Editorial Independence Policy

This policy was updated on 20 May 2026 to include explicit provisions governing submissions by the Editor-in-Chief and editorial board members, including mandatory disclosure requirements. These provisions apply to all submissions received on or after 20 May 2026.

 

The editorial board and the owner of the journal have different roles. The editors’ primary responsibilities are to inform and educate readers, with attention to the accuracy and importance of journal articles, and to protect and strengthen the integrity and quality of the journal and its processes.

The owner supports the core values and policies of its organisation and are ultimately responsible for all aspects of publishing the journal, including its staff, budget, and business policies. The relationship between the owner and editors are based on mutual respect and trust, and recognition of each other’s authority and responsibilities. Any conflicts can damage both the intellectual integrity and reputation of the journal and its financial success.

The following are guidelines for protecting the responsibility and authority of both the editorial board and the owner:

The editorial board has full authority and editorial freedom over the editorial content of the journals, generally referred to as “editorial independence.” Editorial content includes original research, opinion articles and news reports, both in print or electronic format, and how and when information is published. The owner will not interfere in the evaluation, selection or editing of individual articles, either directly or by creating an environment in which editorial decisions are strongly influenced.

Editorial decisions shall be based mainly on the validity of the work and its importance to readers, not the policies of the owner.  Editors are free to publish critical but responsible views about all aspects without fear of retribution, even if these views might conflict with the policies or commercial goals of the owner.  To maintain this position, editors should seek input from a broad array of advisors such as reviewers, editorial staff, an editorial board, and readers.

The editorial board establishes procedures that guard against the influence of commercial, organisational, and personal self-interest on editorial decisions and make these procedures clear and transparent to all interested parties. They are compensated for their work on the journal in a manner that does not create a conflict of interest for the manuscripts they consider (see Conflict of Interest Policy).

The owner has the right to hire members of the editorial board, but they should dismiss them only for substantial reasons such as a pattern of bad editorial decisions, disagreement with the long-term editorial direction of the journal, or personal behavior (such as criminal acts) that are incompatible with a position of trust. It may also be appropriate to end the editor’s service if, for whatever reason, owners and editors find they are unable to work together in a spirit of mutual trust and collaboration. Termination of an editor’s appointment should be a deliberate process, involving open discussion at the highest level of the organisation, and should not be precipitous, except for egregious wrongdoing.

The limits of editorial freedom are difficult to define in the general case.  Editors should be receptive to articles representing all legitimate points of view and should be free to publish any responsible positions. However, owners cannot be expected to retain editors who take strong, consistent, one-sided positions against the core values and policies of their parent organization.

Major decisions regarding the editor’s employment are being made by the editorial board with open discussion and time to hear from all interested parties. The works of the such board are transparent and publicly available.

Submissions by the Editor-in-Chief and Editorial Board Members
The journal affirms that scholarly contribution from the Editor-in-Chief or a member of the editorial board is a legitimate and valued activity. The submissions shall be handled through a process that is fully independent of the submitting editor. The following shall apply to such submissions:

(i) Complete recusal
The submitting editor plays no role whatsoever in any aspect of the handling of their own manuscript, from desk review through to the final publication decision.

(ii) independent oversight
A designated independent editor assumes full editorial authority and accountability for the submission, ensuring that the manuscript is evaluated on exactly the same basis as any other submission received by the journal.

(iii) Public disclosure
The published article carries a declaration confirming the author's editorial role and the independent handling of the submission, so that readers may assess the integrity of the process for themselves.

These principles are operationalised through the specific procedural requirements set out in the journal's Conflict of Interest Policy, which governs the declaration, recusal, delegation, journal platform system access, peer review standards, and publication disclosure requirements that apply to all editorial submissions. Editors and editorial board members are required to familiarise themselves with these requirements before submitting any manuscript to the journal.

These provisions are aligned with COPE's guidelines on handling submissions from editors and constitute a transparency criterion evaluated during indexing audits.

Editors shall resist any actions that might compromise these principles in their journals, even if it places their own position at risk.  If major transgressions do occur, all editors shall participate in drawing them to the attention of the international therapist, academic, and lay communities.