Thank you for your interest in writing for Counseling Today.

 

Counseling Today is the premier source of news and information about professional counseling. Our articles cover many aspects of clinical work, research and practice. They present personal stories from clinicians or practical information counselors can use in everyday practice with clients or in professional/personal development.

Our editorial team welcomes submissions from ACA members with the following requirements:

  • At least one bylined author must have an active ACA membership.
  • We do not pay members for submissions we print.
  • We reserve the right to edit all submissions for style, length, clarity and readability.
  • Authors must be willing to sign a standard copyright transfer agreement.
  • Submissions must be original works written for Counseling Today, not previously published elsewhere.
  • We do not accept academic research papers or theses for Counseling Today. Visit Counseling Journals to learn more about submitting scholarly articles. 

We’re especially interested in submissions for the following: 

Member Blog posts (500-1,000 words) discuss topics relevant to other mental health colleagues and potential clients. Your blog post should:

  • Be written by a single author with an active ACA membership.
  • Be informational and not contain commercial promotional content.
  • Be written in plain language.
  • Be well organized with headers, subheaders and bulleted lists to break up chunks of text.
  • Incorporate research findings and citations into the natural flow of the narrative and explain their significance in plain terms. We do not publish footnotes, citations or reference lists.
  • Include a proposed title and author byline. Your byline should include your name and no more than three post-nominals (e.g., "By Jane Smith, PhD, LMHC, LPC"). Do not include job titles.
  • Include an author biography (up to 75 words) with an optional link to where readers can reach you or learn more (e.g., email, LinkedIn, website).
  • Include an author photo. Send a high-resolution (300 DPI) headshot or professional-looking selfie.

Case Study articles (500-1,000 words) are written in a narrative/storytelling style to describe a single clinical case that illustrates work around a specific issue or therapeutic challenge (such as using EMDR to help a client process traumatic loss). Your case study should:

  • Establish the clinical challenge or problem in the first few paragraphs.  
  • Describe the clinical approach you used with this client (and incorporate descriptive dialogue).
  • Reflect on what you learned or what the outcome means for the client or other mental health professionals.
  • Include a proposed title and author byline. Your byline should include your name and no more than three post-nominals (e.g., "By Jane Smith, PhD, LMHC, LPC"). Do not include job titles.
  • Include an author biography (up to 75 words) with an optional link to where readers can reach you or learn more (e.g., email, LinkedIn, website).

Knowledge Share articles (up to 1,000 words) are written by presenters of education and poster sessions at ACA conferences. You may submit a 100-word abstract about your presentation or a full-length draft for us to consider. Your article should:

  • Present information in a practical, informative way.
  • Use an informal yet professional tone, like talking to a colleague over lunch. 
  • Include a proposed title and author byline. Your byline should include your name and no more than three post-nominals (e.g., "By Jane Smith, PhD, LMHC, LPC"). Do not include job titles.
  • Include an author biography (up to 75 words) with an optional link to where readers can reach you or learn more (e.g., email, LinkedIn, website).
  • Include an author photo. Send a high-resolution (300 DPI) headshot or professional-looking selfie.

My Counseling Journey articles (up to 500 words) present interesting personal stories about career growth and professional development. You may submit a 50-word proposal about your story or a full-length draft for us to consider. Your article should:

  • Focus on a particular aspect of your work, career and life.
  • Use a narrative format and friendly tone.
  • Answer the question, “How did I get here?” 
  • Include a proposed title and author byline. Your byline should include your name and no more than three post-nominals (e.g., "By Jane Smith, PhD, LMHC, LPC"). Do not include job titles.
  • Include an author biography (up to 75 words) with an optional link to where readers can reach you or learn more (e.g., email, LinkedIn, website).
  • Include two or three photos, such as a high-resolution (300 DPI) headshot and candid photos showing your interests, hobbies or travels. Do not send group photos.

Career Consultation presents a question from a student or new professional with advice from an experienced counseling professional. Think of it like a virtual mentoring chat. Do you have a career-related question you want answered? Send it to us, along with your bio and photo, and you might be featured in an upcoming issue.

Group Consultation presents perspectives from several counselors about a single topic. Do you have a question about clinical practice or a trending topic in the field? Send it our way to get answers from experts in the field in an upcoming issue.


Who’s our audience?

We write articles for mental health professionals (e.g., licensed counselors, counselor educators, social workers, psychologists) and those interested in learning more about mental health (i.e., the public). When you write, assume your reader is either a knowledgeable peer or a future client.

What’s our style?

Counseling Today follows Associated Press (AP) style. Authors do not need to be familiar with this style to submit an article but should understand we will edit submissions to conform to AP style.

When submitting an article, follow these writing guidelines:

  • Use a clear, concise, engaging and accessible style that’s free of jargon and idioms.
  • If referring to research findings, explain their significance in plain terms. We do not publish footnotes, citations or reference lists. Include any attribution within the natural flow of the article.
  • Write in a voice and style you would use if you were having a conversation with a close colleague about the topic.
  • Before submitting your article, please read examples of our content to get a sense of the kind of writing we publish.

How do I submit an article?

Email your submission as an attachment in Microsoft Word to ct@counseling.org according to the guidance listed above for specific types of articles.

What happens after I submit my article?

Due to the volume of submissions we receive, it may take us six to eight weeks to review your article and contact you if we are interested. If you don’t hear from us after 10 weeks, please assume that we won’t be able to use your work. Unfortunately, we are not able to provide feedback on articles we are not able to use. Accepted articles typically require one to two rounds of edits.

Other questions? 

Please email us at ct@counseling.org.

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