About the Journal

Behavioral and Clinical Studies in Contemporary Psychology is a peer-reviewed, open access scholarly journal dedicated to the publication of high-quality scientific research in the broad fields of behavioral sciences, clinical psychology, contemporary psychological studies, mental health, psychotherapy, counseling, assessment, prevention, and evidence-based psychological intervention. The journal provides an academic platform for researchers, clinicians, psychologists, counselors, psychotherapists, psychiatrists, educators, and interdisciplinary scholars who seek to advance theoretical, empirical, and applied knowledge related to human behavior, psychological functioning, mental health, and clinical practice.

The journal is established with the aim of supporting rigorous scientific inquiry into the complex relationship between behavioral processes, psychological mechanisms, emotional functioning, cognitive patterns, interpersonal relationships, social contexts, and clinical outcomes. In contemporary psychology, behavioral and clinical phenomena are increasingly understood through multidimensional perspectives that include biological, cognitive, emotional, social, cultural, developmental, and environmental determinants. Accordingly, Behavioral and Clinical Studies in Contemporary Psychology welcomes studies that contribute to a deeper understanding of psychological problems, human adaptation, mental health promotion, behavioral change, therapeutic processes, and evidence-based clinical services.

The journal is published bi-monthly, with six issues per year, and follows a regular publication schedule to ensure timely dissemination of scholarly work. As an academic periodical, the journal seeks to provide a reliable venue for the publication of original research articles, review articles, systematic reviews, meta-analyses, clinical studies, methodological papers, theoretical articles, brief reports, case studies, and scholarly discussions relevant to behavioral and clinical psychology. The journal particularly values manuscripts that demonstrate methodological rigor, ethical integrity, theoretical contribution, practical relevance, and clear implications for psychological science and professional practice.

All manuscripts submitted to the journal undergo a double-blind anonymous peer-review process, meaning that the identities of both authors and reviewers are concealed from each other throughout the review process. Each manuscript is typically evaluated by two or three expert reviewers who assess the scientific quality, originality, methodology, ethical soundness, clarity of presentation, relevance to the journal’s scope, and contribution to the field. The editorial decision is based on the reviewers’ evaluations and the judgment of the editorial team. The journal aims to maintain a fair, transparent, constructive, and academically rigorous review process.

The average time from manuscript submission to publication is approximately eight weeks, provided that the manuscript successfully passes editorial screening, peer review, revision, final acceptance, copyediting, and production stages within the expected timeline. However, this timeline may vary depending on the complexity of the manuscript, the availability of reviewers, the number and extent of revisions required, and the responsiveness of authors during the review and production process. The journal is committed to reducing unnecessary delays while preserving the quality and integrity of scholarly publishing.

As an open access journal, Behavioral and Clinical Studies in Contemporary Psychology supports the unrestricted dissemination of scientific knowledge. All published articles are freely available to readers worldwide immediately upon publication. This publishing model promotes academic visibility, broader readership, knowledge exchange, and the practical application of research findings in clinical, educational, institutional, and community settings. By removing access barriers, the journal seeks to contribute to the democratization of psychological knowledge and to support researchers, practitioners, students, policymakers, and the general public in accessing reliable scientific information.

The journal is committed to publication ethics, responsible research conduct, transparency, and academic integrity. Submitted manuscripts are evaluated not only for their scientific merit but also for compliance with ethical standards, including originality, proper citation, avoidance of plagiarism, appropriate research design, informed consent where applicable, protection of participants’ rights, confidentiality, and accurate reporting of findings. To protect the integrity of published research, all manuscripts are screened for similarity and plagiarism using iThenticate before or during the editorial evaluation process.

Behavioral and Clinical Studies in Contemporary Psychology welcomes contributions from national and international scholars and encourages interdisciplinary dialogue between psychology and related fields such as psychiatry, neuroscience, education, social work, public health, behavioral medicine, rehabilitation sciences, family studies, developmental sciences, organizational psychology, health psychology, and social sciences. The journal seeks to serve as a bridge between research and practice by publishing studies that not only expand psychological theory but also inform clinical decision-making, intervention design, prevention programs, assessment practices, and mental health policy.

