Submissions

Author Guidelines

The Canadian Journal of Community Mental Health welcomes submissions on topics related to the mental health of individuals living in community settings, and that would be relevant to a Canadian context.

Submission Criteria

All submissions should strictly follow guidelines provided in the Publication Manual of the American Psychology Association (seventh edition) (APA 7^th). For more information about APA 7^th referencing, consult the APA 7^th style guide:

• American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association 2020. American Psychological Association. https://apastyle.apa.org/

Journal policy does not permit the use of the term “subjects”. Participants, respondents, informants, or a more specific designation should be used. In addition, all language within an article must be gender-inclusive, according to the guidelines set by the American Psychological Association (APA).

Authors should prepare two copies of the manuscript: one copy that includes a title page that identifies the authors and a complete set of references; and another copy suitable for a blind review, in which the authors have been removed from the title page and all information in the text and reference list that could identify the authors has been removed.

Authors must provide a 200-word structured abstract (225 in French), followed by 4 to 5 keywords, in FRENCH and ENGLISH*.

*It is the responsibility of authors to provide accurate translations of their abstracts in the opposite language of the article – in French or English. If you are unable to accomplish this yourself, or cannot make suitable arrangements for a high-quality translation, we can arrange to have your abstract translated for you if it is accepted for publication. If you require us to do so, please indicate in additional comments to the editorial team.

Manuscript Content

In addition to the points described above, all research studies will be screened for the following:

• REB review or equivalent.  In cases where the data were not originally collected for research purposes (e.g., quality improvement, evaluation, etc.) but are now being used for research, REB oversight regarding the use of secondary data is required
• Rationale, including description of existing knowledge, that is clearly linked to the study methods
• Detailed description of methods, including exclusion/inclusion criteria and the rationale behind them, to allow rigor and transparency to be evaluated
• Discussion of limitations and their potential impact on the study findings and the manuscript’s conclusion

The specific way that these elements should be addressed will depend on the type of study. It is recommended that authors consult the following guidelines:

• CONSORT for randomized controlled trials
• TREND for non-randomized trials
• PRISMA for systematic review and meta-analyses
• PRISMA-ScR for scoping reviews
• CARE for case reports
• STROBE for observational studies
• STREGA for genetic association studies
• SRQR for qualitative studies
• STARD for diagnostic accuracy studies
• ARRIVE for animal experiments

Submissions lacking the above elements will not be advanced to peer review.

Authorship

The Canadian Journal of Community Mental Health adheres to CRediT guidelines to determine whether a person should be considered an author. More information regarding these guidelines can be found here: https://www.elsevier.com/researcher/author/policies-and-guidelines/credit-author-statement. As such, to be considered an author on a paper submitted to the Canadian Journal of Community Mental Health, one must fulfill all of the following four criteria:

1. Contributed substantially to the conception and design of the research, acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of data;
2. Should be involved in drafting the paper or monograph and revising it critically for important intellectual content;
3. Should have approved the version to be published; and
4. Should have consented to being listed as an author on the paper.

Further, anyone contributing in these four ways (as outlined above) should appear as an author. Including people who do not meet the criteria for authorship on the list of authors is unethical, as is omission of a person who meets all of these criteria for authorship. For those not meeting all of these criteria, the authors may elect to include the contributor’s name in the Acknowledgements section published with the paper.

Manuscript Types

The Canadian Journal of Community Mental health accepts six distinct types of articles: 1) empirical studies; 2) brief reports; 3) knowledge syntheses; 4) practice innovations; 5) policy innovations; and 6) theoretical or conceptual articles. We accept submissions in English and French. A description of the submission criteria for each is listed below.  

1. Empirical Studies

Studies that describe research conducted with human participants can be submitted to this section. For this section, articles of no more than 6,000 words will be reviewed (not including references, tables, figures or the abstract) (7000 words in French). For qualitative studies, it is important that participant quotes and findings are not presented in a table, but rather in the body text of the manuscript such that they are included in the overall word count. Figures that summarize the qualitative findings of a paper are acceptable provided that they do not include a high volume of text. Participant characteristics should be presented in a table, and summarized in the body of the manuscript.

