Get your Frontiers in Psychiatry paper right the first time: a ready-made structure with the right abstract and citations, so editors see your science, not formatting slips.
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Authored by Sumalatha Gangadhar | Published on 11 August, 2026
Submitting to Frontiers in Psychiatry goes smoothly when your draft already matches the journal's own rules. Editors screen new manuscripts against the Frontiers in Psychiatry guide for authors before peer review, so formatting, structure, and required statements should be right on the first draft rather than repaired during upload. This template sets that structure up for you.
It is a manuscript shell aligned to Frontiers in Psychiatry. It covers front matter, the abstract the journal expects, a body organized to the journal's article types, and a reference list in the journal's required style. Confirm current scope and article types on the Frontiers in Psychiatry journal page before you draft.
Prepare the title, authors, affiliations, and ORCID iDs. Write the abstract to the journal's rule and word limit, organize the body to the article type, and apply the required reference style from the first citation. Complete every declaration (ethics, competing interests, funding, data availability) the Frontiers in Psychiatry guide for authors lists, and cite figures and tables in order.
The common failure modes are formatting or reference style that does not match the guide for authors, missing required statements, and an incomplete portal checklist. Clear all three against the Frontiers in Psychiatry guide for authors before you submit.
The shell mirrors what editorial staff check first: article-type fit, the abstract rules, required declarations, and the journal's reference style. For more detail see the author resources. When your draft is ready, upload it through the journal's submission system.
| Element | Frontiers Psychiatry requirement |
|---|---|
| Abstract | Structured abstract (e.g., IMRAD format) in a single paragraph. No specific word limit stated in general author guidelines across most article types. Authors should follow article-type-specific requirements. For Policy Brief articles specifically: up to 125 words in bullet point format. The abstract should make the general significance and conceptual advance of the work clearly accessible to a broad readership. Minimize abbreviations and do not cite references, figures or tables. Clinical trial articles must include trial registry number and URL |
| Main text | Word limits by article type (main text only, excludes abstract, section titles, figure/table captions, funding, acknowledgments, and references): Original Research 12,000 words; Systematic Review 12,000 words; Methods 12,000 words; Review 12,000 words; Hypothesis and Theory 12,000 words; Clinical Trial 12,000 words; Brief Research Report 4,000 words; Mini Review 3,000 words (max 2 figures/tables); Perspective 3,000 words (max 2 figures/tables); Case Report 3,000 words (max 4 display items); Opinion 2,000 words (max 1 figure/table); General Commentary 1,000 words (max 1 figure/table) |
| Declarations | Ethics approval/consent as applicable; competing interests; funding; data availability |
| Figures/tables | Publication-ready; cited in order |
| Supplemental | Upload separately when used |
| Keywords | 5-8 keywords required. All article types require a minimum of five and a maximum of eight keywords |
| References | Vancouver (numbered) reference style. References are cited in the text by sequential numbers in parentheses and listed chronologically according to order of appearance. Include names of first six authors followed by et al., with DOI when available. Author initials only (e.g., Smith J, Lewis CS) |
| Peer review | Single-anonymized (single-blind). Reviewers know the identities of the authors, but authors do not know the identities of reviewers during the review process. This allows reviewers to offer full assessment within the context of authors' research and to avoid potential competing interests when accepting review invitations |
| Submission | www.frontiersin.org/submission/submit?domainid=2&fieldid=68&specialtyid=0&entitytype=2&entityid=71 |
Read the Frontiers in Psychiatry guide for authors once before drafting and once before upload. Draft the abstract after results are stable. Set the reference style before adding citations. Keep a cover letter that states your contribution and fit to Frontiers in Psychiatry in under a page.
Skim two or three recent Frontiers Psychiatry papers to calibrate depth and figure style. Make the novelty clear in the first two pages. Deposit data and code when the policy on the Frontiers in Psychiatry journal page requires it. Disclose any preprint or conference version with identifiers in the cover letter.
Do one focused pass against the Frontiers in Psychiatry guide for authors: scope, length, reference style, required declarations, and figure quality. Then submit through the journal's submission system.