1. Introduction

Counselor, The Magazine for Addiction and Behavioral Health Professionals, serves the addiction and mental health fields and is published bimonthly by California Consortium of Addiction Programs and Professionals (CCAPP). The magazine has a readership of nineteen thousand addiction professionals, mental health counselors and therapists, clinical supervisors, social workers, psychologists, psychiatrists, physicians, nurses, prevention specialists, hospital administrators, treatment center staff, program directors, educators, guidance counselors, juvenile justice and criminal justice personnel. Counselor features peer-reviewed articles written by professionals in the field of alcohol and drug addiction, as well as professional writers and journalists.

Original manuscripts only. Counselor seeks original ideas on treatment strategies, research, therapeutic approaches, and viewpoints regarding addiction and mental and behavioral health. Authors should familiarize themselves with the style and content of the magazine by visiting the archives at Counselormagazine.com. Counselor does not accept recycled term papers; previously published articles; academic, scientific, or theoretical dissertations; or articles lacking proper citations. Submission of a manuscript to Counselor represents a certification on the part of the author(s) that it is an original work, and that neither this manuscript nor a version of it has been published elsewhere nor is being considered for publication elsewhere.

Unsolicited manuscripts, letters of introduction, and manuscript proposals. Authors are encouraged to contact the editor before preparing a manuscript to discuss its contents and outline.

Response to submissions. An acknowledgment e-mail will be sent upon receipt of submission. Authors should expect at least six to eight weeks for a response.

Peer review.  Counselor is a peer-reviewed professional magazine. All manuscripts submitted for consideration as feature articles are reviewed anonymously by at least two members of the Counselor advisory board or invited reviewers.

Compensation. Counselor offers no financial compensation for writers. Each bylined author receives three copies of the Counselor issue in which his or her article appears. These compensation copies are sent as soon as possible (within one week) after the issue is published and in circulation.

Noncompliance. Submissions that fail to comply with any portion of the Counselor submission policies and guidelines for writers will not be considered for publication in the magazine.

2. Mission Statement

Counselor is the nation’s leading source of practical, how-to information for professionals in addiction treatment and behavioral health care and the clients they serve. It provides thorough, up-to-date information in an easy-to-read style that translates into increased knowledge, enhanced clinical skills, renewed passion for the profession, and strengthened personal recovery. It strives to support addiction professionals and the clients they serve through unparalleled editorial content that bridges the gap between addiction research and clinical practice while offering useful gems of information to ignite hope and compassion and to generate excitement for those working in the addiction field and/or living in recovery.

Counselor does not publish advertorials or articles that are geared toward promotional pitches of companies, treatment centers, pharmaceuticals, or other products.

3. Manuscript Style

Manuscripts for Counselor should follow the Chicago Manual of Style, as outlined in the latest edition of the Publication Manual of the University of Chicago Press. For more information on this, click here.

Spelling, grammar, and punctuation. Authors are responsible for preparing manuscript copy that is clearly written with minimal errors of spelling, grammar, or punctuation. The editor is not responsible for correcting errors in spelling and grammar. Authors should check their submissions for the following common errors:

• incorrect spellings
• incorrect abbreviations
• misplaced and dangling modifiers
• missing, mismatched, or incomplete references

Information consistency. Authors should check the accuracy of all arithmetic calculations, statistics, numerical data, text citations, and references. Submissions need to be consistent in the use of abbreviations, terminology, and citing references from one part of the manuscript to another. Inconsistencies must be avoided.

References. References should be formatted according to Chicago Manual of Style and placed in alphabetical order. Titles of books and journals should be italicized.

Footnotes. The use of footnotes within the text is strongly discouraged. Submissions containing footnotes will be returned and authors will be asked to provide APA style references and in-text citations. 

Format. Manuscripts should be submitted in Microsoft Word with single-spaced lines. Sentences should be separated by only one space following the period. Authors should refrain from using headers and footers or special tab settings and formatting.