Submissions to this section of the journal must include the following headings:

• Title: The title should be interesting and be reflective of the content of the manuscript. Titles should be 12 words or less.
• Abstract: A structured abstract of up to 200 (225 in French) words should be provided, and presented as a single paragraph. Each abstract must include the following headings: Introduction; Methodology and Methods; Findings; and Implications. Headings are included in the overall word count. Abstracts should be provided both in English and French.
• Keywords: Authors should provide a list of 4-5 keywords. These words should be different from those used in the title of the paper to enhance the discoverability of the article in online databases. When possible, authors should use terms from the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) browser, which can be accessed here: https://meshb.nlm.nih.gov/. Keywords should be provided both in English and French.
• Introduction: A detailed description of the rationale for conducting the research, which has been developed by citing previously published peer reviewed literature. This section should also include information about the theoretical framing for the research conducted.
• Methodology and methods: A description of the methodology used to conduct the study, along with a description of the methods used as informed by this methodology. This section should include information pertaining to ethics approval, recruitment and sampling approaches, data collection procedures, analytic strategies, and the setting in which the research was conducted. For qualitative studies, it is essential to include statements of researcher positionality, and processes used for reflexivity.
• Findings: A description of the findings of the research, beginning with a detailed description of the sample, and followed by the findings which have resulted from the analytic processes described in the methodology and methods section.
• Discussion: A description of the author’s reflection on the findings of their research in the context of the broad literature on the topic, and the Canadian community mental health context. In this section, the authors should not repeat their findings presented, but rather summarize and interpret them in light of existing literature. The authors should identify implications for future research, practice, education or policy. Further, a description of the strengths and limitations of the study should be provided.
• Conclusion: A short paragraph providing a description of the important contributions made by the paper. This section should be impactful and leave the reader with a sense of the unique contributions made by the research presented.
• References: Listed using APA 7^th formatting

Make a new submission to the Empirical Studies - English section.

Faire une nouvelle soumission au études empiriques - Français section.

2. Brief Reports

Brief reports should contain all of the elements described in the Empirical Studies section above, but are shorter in length. For English language articles, reports can be up to 3,000 words in length, not including the abstract, references, tables, figures or the abstract (3500 for French language articles).

Make a new submission to the Brief Reports section.

3. Knowledge Syntheses

Knowledge syntheses include scoping, systematic, umbrella reviews, environmental scans and rapid reviews. These studies are designed to amalgamate and synthesize a broad range of literature on a particular topic. The Canadian Journal of Community Mental Health is interested in reviewing these studies for consideration for publication in the journal provided that they follow established guidelines for the conduct of the review. In their manuscripts, the authors should identify clearly how they have followed these established guidelines, and should cite relevant organizations and scholars known for the development of guidelines for their chosen methodology. Such relevant organizations include the Joanna Briggs Institute, Cochrane Collaboration, and the Campbell Collaboration. Relevant guidelines include:

• PRISMA for systematic review and meta-analyses
• PRISMA-ScR for scoping reviews

Within this article category, the Canadian Journal of Community Mental Health reviews articles of no more than 6,000 words, not including the abstract, references, tables, figures or the abstract will be reviewed (7000 words in French). Database searches described in the search strategy must have been conducted no more than one year prior to submission. The dates of the search should be included in the methods section of the paper.

Submissions to this section of the journal must include the following headings:

• Title: The title should be interesting and be reflective of the content of the manuscript.
• Abstract: A structured abstract of up to 200 (225 in French) should be provided, and presented as a single paragraph. Each abstract must include the following headings: Introduction; Methodology and Methods; Findings; and Implications. Headings are included in the overall word count. Abstracts should be provided both in English and French.
• Keywords: Authors should provide a list of 4-5 keywords. These words should be different from those used in the title of the paper to enhance the discoverability of the article in online databases. When possible, authors should use terms from the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) browser, which can be accessed here: https://meshb.nlm.nih.gov/. Keywords should be provided both in English and French.
• Introduction: A detailed description of the rationale for conducting the research, which has been developed by citing previously published peer reviewed literature. This section should also include information about the theoretical framing for the research conducted.
• Methodology and methods: A description of the methodology used to conduct the study, along with a description of the methods used as informed by this methodology (e.g. systematic review of effectiveness, scoping review, rapid review, etc.). The dates of database searches must be mentioned in the methods section of the paper.
• Findings: A description of the findings of the research, beginning with a detailed description of the included studies, and followed by the findings which have resulted from the analytic processes described in the methodology and methods section.
• Discussion: A description of the author’s reflection on the findings of their research in the context of the broad literature on the topic, and the Canadian community mental health context. In this section, the authors should not repeat their findings presented, but rather summarize and interpret them in light of existing literature. The authors should identify implications for future research, practice, education or policy. Further, a description of the strengths and limitations of the study should be provided.
• Conclusion: A short paragraph providing a description of the important contributions made by the paper. This section should be impactful and leave the reader with a sense of the unique contributions made by the research presented.
• References: Listed using APA 7^th formatting

Make a new submission to the Knowledge Syntheses section

4. Practice Innovations

The Practice Innovations section of the Canadian Journal of Community Mental Health focuses on innovative mental health services (including substance use services). The intent is to rapidly publish innovative practices in the field in order to enhance early knowledge exchange among and between service providers, users, researchers, policy makers, funders and other interest holders. Submissions should consist of up to 1500 words not including the abstract, tables, references and figures (1750 in French).

