Get your Journal of Clinical Psychology 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 17 August, 2026
Submitting to Journal of Clinical Psychology goes smoothly when your draft already matches the journal's own rules. Editors screen new manuscripts against the Journal of Clinical Psychology 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 Journal of Clinical Psychology. 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 Journal of Clinical Psychology 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 Journal of Clinical Psychology 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 Journal of Clinical Psychology 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 | J Clin Psychol requirement |
|---|---|
| Abstract | Structured abstract with sections (objective(s)/methods/results/conclusion) for Original Papers and Training and Professional Issues articles. Unstructured abstract for Comprehensive Reviews and Case Reports. In Session articles require abstracts of 250 words or less. No word limit is explicitly stated for regular article abstracts in the official guide |
| Main text | In Session articles are limited to 30 double-spaced typewritten pages, including title page, abstract, references, and tables. For regular article types (Original Papers, Comprehensive Reviews, Training and Professional Issues, Case Reports), no explicit word or page limit is stated in the official guide |
| Declarations | Ethics approval/consent as applicable; competing interests; funding; data availability |
| Figures/tables | Publication-ready; cited in order |
| Supplemental | Upload separately when used |
| Keywords | Up to six keywords. In Session articles specify five or six keywords for indexing purposes |
| References | APA reference style (Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association). In Session articles should provide no more than 25 references; regular articles have no stated reference limit |
| Peer review | Double-blind peer review model. Papers are sent to review only if the Editor-in-Chief determines that the paper meets appropriate quality and relevance requirements. In-house submissions are sent to Editors unaffiliated with the author or institution to ensure no peer review bias |
| Submission | authors.wiley.com/journal/JCLP |
Read the Journal of Clinical Psychology 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 Journal of Clinical Psychology in under a page.
Skim two or three recent J Clin Psychol 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 Journal of Clinical Psychology journal page requires it. Disclose any preprint or conference version with identifiers in the cover letter.
Do one focused pass against the Journal of Clinical Psychology guide for authors: scope, length, reference style, required declarations, and figure quality. Then submit through the journal's submission system.