Submissions

Login or Register to make a submission.

Submission Preparation Checklist

As part of the submission process, authors are required to check off their submission's compliance with all of the following items, and submissions may be returned to authors that do not adhere to these guidelines.
  • The submission has not been previously published, nor is it before another journal for consideration (or an explanation has been provided in Comments to the Editor).
  • If the work has been made public in any way, it is the submitter's responsibility to share that with editor upon submission.
  • The author(s) has written permission to use all intellectual property (e.g., photos, assignment excerpts) belonging to someone else (e.g., students, clients, another publisher) contained in the submission.
  • The submission does not exceed 8,000 words.
  • The text adheres to APA 7 and the stylistic and bibliographic requirements outlined in the Submissions section of the Journal's website.
  • Digital object identifiers (DOIs) are provided for all references to which one has been assigned (hint: most major journals assign them).
  • URLs for the references that are publicly available (not behind a paywall) and do not have a DOI have been provided.
  • All Document Properties and identifying information have been removed from the manuscript.

Author Guidelines

INSTRUCTIONS FOR AUTHORS

REGISTER AS AN “AUTHOR”

To submit your reflection, you need to Register on the Reflections home page (www.rnoph.org) and follow the email instructions to activate your account.

After registering, login and hover over your username in the top, right corner of the home page, “View Profile,” and complete the details requested in the various tabs. Most importantly, click “Author” in the “Roles” tab so the “make a submission” link will be available under the “Submissions” tab on the home page when you are logged in.

FOR NARRATIVE AUTHORS

Reflections welcomes the following types of narratives, which have not appeared in or are not being considered for a referred publication:

  • A first-hand account of one or more authors’ experiences
  • An interview that highlights another person’s experiences
  • A review of one or more books in which their relevancy for the helping professions are integrated into a narrative of the author’s experiences

If the work being submitted to Reflections has been made public in any way, it is the submitter's responsibility to share that information and the reference with editor upon submission.

Guidelines for Writing a Successful Narrative

These guidelines will be used by reviewers to evaluate your manuscript:

  • Narrative: The author conveys interpersonal interactions, witnessed events, and felt experiences in a narrative format and is clear about the author(s)’ role (e.g. practitioner, recipient of service, teacher, field instructor, student, researcher, other).
  • Story: The author places the narrative within the context of a well-told story that helps readers discover new ways of thinking about the personal, the professional, and the political in our lives.
  • Portrayals: The author roots the narrative in the rich and detailed portrayal of key moments, examples, and vignettes that fully portray the interaction taking place between and among the people involved.
  • Context: The author places the reflection within an historical context, focusing on the present, and considering the implications of the narrative for the future.
  • References: The author uses references that might draw connections between the content and the published literature or that might assist the reader in understanding conceptual or theoretical conclusions about the nature of professional practice.
  • Conclusions: The author draws conclusions about the need for qualitative or quantitative research related to the issues arising from the narrative.

As you finalize your manuscript, use these guidelines to assess readiness for submission.

Prepare Your Manuscript

It may be helpful to look at articles in a published issue to use as examples of formatting. See, in particular, Kanary (2014) for more information about narrative style.

De-identify your manuscript. For example, use pseudonyms for persons and organizations that would identify you as author, and if you cite yourself, use Author instead of your name.

Manuscript length may vary from 1,200 up to 8,000 words.

Submit as a Word file, single-space, flush-left (non-justified) with a blank line between paragraphs.

Use 13-point Times Roman font.

On the first page, center and bold your Title.

Skip one line and put Abstract flush-left, followed by an abstract not to exceed 250 words.

Skip one line and put Keywords, followed by 4-5 keywords (separated by commas) that do not appear in your title.

Skip one line and begin your narrative.

Use APA 7 style for references but do not use headers, footers or page numbers.

Bold and center primary headings; bold and flush-left subheadings.

Avoid using footnotes or endnotes.

FOR POETS, ARTISTS & PHOTOGRAPHERS

Reflections authors and readers familiar with the mission of the journal are welcome to submit poetry, artwork, and photography that fit with the journal’s purpose. We welcome creative forms of expression that engage helping professionals in poetic and visual ways.