Aims and Scopes

The primary aim of Behavioral and Clinical Studies in Contemporary Psychology is to advance scientific knowledge in behavioral and clinical psychology through the publication of original, methodologically sound, ethically conducted, and theoretically meaningful research. The journal seeks to promote scholarly work that improves understanding of psychological processes, behavioral patterns, emotional difficulties, cognitive mechanisms, psychopathology, therapeutic change, psychological assessment, mental health interventions, and contemporary issues in psychological practice.

The journal aims to provide a scientific forum for studies that address both fundamental and applied questions in psychology. It encourages research that contributes to the development of psychological theories, the refinement of clinical models, the validation of assessment tools, the evaluation of therapeutic interventions, and the improvement of mental health services. The journal is especially interested in studies that integrate contemporary psychological perspectives with culturally sensitive and evidence-based approaches.

The scope of the journal includes, but is not limited to, the following areas:

Clinical Psychology and Psychopathology: The journal welcomes studies related to the assessment, diagnosis, classification, explanation, and treatment of psychological disorders. This includes research on anxiety disorders, depressive disorders, obsessive-compulsive and related disorders, trauma- and stressor-related disorders, personality disorders, eating disorders, somatic symptom disorders, sleep problems, addiction and substance use disorders, neurodevelopmental disorders, and other mental health conditions. Manuscripts may examine risk factors, protective factors, symptom patterns, comorbidity, clinical trajectories, and psychological mechanisms involved in psychopathology.

Psychotherapy and Psychological Interventions: The journal publishes research on individual, group, couple, family, and community-based psychological interventions. Studies may focus on cognitive-behavioral therapy, schema therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy, dialectical behavior therapy, emotion-focused therapy, mindfulness-based interventions, psychodynamic therapy, narrative therapy, solution-focused therapy, positive psychology interventions, family therapy, trauma-focused interventions, and other evidence-based or emerging therapeutic approaches. The journal encourages clinical trials, quasi-experimental studies, process-outcome studies, intervention protocols, and follow-up studies that evaluate treatment effectiveness, mechanisms of change, therapeutic alliance, client engagement, and long-term outcomes.

Behavioral Studies and Behavior Change: The journal welcomes research on human behavior across clinical, social, educational, health-related, family, and organizational contexts. This includes studies on behavioral regulation, habit formation, self-control, motivation, avoidance behavior, health behaviors, coping strategies, lifestyle change, interpersonal behavior, aggression, prosocial behavior, and behavioral responses to stress, trauma, illness, or social change. The journal is particularly interested in research that explains how behavior is shaped by cognitive, emotional, relational, cultural, and environmental factors.

Psychological Assessment and Measurement: The journal publishes studies concerning the development, validation, adaptation, and evaluation of psychological instruments. This includes psychometric studies, scale validation, measurement invariance, factor analysis, reliability analysis, diagnostic accuracy, screening tools, clinical interviews, behavioral assessments, and culturally adapted assessment methods. Manuscripts should demonstrate appropriate methodological procedures and clearly explain the theoretical and practical significance of the measurement tool.

Counseling Psychology and Mental Health Services: The journal welcomes studies related to counseling processes, counselor-client relationships, career counseling, school counseling, family counseling, crisis counseling, psychoeducation, mental health literacy, help-seeking behavior, prevention programs, and community mental health services. Research may address counseling outcomes, service accessibility, barriers to care, culturally responsive counseling, ethical challenges in counseling, and the integration of psychological services into educational, healthcare, and community systems.

Health Psychology and Behavioral Medicine: The journal encourages submissions examining the psychological dimensions of physical health, chronic illness, pain, rehabilitation, disability, stress-related conditions, treatment adherence, health-related quality of life, illness perception, patient coping, caregiver burden, and psychological interventions for medical populations. Studies that explore the interaction between mental health and physical health are particularly relevant to the journal’s mission.

Developmental and Lifespan Psychology: The journal publishes research on psychological development across the lifespan, including childhood, adolescence, adulthood, and older adulthood. Relevant topics include emotional development, cognitive development, attachment, identity formation, family relationships, school adjustment, developmental psychopathology, aging, psychological resilience, and developmental risk and protective factors. The journal welcomes studies that examine developmental processes in both typical and clinical populations.