Each submission to this section should include a cover letter justifying how the presented practice is a practice innovation as per the following criteria:

• The practice has not yet been reported in other publications (either the authors’ or the scientific literature);
• The practice directly creates new scientific knowledge that has not yet been documented in clinical guidelines or evidence-based practices;
• The practice directly targets a concrete change in systemic social issues;
• The practice has potential for durability, scalability and transformative impact in the broader social system of community mental health in Canada.

Submissions to this section should include the following headings:

• Title: The title should be interesting and be reflective of the content of the manuscript.
• Abstract: An unstructured abstract of up 200 (225 in French) words should be provided, and presented as a single paragraph. Abstracts should be provided both in English and French.
• Keywords: Authors should provide a list of 4-5 keywords. These words should be different from those used in the title of the paper to enhance the discoverability of the article in online databases. When possible, authors should use terms from the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) browser, which can be accessed here: https://meshb.nlm.nih.gov/. Keywords should be provided both in English and French.
• Introduction: an introductory paragraph describing the pertinent background, the rationale for the innovation, disclosure of the nature of the authors' involvement with the innovative practice, and a declaration of any conflicts of interest.
• Innovative Practice Description: a description of the innovative practice, how it emerged, and a description of how it has been implemented. 
• Future Possibilities: a description of the potential for durability, scalability and transformative impact of the described innovative practice in a Canadian community mental health context.

• References: Listed using APA 7^th formatting

Make a new submission to the Practice Innovations section

5. Policy Innovations

The Policy Innovations section of the Canadian Journal of Community Mental Health focuses on innovative mental health policies (including substance use policies). The intent is to rapidly publish information and commentary about innovative policies in the field in order to enhance early knowledge exchange among and between service providers, users, researchers, policy makers, funders and other interest holders. Submissions should consist of up to 1500 words not including the abstract, tables, references and figures (1750 in French).

Each submission to this section should include a cover letter justifying how the presented policy represents an innovation over existing policy as per the following criteria:

• The policy has not yet been reported in other publications (either the authors’ or the scientific literature);
• The policy represents an innovation that has not been broadly implemented across communities or other jurisdictions;
• The policy directly targets a concrete change in systemic social issues affecting individuals living with mental illness in community settings;
• The policy has potential for durability, scalability and transformative impact in the broader social system of community mental health in Canada.

Submissions to this section should include the following headings:

• Title: The title should be interesting and be reflective of the content of the manuscript.
• Abstract: An unstructured abstract of up to 200 (225 in French) should be provided, and presented as a single paragraph. Abstracts should be provided both in English and French.
• Keywords: Authors should provide a list of 4-5 keywords. These words should be different from those used in the title of the paper to enhance the discoverability of the article in online databases. When possible, authors should use terms from the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) browser, which can be accessed here: https://meshb.nlm.nih.gov/. Keywords should be provided both in English and French.
• Introduction: an introductory paragraph describing the pertinent background, the rationale for the innovation, disclosure of the nature of the authors' involvement with the innovative practice, and a declaration of any conflicts of interest.
• Innovative Policy Description: a description of the innovative policy, how it emerged, and a description of how it has been implemented, if at all. 
• Future Possibilities: a description of the potential for durability, scalability and transformative impact of the described innovative policy in a Canadian community mental health context.

• References: Listed using APA 7^th formatting

Make a new submission to the Policy Innovations section

6. Theoretical or Conceptual Articles

Theoretical and conceptual manuscripts are those that are designed to encourage new ways of thinking about community mental health in Canada. Such articles are typically written by individuals who are uniquely positioned in the field, and who have novel ways of encouraging readers to consider research, practice and policy in mental health. The Canadian Journal of Community Mental Health welcomes submissions of up to 3000 words for this section of the journal. Manuscripts should contain the following sections:

• Title: The title should be interesting and be reflective of the content of the manuscript.
• Abstract: An unstructured abstract of up to 200 (225 in French) should be provided, and presented as a single paragraph. Abstracts should be provided both in English and French.
• Keywords: Authors should provide a list of 4-5 keywords. These words should be different from those used in the title of the paper to enhance the discoverability of the article in online databases. When possible, authors should use terms from the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) browser, which can be accessed here: https://meshb.nlm.nih.gov/. Keywords should be provided both in English and French.

