About The American Journal of Psychotherapy
A Journal From the American Psychiatric Association
Editor: Holly A. Swartz, M.D.
Editorial Board and Editorial Staff
Aims and Scope
The American Journal of Psychotherapy is a peer-reviewed, interdisciplinary journal published quarterly by the American Psychiatric Association. Begun in 1947 by the Association for the Advancement of Psychotherapy, the American Journal of Psychotherapy provides a forum for advancing the theory, science, and clinical practice of psychotherapy. The Journal publishes articles that expand our understanding of psychotherapies, especially in the domains of efficacy, process, education, and practice.
To improve outcomes for patients who may benefit from psychotherapy, the American Journal of Psychotherapy invites manuscript submissions on all topics that will advance evidence-informed psychotherapy practice. The Journal publishes empirical papers on psychotherapy outcomes, process, and education. It accepts research articles employing a range of methodologies, including but not limited to clinical trials, meta-analyses, and qualitative reports. Maintaining a strong clinical focus, the Journal welcomes case reports, review articles, and training tools that will guide and shape clinical practice. Submissions related to the practice of psychotherapy by physicians are especially welcome.
To engage its readers on the most urgent psychotherapy-related questions of our day, the American Journal of Psychotherapy invites a broad range of perspectives. We welcome submissions addressing important questions from all psychotherapy disciplines, including but not limited to psychodynamic, interpersonal, cognitive- or dialectical-behavioral, existential, emotion-focused, problem-solving, mentalizing, mindfulness-based, and client-centered approaches.
The Journal inclusively addresses topics across treatment modalities (individual, group, family, technology-enabled), age groups (children, adolescents, midlife, late life), genders, races and ethnicities, and diagnoses. The Journal serves the international community by curating a vibrant, pluralistic dialogue about psychotherapy that ultimately will inform clinical care.
Holly A. Swartz, M.D., Editor of the American Journal of Psychotherapy, describes her vision for the journal and what it will offer the field of psychiatry.
Call for Papers
The American Journal of Psychotherapy welcomes submissions that advance the theory, science, and clinical practice of psychotherapy in the following topic areas:
- Integration of psychotherapy and psychopharmacology
- Psychotherapy process research
- Psychotherapy efficacy trials
- Effectiveness of psychosocial interventions (e.g., in routine practice settings or for serious mental illness)
- Qualitative and mixed-methods reports on psychosocial treatments
- Impact of culture, racism, and bias on the practice or outcomes of psychosocial interventions
- Gender-informed psychotherapy
- Evidence-based approaches to psychotherapy training
- Methodologies for improving measurement of outcomes in psychotherapy trials
- Elucidating biologic targets of psychotherapy
- Prevention of behavioral disorders and early intervention using psychotherapy
- Psychotherapy and global mental health
- New media, technology, and psychotherapy
- Clinical applications of psychotherapy across the lifespan
Submissions will undergo the journal’s standard rigorous peer review. Submit your paper.
About the Editor
Holly A. Swartz, M.D., Professor of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of MedicineDr. Swartz is recognized internationally for her research focusing on optimizing psychosocial treatments for mood disorders. Her research focuses on the role of Interpersonal and Social Rhythm Therapy (IPSRT) and pharmacotherapy in the management of bipolar II depression and Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT) in the management of maternal depression, both in the perinatal period and in the context of high-risk families with psychiatrically ill offspring. Currently, she is developing and testing an online version of IPSRT for treating bipolar disorder in primary care. She is also working on a project to develop a novel computational framework to model dyadic interpersonal behaviors in relation to psychotherapy (IPT and CBT) process and outcomes. Her research is supported by funding from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), the Depression and Bipolar Alternative Treatment Foundation, the National Science Foundation (NSF), and the National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression (NARSAD). She has widely disseminated her work, co-authoring 68 peer-reviewed journal articles and serving as the first or senior author for 27 of those publications.
A graduate of Harvard College and Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Dr. Swartz completed her psychiatry residency and a research fellowship at the Payne Whitney Clinic at the New York Hospital/ Cornell University Medical Center. She has been the recipient of the Gerald L. Klerman Young Investigator Award from the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance (2005) and the Klerman Interpersonal Psychotherapy Award from the International Society for Interpersonal Psychotherapy (2009) in honor of her outstanding research accomplishments. Her publication on brief psychotherapy for maternal depression was cited among the Top 10 NARSAD Advancements and Breakthroughs for 2016. She currently serves as Secretary/Treasurer for the International Society for Bipolar Disorders and recently concluded her two-year term as President of the International Society of Interpersonal Psychotherapy.