Family, Couple, and Relationship Studies: The journal welcomes manuscripts focused on family functioning, marital satisfaction, couple relationships, parenting, attachment, communication patterns, family conflict, divorce, infidelity, domestic violence, child-parent relationships, family resilience, and family-based interventions. Studies may examine both clinical and non-clinical populations and may use quantitative, qualitative, mixed-method, or intervention-based designs.

Child and Adolescent Mental Health: The journal encourages research on emotional, behavioral, social, and academic problems among children and adolescents. Topics may include anxiety, depression, behavioral disorders, academic stress, school adjustment, bullying, self-esteem, peer relationships, family influences, digital media use, identity development, self-regulation, and preventive or therapeutic programs for young populations.

Trauma, Stress, and Resilience: The journal welcomes studies addressing psychological trauma, adverse childhood experiences, post-traumatic stress, grief, crisis response, emotional regulation, psychological resilience, post-traumatic growth, coping processes, and trauma-informed care. Both clinical and community-based studies are within the scope of the journal.

Cognitive, Emotional, and Social Processes: The journal publishes research on cognitive and emotional mechanisms that underlie behavior and clinical outcomes. Relevant areas include rumination, worry, attention, memory, executive functioning, emotion regulation, metacognition, cognitive distortions, empathy, social cognition, interpersonal sensitivity, loneliness, self-concept, self-efficacy, and psychological flexibility.

Cultural and Contemporary Issues in Psychology: The journal is interested in studies that examine psychological phenomena in relation to culture, society, technology, globalization, migration, changing family structures, digital communication, social media, online therapy, artificial intelligence in mental health, telepsychology, and contemporary social challenges. The journal encourages culturally grounded research and studies that expand psychological knowledge beyond narrow or traditionally dominant populations.

Research Methodology in Psychology: The journal accepts methodological articles that contribute to research design, data analysis, qualitative methods, mixed-method approaches, clinical trial design, intervention evaluation, psychometrics, ethical methodology, and reproducible research practices in psychology. Methodological papers should provide clear relevance to behavioral or clinical psychological research.

The journal accepts the following types of manuscripts:

Original research articles;
Clinical and quasi-experimental studies;
Randomized controlled trials;
Qualitative studies;
Mixed-method studies;
Systematic reviews;
Meta-analyses;
Narrative reviews;
Theoretical and conceptual articles;
Psychometric and instrument validation studies;
Clinical case studies;
Brief reports;
Methodological papers;
Letters to the editor, where appropriate;
Scholarly commentaries related to contemporary psychological issues.

The journal gives priority to manuscripts that present clear research questions, strong theoretical foundations, appropriate methodology, ethical approval where required, transparent data reporting, meaningful interpretation of findings, and practical implications for clinical or behavioral psychology. Manuscripts that are purely descriptive, lack scientific rigor, duplicate previously published work, or fall outside the behavioral and clinical scope of the journal may be rejected during the initial editorial screening stage.

Open Access Statement

Behavioral and Clinical Studies in Contemporary Psychology is an open access journal. All articles published in the journal are made freely and permanently available online immediately after publication. Readers are not required to pay subscription fees, registration fees, or access charges in order to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full text of published articles, provided that such use complies with the journal’s licensing terms.

The journal believes that open access publishing plays an essential role in the advancement of science and the dissemination of knowledge. Psychological research has direct relevance to individuals, families, communities, schools, clinics, healthcare systems, and public policy. Therefore, unrestricted access to reliable psychological knowledge can support better clinical practice, improved mental health literacy, more effective interventions, and greater public benefit.

By adopting an open access model, the journal seeks to increase the visibility, discoverability, and impact of published research. Open access allows researchers from different countries, institutions, and economic contexts to access scientific findings without financial barriers. It also supports students, clinicians, independent scholars, policymakers, and practitioners who may not have access to subscription-based academic databases.

All articles are published online under the journal’s open access policy and may be accessed through the journal website. The journal encourages responsible sharing and use of published articles for educational, research, and non-commercial purposes, provided that proper citation is given to the original work and the use is consistent with the applicable Creative Commons license.

Open access publication in the journal does not mean that articles are exempt from quality control. All submitted manuscripts are subject to editorial screening, plagiarism checking, peer review, revision where necessary, and final editorial approval. The journal’s open access policy is therefore fully compatible with rigorous academic standards and responsible scholarly publishing.

