The Journal of Pastoral Care & Counseling advances theory and professional practice through scholarly and reflective literature on pastoral and spiritual care, counseling, psychotherapy, education, and research.
For Articles, Brief Reflections, Poetry, and Specialty Manuscripts: Please review the Guidelines that you will find at SAGE Submission Guidelines. Contact the Journal Editor if you need assistance. (PH: 610-358-4224 / EMail: [email protected] ).
All material submitted to JPC&C must reflect the ethical standards of the pastoral/spiritual care associations that support JPCP and those of SAGE Publications. The association standards are available at the associations’ websites. Consult SAGE Submission Guidelines for information concerning SAGE’s standards.
JPC&C publishes articles such as the following:
- Concrete and detailed reports of significant areas of pastoral/spiritual care work, with discussion
- Research Studies of importance to the pastoral/spiritual care mission of religious communities
- Articles advancing understanding of the practice of Clinical Pastoral Education and Pastoral Counseling/Psychotherapy
- Articles that explore the distinctive as well as the common characteristics of Ministry/Spiritual Care in relation to other helping professions and/or institutions
- Articles offering new or novel theoretical models or approaches to pastoral/spiritual care
Book Reviews
Publishers submit books for review to the Book Review Editor who selects which books will be reviewed. Persons interested in reviewing books should contact the Book Review Editor or the Journal Editor.
Media and Media Reviews
Contact the Media Editor regarding new or novel media offerings and reviews relevant to the field of pastoral/spiritual care, counseling, psychotherapy, and education.
Peer Reviewers
Peer Reviewers are selected on the basis of professional qualifications and literary and/or research contributions to the field of pastoral/spiritual care and counseling. Most are recommended by the leadership of JPCP Member Associations. Individuals may apply to become a Peer Reviewer through a formal letter of interest to the Journal Editor. Applicants must submit a curriculum vitae and writing samples, along with an academic or professional letter of recommendation. For information about being a Peer Reviewer, see here.
Copyright Information
See Permissions at Sage Publications.
Blog Submission Guidelines
We are are open to publishing guest posts on our blog. We post bi-weekly. The content of your post should be inline with the world of spiritual care and spiritually integrative counseling and can not read as an advertisement or sponsored post.
Click Here for Advice on Writing Blog Posts for JPCP
- How to begin: Pick a topic you like, create an outline and do your research
Picking a topic you like will allow your enthusiasm to shine through. Choose topics you would want to read, and chances are we will be just as interested.
Create a rough outline, a sketch of the overall structure of your post, to keep yourself on track. Now flesh it out—you are almost done! Just a little proofing and polishing is left to do. - Craft a headline (i.e., a title) that is both informative, specific, and will capture readers’ attention
If you wrote a working title when you were outlining, revisit it. What fits your post? One effective technique is to pose a question in your headline. “Case Study” headlines also work well, because of the how-to angle (which attracts people who want to accomplish the same thing by following real-world examples). - Use images to enhance your post, improve its flow, add humor, and explain complex topic
Writing for the web is very different than writing for print. People usually scan blog posts, and they expect text to be broken up by visual stimulation, so be sure to include images in your posts. Everyone likes a good laugh, and a well-chosen image can help lighten the tone of your posts. Diagrams, charts, infographics, tables, and any other visual assets can help your readers understand abstract or complex topics and grasp the points you are trying to make. - Edit your blog post—read it aloud, revise it, and have others check it over for repetition or errors
If a piece reads awkwardly out loud, it will probably read awkwardly in your reader’s mind.
Asking a friend or colleague to check your work is not an admission of weakness or a sign of failure – it’s a commitment to making your work as strong as it possibly can be.
Sentences should be as short as possible. They’re easier to read, making your audience’s job easier.
The “rules” of paragraph structure have been bent a little since web-based publishing became the norm, but try to keep individual ideas isolated to their own neat, short little paragraph. Shorter paragraphs encourage the reader to finish the piece. - One last fact-check
Before posting, double check all the facts. We all want to build trust in our credibility and reputations. If a mistake is realized after something is published, be honest and we will help you fix it quickly.
There’s no such thing as a perfect post, and what you have at this point will be great. Go ahead and submit it—the readers will enjoy reading your perspectives and insights.
Submitted posts do not obligate us to publish them. The only guest posts we will publish are those that in our sole judgment add value to our readers.
In addition:
- Your post must be original and not previously published either on the Web or in print.
- Your post should be at least 600 words long and no more than 2500 words.
- Your post needs to include at least one hi-resolution, illustrative image. If you don’t provide one, we will add one at our discretion.
- You will also need to provide a short bio. This bio must contain a recent picture and can also contain three byline links, one for your website, one for your Twitter feed (optional), and one for your professional Facebook page (also optional.)
We will likely copyedit your post for grammar, punctuation, spelling, etc. If we make any substantive changes, we will email the post back to you for your approval before posting.
If your blog post meets the criteria above, please email it to: Journal Editor
