Submissions

Author Guidelines

Authors are invited to submit their manuscripts to this journal. All submissions will be initially evaluated by an editor to determine whether they fit the aims and scope of the journal. Submissions deemed appropriate will be sent for peer review before a final decision is made regarding acceptance or rejection.

Before submitting a manuscript, authors are responsible for obtaining permission to publish any material included in the submission, such as photographs, documents, or datasets. All authors identified in the submission must give their consent to be listed as authors. When applicable, the research must have been approved by an appropriate ethics committee, in accordance with the legal requirements of the country where the study was conducted.

An editor may reject a submission if it does not meet minimum quality standards. Before submitting, authors should ensure that the study design and research argument are clearly structured and properly articulated. The title should be concise, and the abstract should be able to stand on its own. This will increase the likelihood that reviewers agree to review the manuscript. Once you are confident that your submission meets these standards, proceed to the checklist below to prepare your submission.

Originality of articles

Articles must be original and must not have been previously published in journals. In exceptional cases, an article previously published in another language, or revised and updated, may be accepted. This is permitted only if prior disclosure is made by the author and if the text demonstrates sufficient quality and relevance to be considered a meaningful contribution to the field of the person-centered approach. A maximum of one article per volume may be published under these conditions.

Frequency

Starting with volume 7, to be launched in 2026, the journal will maintain an annual publication frequency but will adopt a continuous publication model. This means that each article, once submitted for review and accepted, will be published immediately. The complete volume will no longer be published on a specific date; instead, articles will be uploaded to the website individually once they are registered.

About the submission

Two separate files must be uploaded:

• File 1: A file containing the title in Spanish and English, or Portuguese and English; the first and last names of all authors; institutional affiliation; email address; telephone number; city and country; and ORCID.

• File 2: A file containing the full text of the article, with no identifying information. It should include only the title, abstract, five keywords, and the body of the text. Manuscripts may be written in Spanish or Portuguese.

Article format

Paper size: Letter
Font: Times New Roman
Font size: 12
Line spacing: 1.5
Indentation: 0.5 cm or 5 spaces in the first line of each paragraph
Justified paragraphs
Main headings: bold, centered
Secondary headings: bold, left-aligned
References with hanging indentation
APA style, 7th edition

Suggested structure for articles

Structure for empirical research articles:

1. Abstract in Spanish and English

2. Introduction

3. Theoretical framework

4. Study objective

5. Methodology

6. Results

7. Conclusions

8. References

Structure for case studies:

1. Abstract in Spanish and English

2. Introduction

3. Theoretical framework

4. Study objective

5. Methodology

6. Case and process description

7. Results

8. Conclusions

9. References

Structure for theoretical reviews:

1. Abstract in Spanish and English

2. Introduction

3. Body of the review

4. Conclusions

5. References

Structure for experience reports:

1. Abstract in Spanish and English

2. Introduction

3. Theoretical contextualization

4. Description of the experience

5. Conclusions

6. References

Structure for essays:

1. Abstract

2. Introduction

3. Development

4. Conclusions

5. References

Book reviews are also accepted.

APA Style, 7th edition

Direct quotations

Short parenthetical quotation (fewer than 40 words)

Example: The actualizing tendency indicates that "..." (Rogers, 1959, p. 50).

Short narrative quotation (fewer than 40 words)

Example: For Rogers, the actualizing tendency is "..." (1959, p. 50).

Block quotation (more than 40 words)

The full quoted text should be presented in a separate paragraph, indented throughout. The author’s surname, year, and page number should be included following the same format as short quotations, either parenthetical or narrative, as appropriate.

Indirect citations / paraphrases / non-verbatim citations

Parenthetical

Empathic understanding is one of the conditions for change in person-centered psychotherapy (Rogers, 1957).

Narrative

For Rogers (1962), empathic understanding is one of the conditions for change in person-centered psychotherapy.

Peer review process

In the first stage, the editorial team will assess the relevance of the content to the journal’s editorial line and the formal aspects of the manuscript.

If the requirements are met, the manuscript will be sent for peer review by specialists in the field, who will evaluate its suitability for publication. The peer review process guarantees anonymity for both authors and reviewers.

Authors will receive reviewers’ comments via email from the journal’s editor-in-chief, who will inform them of the editorial decision within a period not exceeding 60 days.

Policy on errata and retractions

The journal allows and promotes the publication of errata, corrections, and clarifications when, after publication, errors are identified that do not invalidate the results, interpretations, or general conclusions of an article. Errata may be requested by the authors or identified by the editorial team and will be published in a visible manner, linked to the original article.

The editorial team also assumes responsibility for retracting articles in cases where serious errors, scientific misconduct, plagiarism, data manipulation, duplicate publication, or other violations of ethical principles in research and academic publishing are identified. Retractions will be carried out following ethical and transparent criteria, with public notice of the reason for retraction, while maintaining the record of the original article clearly identified as retracted.

Statement of author and contributor contributions

Authorship of a manuscript implies recognition of the corresponding academic credit, as well as ethical and intellectual responsibility for the published content. Therefore, the journal requires that all articles include, at the end of the text, an explicit statement describing the contribution of each author and contributor.

To be considered an author, at least the following minimum authorship criteria must be met:

a) Active participation in the discussion and analysis of the study results.
b) Critical revision and approval of the final version of the manuscript for publication.

Individuals who contributed to the work but do not meet both authorship criteria should be acknowledged in a contributions or acknowledgments section, specifying the type of contribution made.