Guidelines for art, poetry, and photography submissions

  • Is original imaginative work which has not appeared in (or is being considered for) a refereed publication
  • Conveys a theme relevant to the helping professions
  • Portrays interpersonal interactions, witnessed events, or felt experiences in a creative format
  • Sparks engagement, reflection, and meaning-making
  • Contains a narrative paragraph that provides the reader with an understanding of what inspired the poet/artist/photographer to produce this creative expression

If the work being submitted to Reflections has been made public in any way, it is the submitter's responsibility to share that information and the reference with editor upon submission.

Prepare Your Submission

 In your contextual narrative:

  • Be sure there is no identifying information such as your name or the name of someone featured in your expressive work.
  • At the beginning of your narrative, center and bold your Title.
  • Skip one line and begin your contextual paragraph that introduces your submission
  • If you have references in your paragraph, use APA 7 style, but do not use headers, footers or page numbers.
  • Avoid using footnotes or endnotes.

For poetry, submit as a Word file, single-space, flush-left (non-justified) with a blank line between your contextual paragraph and the poem. 

For photography, submit a Word File in which your photograph has been embedded immediately following your contextual paragraph.

Artwork could include drawings, paintings, sculpture, collage, or any form of art that can be photographed and embedded in a Word File along with your contextual paragraph.

FOR ALL SUBMISSIONS

Submit Your Manuscript

From the Reflections home page, click the “Submissions” tab, click “make a new submission,” and follow the prompts.

Track Your Manuscript Through the Review Process

Once submitted, you will receive an automatically generated message from the Editor-in-Chief acknowledging receipt of your manuscript.

The editors will assess your manuscript to be sure it is ready to be sent out for review.

Once assessed as ready for review, your manuscript will be sent out for double-blind peer-review.

Publication decisions can take four to six months. 

Once you have registered and submitted your reflection, you can login to track your manuscript’s status from your “Dashboard” (accessible by hovering over your username in the top, right corner of the home page) or by clicking “view your pending submissions" (under “Submissions” on the home page).

If you have a question, use the “Add Discussion” link in your submission record to communicate with the Editor of the Section to which you have submitted. If you need further assistance, contact the Editorial Leadership Team at reflectionseditorialteam@gmail.com.

Practice

This is a permanent section. Submissions to this section comply with the following overview.

Practice Section (Drs. Pat Gray and Joan Blakey, Co-Editors): The process of being a practitioner or becoming a recipient of service can stimulate valuable narratives. For example, these narratives give voice to practitioners who work and advocate with individuals, couples, families, groups, organizations and communities; participate in social justice and civic engagement work; or become recipients of service in the very systems in which they have practiced.

All articles published in this section are peer-reviewed.

Practicum Education

This is a permanent section.  Submissions to this section comply with the following overview.

Practicum Education (Dr. Beth Lewis, Editor): The process of practicum advisement and instruction, as well as the experience of being a student in a practicum, can stimulate valuable narratives. For example, consider building narratives around insights gained from process recordings and verbatims or from supervisory relationships or other practicum experiences in which co-learning occurred.

All articles published in this section are peer reviewed.

Research

This is a permanent section. Submissions to this section comply with the following overview.

Research Section (Dr. Crystal Coles Quander, Editor): Although Reflections does not publish research results or literature reviews, the journal has a long history of publishing narratives of the personal and/or interpersonal aspects of the research process. Some examples of research narratives could be sharing the author's experience of collaboration during the research experience, engaging in the research project, or sharing lessons learned from the research process.

All articles published in this section are peer reviewed.

Teaching & Learning

This is a permanent section. Submissions to this section comply with the following overview.

Teaching & Learning (Dr. Arlene Reilly-Sandoval, Editor): The process of teaching, or being a student, continues the journal's practice of publishing narrative accounts about education and training. For example, classroom experiences, teaching innovations, university-community partnerships, continuing education, and other formal learning opportunities offer valuable insight.

All articles published in this section are peer reviewed.

Privacy Statement

The names and email addresses entered in this journal site will be used exclusively for the stated purposes of this journal and will not be made available for any other purpose or to any other party.