We at tCBT are acutely aware that the prevalence of mental health issues in children and young people (CYP) is on the rise (NHS Digital, 2020). CBT remains one of the best-evidenced therapeutic approaches for mental health difficulties, and an increasing number of CBT practitioners are being trained up every year (Edbrooke-Childs et al., 2015). It is therefore more important than ever that we continue to inform the theory, practice, and evolution of CBT with CYP with high-quality research. Unfortunately, CYP-focused research into CBT still lags behind research with adults.

We would welcome submissions from you to help change this balance – please read on to find out more.

the Cognitive Behavioural Therapist: Who Are We?

tCBT is an interdisciplinary, peer-reviewed, online practitioner journal that seeks to enhance knowledge and practice in CBT by publishing evidence-based, high-quality research relevant to CBT therapists, supervisors, and trainers across the globe – including those working with children and young people.

We gladly receive the following types of submissions:

• Original research with quantitative, qualitative, or mixed approaches
• Empirically grounded clinical guidance papers and literature reviews directly relevant to CBT
• CBT case reports
• Audits, service models, forms of delivery, and cultural adaptations to CBT practice
• Reviews of CBT-relevant clinical assessment tools and methods
• Papers with an education, training, or supervision focus

From our Editor-in-Chief, Dr Richard Thwaites: The journal is really keen to publish more papers relating to CBT with children and young people and it’s great that we have two Associate Editors dedicated to this area with a range of interests. We want the journal to represent, and be of service, to all BABCP members and to achieve this we would like to receive more submissions in underrepresented areas such as CYP.

Why Publish with tCBT? Top 5 Reasons

1. Reach across multi-disciplinary practitioner, supervisor, researcher, and education audiences

Our audience includes members of the BABCP (British Association of Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies); psychologists, psychiatrists, and psychotherapists; social workers, nurses, health visitors, and general practitioners; and research officers, analysists, teachers, and lecturers.

2. Access to a wide readership

Readers can access our articles via PsycINFO, Web of Science, Scopus, and EBSCO – amongst others. We have over 8000 institutions subscribed to the journal, over 140,000 downloads per year, and over 250 citations per year. Please see one of our most read articles here, which was accessed by 6118 readers and cited 18 times.

3. Timely publication due to our electronic nature

Our electronic nature is designed to ensure timeliness of publication and professional debate whilst also ensuring rigorous standards in the dissemination of high-quality materials. We aim to turn papers around within four weeks.

4. Easy sharing of your publication due to our Cambridge Core Share participation

By participating in Cambridge Core Share, we enable read-only versions of your final published PDF to be shared and easily accessed by anyone. Core Share links, and Core Share PDFs containing the links, can be freely shared on social media sites and scholarly collaboration networks to enhance both the impact and discoverability of your research.

5. Possible dissemination via the ‘Let’s Talk About CBT’ podcast by the BABCP and our Twitter page

Several of our authors [https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/the-cognitive-behaviour-therapist/information/let-s-talk-about-cbt-podcast] have been interviewed by Dr Lucy Maddox on this podcast brought by the British Association of Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies. We also frequently tweet about our latest publications here.

How to Submit: A Quick 3-Step Guide

Step 1: To start, please prepare your manuscript by following our Style Guide. You can then complete our short online submission form here, which will ask you to complete some basic details (e.g. type, title, abstract, author names) alongside uploading your paper. We encourage you to suggest potential reviewers (who are not affiliated to you).

Step 2: After passing an initial suitability assessment by our Editorial Office, one of our Associate Editors will invite and assign a minimum of two independent, anonymous expert referees to peer review your paper in a double-blind process (i.e. they will not know your identity and vice versa). They will offer comments to support the Associate Editor in judging the paper’s suitability and will likely offer you feedback to help improve your paper. It is common for you to be asked to revise and resubmit.

Step 3: Once accepted, your manuscript will be prepared for publication. You’ll be asked to prepare a final version according to tCBT style and asked to sign a form to define copyright terms and declare any conflicts of interest.

Please check our Instructions for Authors for full details.

Not sure whether your paper falls within our remit?

Please email journal.office@babcp.com or find a full list of our previously published CYP-relevant papers here. Some examples include:

• Churchman, A., Mansell, W., & Tai, S. (2020). The development of a parent–child activity based on the principles of perceptual control theory. the Cognitive Behaviour Therapist, 13. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S1754470X20000203
• King, D., & Said, G. (2019). Working with unaccompanied asylum-seeking young people: cultural considerations and acceptability of a cognitive behavioural group approach. The Cognitive Behaviour Therapist, 12. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1754470X18000260
• Mahoney-Davies, G., Roberts-Collins, C., Russell, A., & Loades, M. (2017). Socialization to the model in adolescent cognitive behavioural therapy: measurement and insights. Cognitive Behaviour Therapist, 10. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S1754470X17000186

We very much look forward to hearing from you,

Dr Jara Falkenburg (CYP Associate Editor for tCBT & CAMHS Clinical Psychologist at Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust) @JaraFalkenburg

with

Dr Beth Watkins (CYP Associate Editor for tCBT & CAMHS Clinical Psychologist at Great Ormond Street Hospital)

References

NHS Digital (2020). Mental Health of Children and Young People in England, 2020: Wave 1 follow up to the 2017 survey. https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/mental-health-of-children-and-young-people-in-england/2020-wave-1-follow-up/copyright

Edbrooke-Childs, J., Calderon, A., Wolpert, M., & Fonagy, P. (2015). Children and young people’s improving access to psychological therapies: Rapid internal audit. https://www.ucl.ac.uk/evidence-based-practice-unit/sites/evidence-based-practice-unit/files/pub_and_resources_project_reports_rapid_internal_audit_2015.pdf