Manuscript Review

Book and Journal manuscripts submitted to the Journal of Pastoral Care Publications, Inc are reviewed by professionals with expertise in the subject matter of the manuscript.

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Ordinarily, three reviewers assess the manuscript independently, following which the reviews are collated by the Managing Editor. Potential outcomes of the review process include the following.

1. Publish as is
2. Invite the author to revise in accordance with the suggestions of the reviewers.
3. Do not publish.

Review Criteria

The following instructions guide reviewers of manuscripts submitted to JPCP Inc  

1. Keep in mind that The Journal is “a professional publication in chaplaincy, education, spiritual care & research.”

2. Keep in mind that most of the readers of The Journal are members of one of the associations that own JPCP Inc

• Association for Clinical Pastoral Education
• Canadian Association for Pastoral Practice and Education / Association canadienne pour la pratique et l’ éducation pastorales
• National Association of Jewish Chaplains
• National Association of Business and Industrial Chaplains
• College of Pastoral Supervision and Psychotherapy

Additionally, The Journal is read by seminarians, by students in pastoral education programs (CPE, Pastoral Counselling Education, etc.), by religious leaders (ministers, priests, rabbis, imams, etc.) serving in local congregations or religious gatherings and in regional or national faith group offices, and by persons from other disciplines seeking information from our discipline about the human condition and the helping/caring/healing process. Copies of The Journal can be found in offices, homes, and libraries in many different countries throughout the world.

3. Keep in mind that those readers include persons of various religious traditions and many different cultures. Religious and cultural exclusivism/imperialism, as well as heterosexism, and other “isms” are to be avoided.

• Of course, it is quite appropriate, when a person is writing out of their own religious or cultural experience for persons of that religious or cultural tradition and in order to share with persons of other religious or cultural traditions, for them to name their perspective and write from that perspective. In that scenario, the writing needs to be respectful of cultural or religious difference.
• It is also important to recognize that there is great variety within each religious or cultural tradition – so that it is not appropriate to state, for example, that “Christians believe …” Rather, in professional writing, one would expect the author to use language such as “Some Christians believe …” or “Some Christian denominations believe …” or “Christians at the liberal end of the theological spectrum tend to believe ….”
• It is expected that professional writing will be sensitive to “hot button” issues in the various religious traditions and in our profession (e.g. abortion and sexual orientation) and that authors of articles submitted to The Journal for publication, or books submitted for review, will not use The Journal’s pages to disseminate “propaganda” (see www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propaganda) or to provide academic legitimacy for “propaganda” on one side or the other of “hot button” issues. Professional writing about “hot button” issues reflects awareness of and respect for different beliefs and opinions.

4. Not everyone who submits articles or books for review to The Journal is a member of one of our member associations or of other associations whose history is embedded in the 20th and 21st century pastoral care and counseling movement. Some are in academic appointments or clinical work that is “outside” our movement. This is not a problem in and of itself – and frequently can be a significant benefit. However, it should be regarded as problematic if a manuscript or a book being reviewed does not reference the body of pastoral care and counseling research and theory building when it would be appropriate to do so. For example, to write an article about “grief” for The Journal without referencing the extensive pastoral literature on grief would be professionally reprehensible.

5. Be sure to read the Guidelines for writing articles that are provided to persons who inquire about submitting an article to The Journal and use those Guidelines in making your evaluation of manuscripts. Most of the material in the Guidelines is also relevant for assessing books and writing book reviews.

6. You bring a particular expertise or set of expertises to the process of manuscript evaluation and the review of books. From time to time, there may be aspects of a particular manuscript or book that are outside that/those particular expertise(s). When this is the case, draw attention to that fact in your evaluation so that, if there has been no adequate evaluation of that aspect of a manuscript by any of the three reviewers, the Managing Editor or Associate Managing Editor can obtain it from someone else. In the case of book reviews, there is no shame in commenting on aspects of the book that fall within the area of one’s expertise and naming that one does not feel qualified to assess some aspects of the book.

7. At the bottom of the Evaluation Form for manuscripts, you are requested to assess whether the article is of a controversial nature and to indicate whether it should be published with accompanying commentary articles. Please take seriously your responsibility in this regard. An important question to ask with regard to a manuscript (or a book being reviewed) would be the following: “Given that the author writes from within a particular frame, and does that well, could that frame be expanded and the article/book enhanced by putting the author in conversation with others?”

8. From time to time, as you are evaluating manuscripts or writing a book review, you may have questions. When that happens, please do not hesitate to get in touch with the Managing Editor (MngEd@jpcp.org) or by telephone (617-969-2697).