Copyright and License

Authors who publish with Behavioral and Clinical Studies in Contemporary Psychology retain full copyright of their published work. The journal does not require authors to transfer copyright ownership. Instead, authors grant the journal the right to publish, distribute, archive, and make the article available to readers through the journal website and related indexing or repository systems.

All articles are published under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0). This license allows others to copy, distribute, display, perform, and adapt the work for non-commercial purposes, provided that appropriate credit is given to the original author(s), the article title, the journal, and the original source of publication. Any reuse must also indicate whether changes were made.

Under the CC BY-NC 4.0 license, readers and users may use the published work for teaching, research, academic discussion, scholarly communication, and other non-commercial purposes. For example, articles may be shared with students, included in academic course materials, deposited in non-commercial repositories, cited in research, or used as part of scholarly review and discussion, provided that proper attribution is given.

Commercial use of published articles is not permitted without appropriate permission. Commercial use may include selling the article, including it in commercial databases or products, using it for advertising or promotional purposes, or distributing it in a manner primarily intended for commercial advantage. Users who wish to reuse published material for commercial purposes should contact the journal or the copyright holder for permission.

The authors remain responsible for the content of their articles, including the accuracy of data, originality of the work, ethical compliance, proper citation of sources, and respect for third-party rights. If the manuscript contains copyrighted material owned by others, such as figures, tables, images, scales, or extensive excerpts, authors are responsible for obtaining the necessary permissions before submission or publication.

The journal’s copyright and licensing policy is designed to protect authors’ rights while promoting wide dissemination of scholarly work. By allowing authors to retain copyright and by publishing under a Creative Commons license, the journal supports both academic freedom and responsible open access distribution.

Plagiarism

Behavioral and Clinical Studies in Contemporary Psychology is committed to maintaining the highest standards of academic integrity and originality in scholarly publishing. Plagiarism, duplicate publication, redundant publication, inappropriate text recycling, data fabrication, data falsification, improper citation, and other forms of academic misconduct are not acceptable.

All submitted manuscripts are screened using iThenticate similarity detection software. The purpose of similarity checking is to identify possible overlap with previously published or submitted material and to help ensure that all manuscripts meet the journal’s standards for originality. Similarity reports are reviewed by the editorial office or editorial team as part of the manuscript evaluation process.

A similarity report does not automatically determine whether plagiarism has occurred. The editorial team evaluates the nature, extent, and context of the similarity. Some overlap may be acceptable in limited cases, such as standard methodological descriptions, references, institutional names, widely used terminology, or properly quoted and cited material. However, substantial similarity with previously published work, unattributed copying, excessive paraphrasing without citation, or reuse of large sections of text may result in rejection or further investigation.

Authors are expected to submit only original manuscripts that have not been published elsewhere and are not under consideration by another journal. Authors must properly cite all sources used in the manuscript and must clearly distinguish their own ideas, data, and wording from those of other scholars. Direct quotations should be used only when necessary and must be appropriately marked and cited according to the journal’s referencing style.

Self-plagiarism or text recycling is also considered a serious issue when authors reuse substantial parts of their own previously published work without proper citation or justification. Authors may build upon their previous studies, but they must cite those works and clearly explain how the submitted manuscript offers a new and original contribution. Manuscripts that merely repeat previously published findings, reproduce large parts of earlier articles, or divide one study into multiple overlapping publications without clear justification may be rejected.

If plagiarism or serious similarity concerns are identified before peer review, the manuscript may be returned to the authors for clarification, correction, or immediate rejection, depending on the severity of the issue. If concerns are identified during peer review, the review process may be suspended while the matter is investigated. If plagiarism is discovered after publication, the journal may issue a correction, expression of concern, or retraction, depending on the nature and seriousness of the case.

The journal expects authors, reviewers, and editors to cooperate in protecting the integrity of the scholarly record. Authors should ensure that all submitted work is original, transparent, properly referenced, and ethically prepared before submission.

Article Processing Charges (APCs)

Behavioral and Clinical Studies in Contemporary Psychology applies an Article Processing Charge (APC) to support the costs of open access publication, editorial management, peer-review administration, technical preparation, online hosting, long-term accessibility, journal website maintenance, plagiarism screening, copyediting, layout preparation, metadata production, archiving, and other publication-related services.