• Introduction: Paragraph(s) presenting the rationale and purpose of the paper, including a literature review designed to provide readers with sufficient background to appraise the purpose and foundation for the paper.
• Key Issues or Concepts: In this section, the author presents the new knowledge/ideas they wish to present, arguments and critical discussion, limitations of the arguments, implications for practice/education/policy, and future steps/research. These arguments must be integrated with relevant literature.
• Implications or Conclusion: A succinct paragraph summarizing the important takeaways of the paper, and how these relate to a Canadian community mental health context.

For theoretical or conceptual articles, no specific headings are prescribed, yet the sections identified above should be apparent in the content of the paper.

Make a new submission to the Theoretical or Conceptual Articles section

Submission Guidelines for all Article Types

All articles submitted to the Canadian Journal of Community Mental Health should be submitted according to the following guidelines:

• Title page: Authors should include a separate title page (distinct from the main, blinded text of the article), that includes the following information:
  1. Article title
  2. All author names and institutions/affiliations at the time of conducting the study (if the author has no affiliation, city/province/state of residence can be provided)
         e.g. Juanita B. Smith
                University of Toronto
  3. Identify any changes in affiliation since the study was conducted. For students whose affiliations have changed, state: "(author name) was completing their (degree name) at (institution name) at the time of this study."
  4. Financial disclosure: List grant funder(s), including the grant number. If no funding supported the research, state: "The authors declare that no funding was provided to support the conduct of this research."
  5. Acknowledgments: Name any individual who contributed to the research, but does not meet criteria for authorship.
  6. Conflict of interest statement: The authors should declare any professional or financial conflicts of interest relevant to this research.
  7. CRediT Authorship Contribution Statement: In this statement, identify the specific contributions of each author listed on the paper: e.g.
  Author 1: Conceptualization, Formal analysis, Funding acquisition, Investigation, Methodology, Project administration, Supervision, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing, Visualization.
  Author 2: Conceptualization, Methodology, Project administration, Supervision, Writing – review & editing, Investigation, Formal analysis.
  Author 3: Conceptualization, Formal analysis, Methodology, Writing – review & editing. Joseph Voronov: Formal
  analysis, Investigation, Writing – review & editing.
  Author 4: Formal analysis, Investigation, Writing – review & editing.
  Author 5: Investigation, Writing – review & editing.
  Author 6: Investigation, Writing – review & editing.
  8. Name, address, and contact information for the corresponding author
• Tables and figures: Each table and figure must be submitted in individual files named according to their table/figure number, with the article text submitted in its own separate file. A maximum of only three tables and two figures will be permitted. All tables and figures should be referred to in the paragraphs of the article to draw the reader’s attention to the respective table or figure. For example, an author should refer to the table in the article text, and where the table should appear should be indicated as follows:

             e.g. A full description of the sample is presented in Table 1.

                    [TABLE 1 HERE]

Tables and figures should be labelled consecutively in Arabic numerals. Each table and figure should be prepared in a separate file, and each should have a descriptive title.

             e.g. Figure 1. A graphic depiction of qualitative themes

                    Table 2. Participant characteristics

• Blinding: Two copies of the manuscript should be submitted for review. One of these manuscripts should include all details (unblinded). The second should be suitable for a blinded peer review, and thereby all identifying details should be replaced with “<<BLINDED FOR REVIEW>>”. This includes the names/initials of the authors, their affiliations, the names of the research ethics board(s) who approved the research, and organizations involved in the research.
• Font and font size: All articles must be submitted in Times New Roman, 12-pt font.
• Spacing: All articles should be double-spaced on submission

Peer Review Process

The Canadian Journal of Community Mental Health employs a double-blinded peer review process where reviewers are not provided with names of authors of the papers they have been asked to review. Additionally, authors are not provided with the names of individuals who reviewed their article. All submissions are reviewed and feedback is provided to the corresponding author. Submissions will be accepted as is, accepted with minor revisions, returned for resubmission with major revisions, declined, or returned for resubmission to another section of the journal (with explanation).