ETHICS & POLICIES - World Association for Positive and Transcultural Psychotherapy

PUBLICATION ETHICS & MALPRACTICE STATEMENT

The Global Psychotherapist adheres to the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidelines and the Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing (COPE, DOAJ, OASPA, WAME, 2022). This statement outlines the ethical responsibilities of editors, reviewers, authors, and the publisher.

This statement is regularly reviewed and updated (current version: March 2026). Full details in Editorial Policy document:

EDITORIAL POLICY

Authorship and Contributorship Authorship requires substantial intellectual contribution (conception, design, analysis, interpretation, drafting/revising). All authors must approve the final version and agree to publication. The corresponding author ensures accurate authorship list, no omissions, and truthful declarations. ORCID is mandatory for all authors. Guest/honorary authorship is prohibited. Student-only submissions require co-authorship with a supervisor. Limit: no more than one single-authored + one co-authored article per issue per author (exceptions by Editorial Board approval).

Conflicts of Interest / Competing Interests All authors must disclose financial, institutional, professional, or personal relationships that could influence the work (or state “none”). Disclosures appear with the article. Editors/reviewers declare conflicts and recuse if necessary.

Handling Complaints and Appeals Authors may appeal decisions in writing with reasoned arguments. Appeals are reviewed by the Editorial Board (possibly with additional reviewers). Decisions are final. Complaints about process/conduct are handled confidentially and fairly.

Data Sharing and Reproducibility Authors are encouraged to make research data openly available (where ethically feasible) following FAIR principles. Data availability statements are required in manuscripts involving empirical data.

Ethical Oversight Research involving humans/clinical cases requires ethical approval (IRB/committee) and informed consent (anonymized). Authors report approving body/reference number or rationale if not required. Responsibility lies with authors/institutions; documentation may be requested.

Intellectual Property / Copyright and Licensing Articles are published under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). Authors retain copyright while granting the journal non-exclusive publishing rights. Licensing is indicated on articles (PDF/HTML). Authors may deposit published versions in repositories without embargo.

Post-Publication Discussions and Corrections The journal welcomes letters to the editor or moderated comments on published articles. Errors are corrected via corrigendum/erratum. Serious issues (misconduct) lead to expression of concern, correction, or retraction following COPE flowcharts.

Research Misconduct Misconduct (plagiarism, fabrication, falsification, citation manipulation, undisclosed AI generation, duplicate submission) is not tolerated. Allegations are assessed per COPE flowcharts. Pre-publication: rejection. Post-publication: correction/retraction by Editorial Board. Similarity >15% (excluding quotes/references) triggers review; AI-generated content >10% requires verification. Fabricated references lead to rejection/retraction.

AI Use Policy AI tools are permitted only for limited language assistance (grammar/translation). No AI for ideas, arguments, conclusions, or references. Undisclosed substantial AI content is misconduct.

Revenue Sources and Business Model No mandatory submission or article processing charges (APC). Optional technical formatting assistance (€50) is offered only after acceptance and does not influence decisions. Revenue limited to this service and institutional support from WAPP.

Advertising Policy The journal does not accept advertising. No ads influence editorial content or decisions.

Direct Marketing Any communication with authors is professional, transparent, and non-misleading. No guarantees of acceptance or unrealistically short review times.

Archiving and Preservation All content is permanently archived on the journal’s server with electronic backups. Long-term digital preservation is planned through participation in services such as CLOCKSS, LOCKSS, or Portico.