4. Manuscript Length

Manuscripts for columns should range from 750–1,600 words, and manuscripts for feature articles should range between 3,000–4,500 words. Lengthier manuscripts may be considered, but only at the discretion of the editor.

5. Manuscript Preparation

Manuscripts must be delivered electronically, via our online submission form or as an e-mail attachment to the editor.

6. About the Author(s)

Please submit the following information about the author(s) via our online submission form or as an e-mail attachment to the editor.

• Names of each author listed in the order in which they should appear in print
• Provide a brief biographical information about each author, including academic degrees, professional titles, affiliations, telephone number, mailing and e-mail addresses (if applicable) clearly indicating the corresponding author
• High-resolution headshot photo of each author

7. Art Work

Any material that is not textual is considered artwork. This includes tables, figures, diagrams, charts, graphs, illustrations, and photos. Authors should submit these in separate PDF or JPG format, high resolution, and at least 300 dpi. These items should not be embedded in the Word document.

8. Photographs and Images

Authors should provide headshots of all authors and other images relevant to the article. E-mail images in a standard digital format (e.g., JPG, PNG). Digital images must be submitted at a resolution of at least 300 dpi.

9. Revisions Required by Editor and Reviewers

Many times, a manuscript is accepted by the editor contingent upon changes that are mandated by anonymous reviewers and members of the advisory board. If the editor returns manuscripts for revisions, authors are responsible for retyping any sections of the manuscript to incorporate these revisions. The fully revised, final manuscript should be submitted via e-mail.

10. Continuing Education

Counselor is the magazine with the longest-running magazine-based continuing education (CE) program in the field (since 1997). Three to four feature articles per issue are selected for the CE quiz. The editor may interview authors about the main points of the manuscript to be addressed by the quiz.

11. Typesetting 

Authors will not receive galley proofs of their articles. Editorial revisions, if any, must therefore be made while the article is still in manuscript

12. Complimentary Copies

Each author will receive three copies of the magazine issue in which his or her article appears. These compensation copies are sent as soon as possible after the issue is published and in circulation.

13. Copyrights

Copyright ownership in manuscripts submitted to Counselor will remain with the author, who grants certain rights to the publisher. The editor’s letter acknowledging receipt of the manuscript will be accompanied by a form explaining this policy in detail. All authors must sign the form and fax (954.570.8506) a copy or return the original to the editor as soon as possible. Failure to return the form in a timely fashion will result in a delay in review and subsequently, if your manuscript is accepted, publication.

14. Indemnifications

Errors and Omissions. The development, preparation, and publication of Counselor is undertaken with great care. However, the publisher, the editor, and the employees and agents of Health Communications, Inc. and all its imprints are not responsible for any errors contained in the magazine or for any consequences that may ensue from the use of the magazine or information contained in it.

Statements of fact or opinion are the responsibility of the author(s) alone and do not represent the opinions, policies, or positions of Counselor or the publisher. The editor and publisher disclaim any responsibility or liability for such material.

Advertising. Neither the editor nor the publisher guarantee, warrant or endorse any product or service advertised in this publication, nor do they guarantee any claim made by the manufacturer of such product or service.

Publication date. The editor reserves the right to change the publication date of an article at any time.

Revocation of articles. Once the author’s contract is submitted and accepted by the editor, the author may not revoke the article. The editor reserves the right to revoke a manuscript from the editorial schedule at any time.

15. Reproduction/Reuse of Published Work 

Permission must be granted by the publisher for any use or reproduction of the magazine or any part thereof. Counselor requires that reuse be appropriately acknowledged with the copyright statement that will be provided upon approval of a permission request. Authors should not query the editor about reuse or permissions. All such questions should be sent directly to:

Fred Courtright
The Permissions Company
47 Seneca Road,
P.O. Box 604
Mount Pocono, PA 18344
Phone: 800.851.9100 or 954.360.0909 ext 9220
E-mail

Online permission request form: click here