The Article Processing Charge for accepted manuscripts is:

3,000,000 Tomans

The APC is used to support the publication process and to ensure that all published articles are freely available to readers without subscription fees. Because the journal follows an open access model, readers do not pay to access published content. Instead, publication costs are covered through the APC.

The APC is not a submission fee. Payment of the APC does not influence the editorial decision, peer-review outcome, reviewer recommendations, or acceptance of a manuscript. Manuscripts are evaluated solely on the basis of their academic quality, originality, relevance to the journal’s scope, ethical compliance, methodological rigor, clarity, and contribution to the field. The journal maintains a strict separation between editorial decision-making and financial matters.

Authors are required to pay the APC only after the manuscript has successfully completed the peer-review process and has been formally accepted for publication. No manuscript is accepted because of payment, and no payment can guarantee publication. Manuscripts that do not meet the journal’s standards may be rejected regardless of the authors’ willingness or ability to pay the APC.

The APC contributes to several essential publishing activities, including initial editorial screening, reviewer coordination, plagiarism checking through iThenticate, editorial correspondence, manuscript tracking, copyediting, proofreading, typesetting, article formatting, website publication, metadata preparation, online maintenance, and archiving on the journal website. These services help ensure the professional presentation, visibility, accessibility, and long-term preservation of published articles.

Authors should ensure that they have access to the necessary institutional, research, personal, or funding support for the APC before final publication. Where applicable, authors may acknowledge funding sources or institutional support in the manuscript. Any questions regarding APC payment procedures, invoices, or financial documentation should be directed to the journal office.

The journal is committed to transparency in publication charges. The APC amount is clearly stated so that authors are aware of publication costs before submitting their manuscripts.

Peer-Review Process

Behavioral and Clinical Studies in Contemporary Psychology follows a rigorous double-blind anonymous peer-review process to ensure the scientific quality, credibility, and academic integrity of published articles. In the double-blind review system, the identities of authors are concealed from reviewers, and the identities of reviewers are concealed from authors. This process is designed to reduce bias and to promote fair, objective, and scholarly evaluation.

Each submitted manuscript first undergoes an initial editorial screening. At this stage, the editorial office or assigned editor checks whether the manuscript is complete, properly formatted, within the aims and scope of the journal, written in an appropriate academic style, and compliant with basic ethical and technical requirements. The manuscript may also be checked for similarity using iThenticate during this stage. Manuscripts that are incomplete, outside the journal’s scope, ethically problematic, or clearly below the journal’s academic standards may be rejected without external peer review.

If the manuscript passes the initial screening stage, it is assigned to an editor or section editor with relevant expertise. The editor evaluates the manuscript’s suitability for peer review and identifies appropriate reviewers. Reviewers are selected based on their academic expertise, research background, methodological knowledge, publication record, and absence of conflicts of interest. The journal typically sends each manuscript to two or three independent reviewers.

Reviewers are asked to evaluate the manuscript carefully and constructively. Their evaluation may address the originality of the topic, significance of the research question, adequacy of the literature review, clarity of objectives, appropriateness of the methodology, quality of data analysis, ethical considerations, interpretation of findings, consistency of conclusions, quality of writing, and relevance to behavioral and clinical psychology. Reviewers may also comment on tables, figures, references, theoretical framing, clinical implications, and limitations.

After completing their evaluations, reviewers usually recommend one of the following editorial decisions: acceptance, minor revision, major revision, resubmission after substantial revision, or rejection. Reviewer recommendations are advisory and do not automatically determine the final decision. The editor considers the reviewers’ comments, the scientific quality of the manuscript, the journal’s standards, and the relevance of the study before making an editorial decision.

If revisions are requested, authors are expected to respond carefully and respectfully to all reviewer and editor comments. A revised manuscript should be accompanied by a detailed response letter explaining how each comment has been addressed. Authors should clearly indicate changes made in the manuscript and provide reasoned explanations when they disagree with a reviewer’s suggestion. Failure to respond adequately to reviewer comments may delay the review process or result in rejection.

