AMHCA's leading publication, the Journal of Mental Health Counseling, can be found at https://scholarlypublishingcollective.org/amhca/jmhc.
Aims and Scope
The quarterly Journal of Mental Health Counseling (JMHC) provides clinical mental health counselors and researchers with practical knowledge and illuminating background from in-depth research on clinical studies and counseling practice. Published since 1978, JMHC articles address all aspects of practice, theory, professionalism, research, and neuroscience related to clinical mental health counseling.
Practice
Mental health counselors (MHCs) work in a variety of clinical settings with diverse client populations. This section emphasizes cutting-edge strategies and techniques as well as innovative applications of established clinical practices. Articles provide critical analyses of the existing literature and descriptive application of clinical approaches, strategies, and techniques.
Theory
Explication of theoretical constructs and their application in clinical mental health practice are the emphasis of this section. Theoretical articles must be well grounded in the existing conceptual and empirical literature, delineate implications for practice, and provide illustrative applications (e.g., case studies).
Professional Exchange
This section allows for dialogue among MHCs regarding dilemmas, challenges, divergent perspectives, and other emergent topics relevant to clinical mental health counseling.
Research
This section addresses empirically supported best practices, evidence-based approaches, and new developments in clinical mental health counseling. Articles include implications for professional mental health counseling practice and future research.
Neuroscience-Informed Counseling
The goal of theNeuroscience-Informed Counseling section is to increase scholarship related to neuroscience-informed counseling by providing a dedicated space for academic discourse. This section provides clinical MHCs with an opportunity to enhance clinical training and practice in a brain-based era of mental health and wellness. In order to accomplish this goal, we have outlined several objectives for the section:
- Provide a dedicated space for neuroscience manuscripts in the counseling field.
- Identify clinical outcomes in an era of neuroscience.
- Generate and evaluate new theories and techniques of clinical mental health counseling grounded in neuroscience principles.
- Replicate and validate existing psychotherapy research within a counseling framework.
- Increase exposure to the research domain criteria in the counseling field.
- Create an independent body of neuroscience-informed counseling literature.
Publication Schedule
JMHC is published quarterly (January, April, July, and October). Occasionally, issues are dedicated to articles on specific topics (special issues). Any current calls for special issues are available in the JMHC publication and website.
Masked Peer Review Policy
All submissions are initially reviewed by the Editor. Manuscripts not deemed suitable for JMHC are rejected without further review. All other manuscripts are sent out for peer review. JMHC employs a double-masked peer review policy, and authors should attempt to conceal all identifying information in the manuscript. The title page will be masked by the Editor prior to peer review.
Ethical Statement
JMHC is committed to the ethical guidelines for research outlined in the 7th edition APA Publication Manual (https://apastyle.apa.org/) and the AMHCA Code of Ethics (https://www.amhca.org/HigherLogic/System/DownloadDocumentFile.ashx?DocumentFileKey=24a27502-196e-b763-ff57-490a12f7edb1&forceDialog=0).