

Article in academic journal:

Indicate authors, year, article title and journal, with volume, issue, and page range, followed by a link. Only the name of the journal and the volume are in italics.

Bortolatto, M. O., Wagner, M. F. E., & Lopes, F. M. (2022). Treinamento em habilidades sociais com universitários: Um protocolo de intervenção grupal. Psicologia Clínica, 34(2), 289-310. https://doi.org/‌10.33208/‌PC1980-5438v0034n02A04

Journal article, in press (accepted for publication):

Indicate, instead of the date, that the article is in press. Include the name of the journal after the title of the article, without stating the year and volume, issue or page numbers until the article is published.

Vieira, J. B., Souza, F., Soares, M., & Lorde, K. (in press). A prática do psicólogo escolar. Psicologia Clínica.

Books:

Write the title in italics, followed by the edition and volume, if any, and finally the publisher, without place of publication.

Rodrigues, A., Assmar, E. L., & Jablonski, B. (2009). Psicologia Social (2ª ed.). Vozes.

Book chapters:

After the chapter title, write “In” and the reference to the book in which it was published, with the page range and publisher. The title of the book is in italics, but not the title of the chapter.

Levy, L. (2009). Terapia de casal e questões contemporâneas. In I. C. Gomes (Org.), Clínica psicanalítica de casal e família: a interface com os estudos psicossociais (pp. 25-31). Livraria Santos Editora.

Work presented at a congress (published or unpublished):

Rudge, A. M. (2000). Pressupostos da “nova” crítica à psicanálise [Resumo]. In Sociedade Brasileira de Psicologia (Org.), Psicologia no Brasil: Diversidade e desafios, XXX Reunião Anual de Psicologia (p. 27). Universidade de Brasília.

Landeira-Fernandez, J. (2008, 02–05 julho). Different patterns of defensive freezing response associated with different anxiety disorders [Apresentação de pôster]. XIII Congresso Colombiano de Psicologia, Bogotá, Colombia.

Thesis or dissertation (published or unpublished):

Souza, S. R. L. (2002). A experiência de adolescentes abandonados e institucionalizados frente ao desligamento institucional [Tese de doutorado], Universidade Católica de Pernambuco. Repositório Maxwell. https://www.maxwell.vrac.puc-rio.br/‌colecao.php?‌strSecao=resultado&‌nrSeq=2219@1

Serra, D. C. G. (2008). Entre a esperança e o limite: Um estudo sobre a inclusão de alunos com autismo em classes regulares [Tese de doutorado não publicada]. Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro.

Institutional authorship:

APA – American Psychiatric Association (2014). Manual Diagnóstico e Estatístico de Transtornos Mentais (5ª ed.). Artmed.

 

Our procedure upon receiving a manuscript

Manuscripts received are initially assessed by the Editorial Board. If they comply with these norms and are considered suitable for publication in Psicologia Clínica, they will be forwarded to ad hoc consultants, chosen by the editors from among researchers with recognized competence in the area. Consultants will not have access to the authors’ identification, nor will the authors have access to the consultants’ identification, since the journal does double-blind evaluation. All articles are sent to at least two reviewers. After blind analysis of the manuscript, the ad hoc consultants recommend its acceptance for publication, suggest modifications before acceptance (which aim to improve the clarity or precision of the text) or reject it. Authors will be notified of decisions throughout the process and informed of their progress or rejection. At each step, authors will receive unidentified copies of the consultants’ opinions. The Editorial Board reserves the right to make changes to the authors’ text to speed up the process of submission or publication of manuscripts.

 

Reformulation of the manuscript and procedures for final acceptance

Authors of manuscripts recommended for acceptance with modifications must inform about the reformulations carried out, highlighting the modified sections in the body of the text, preferably in color. If the authors decide not to make some of the suggested changes, they must justify their decision. The final decision on whether to publish the article will be up to the Editorial Board. Authors must send a letter with the changes that were accepted (indicating the pages where changes were made). This letter and the reformulated manuscript (both without identifying the authors) will be forwarded again to the referees for analysis. If the reformulations are satisfactory, the article is approved. Otherwise, the article may be rejected, or new modifications may be requested. It is recommended that authors submit the article in English or translate it into this language, after it is accepted, for publication in this language.

 

Copyright

The journal Psicologia Clínica owns the copyright on all published articles. The reproduction in full of its articles in other publications, or for any other purpose, by any means, requires written permission from the editor. Partial reproductions of articles (digests of more than 500 words of text, tables, figures, or illustrations) must also have written permission from the editor and the authors.

 

Procedure for submission

Manuscripts must be submitted through the PePsic online submission system: https://submission-pepsic.scielo.br/index.php/pc/login. For more information, send an email to psirevista@puc-rio.br.