Revised manuscripts may be returned to the original reviewers for further evaluation, particularly when major revisions have been requested. In some cases, the editor may make a decision based on the revised manuscript and the authors’ response letter without sending it for another round of external review. The number of review rounds depends on the quality of the revision and the extent to which reviewer concerns have been resolved.

The journal aims to complete the process from submission to publication within approximately eight weeks. This estimated timeline includes editorial screening, peer review, author revision, final decision, copyediting, typesetting, proofreading, and online publication. However, the timeline may vary depending on reviewer availability, the number of revision rounds, the complexity of the manuscript, and the speed of author responses.

The journal expects reviewers to provide objective, respectful, confidential, and evidence-based evaluations. Reviewers must not use unpublished manuscript content for personal advantage and must disclose any conflicts of interest that could affect their judgment. Reviewers should avoid personal criticism and should focus on improving the quality of the manuscript.

Editors are responsible for ensuring fairness, confidentiality, transparency, and academic quality throughout the review process. Editorial decisions are made without discrimination based on nationality, gender, institutional affiliation, ethnicity, religion, political belief, or personal characteristics of the authors. Decisions are based solely on the scholarly merit of the manuscript and its relevance to the journal.

Authors are expected to follow ethical research and publication standards. Manuscripts involving human participants should include appropriate ethical approval, informed consent, and protection of participant confidentiality. Clinical studies and intervention research should clearly describe ethical safeguards, participant recruitment, inclusion and exclusion criteria, and relevant trial or intervention procedures.

The peer-review process is intended not only to select manuscripts for publication but also to improve the quality of scholarly communication. The journal values constructive peer review as an essential part of academic publishing and encourages reviewers and authors to engage in the process with professionalism, respect, and scientific responsibility.

Archiving and Repository Policies

Behavioral and Clinical Studies in Contemporary Psychology is committed to the long-term preservation, accessibility, and availability of published scholarly content. The journal recognizes that academic publications should remain accessible to researchers, practitioners, students, institutions, and the public over time. Therefore, the journal maintains archiving and repository policies designed to support both immediate access and long-term preservation.

All published articles are archived and made available through the journal website. The journal website serves as the primary official repository for published content, including article metadata, abstracts, full-text files, publication information, and related details. Articles published on the journal website remain freely accessible in accordance with the journal’s open access policy.

The journal supports responsible self-archiving by authors. Authors are permitted to deposit appropriate versions of their articles in institutional repositories, subject repositories, personal academic websites, research profiles, and non-commercial scholarly platforms, provided that the deposited version includes proper citation to the original publication in Behavioral and Clinical Studies in Contemporary Psychology and links to the official journal version where possible.

Authors may share and archive their work for non-commercial academic purposes in accordance with the CC BY-NC 4.0 license. This means that authors may use their published articles in teaching, research dissemination, academic networking, institutional reporting, thesis or dissertation repositories, and scholarly communication, provided that proper attribution is given and the use is not commercial.

The journal encourages authors to share the final published version of their articles through non-commercial academic channels after publication. Sharing the official published version helps ensure that readers access the authoritative version of the article, including final formatting, pagination, metadata, license information, and any corrections that may have been made during production.

Self-archiving should not misrepresent the publication status of the article. Authors should clearly identify whether the archived version is a submitted manuscript, accepted manuscript, or final published version. When the final published version is deposited, it should include full bibliographic details, including article title, author names, journal title, volume, issue, year of publication, DOI where applicable, and a link to the article page on the journal website.

The journal may also preserve article metadata and published content through indexing services, academic databases, digital repositories, and scholarly discovery systems when applicable. Such archiving and indexing practices help improve discoverability, citation, academic visibility, and long-term access to published research.

In the event of website maintenance, technical updates, platform migration, or journal system changes, the journal will make reasonable efforts to preserve published content and maintain continued access to archived articles. The journal considers published scholarly articles part of the permanent academic record and therefore seeks to protect them from unnecessary removal or loss.

Corrections, retractions, expressions of concern, or updates related to published articles will be handled in accordance with responsible publication practices. When changes are necessary to preserve the accuracy and integrity of the scholarly record, the journal will make such notices available through the journal website and link them to the relevant article wherever possible.

Through its archiving and repository policies, Behavioral and Clinical Studies in Contemporary Psychology seeks to ensure that published research remains accessible, citable, transparent, and preserved for future scholarly use.