The instructions below are specifically directed at authors that wish to submit a manuscript to Mental Health, Religion & Culture. For general information, please visit the Publish With Us section of our website.

Mental Health, Religion & Culture considers all manuscripts on the strict condition that they have been submitted only to Mental Health, Religion & Culture, that they have not been published already, nor are they under consideration for publication or in press elsewhere. Authors who fail to adhere to this condition will be charged with all costs which Mental Health, Religion & Culture incurs and their papers will not be published.

Contributions to Mental Health, Religion & Culture must report original research and will be subjected to anonymous review by independent referees at the discretion of the Editorial Office.

Manuscript preparation:

1. General guidelines

• Papers are accepted English. British English spelling and punctuation is preferred.
• A typical article may be between 5,000 and 10,000 words. A short article for rapid publication will not exceed 2,000 words. Papers that greatly exceed this will be critically reviewed with respect to length. Authors should include a word count with their manuscript.
• Manuscripts should be compiled in the following order: title page; abstract; keywords; main text; acknowledgments; appendices (as appropriate); references; table(s) with caption(s) (on individual pages); figure caption(s) (as a list).
• An abstract of no more than 150 words is required for all papers submitted.
• Each paper should have between three and seven keywords.
• The title page should include the title of the paper, all the authors' full names, affiliations, postal addresses, telephone and fax numbers and email addresses. One author should be identified as the Corresponding Author at the bottom of the page. An abbreviated title should also be given, for running headlines within the article.  
• Biographical notes on contributors are not required for this journal.
• For all manuscripts non-discriminatory language is mandatory. Sexist or racist terms should not be used.
• Authors must adhere to SI units. Units are not italicised.
• When using a word which is or is asserted to be a proprietary term or trade mark, authors must use the symbol ® or TM.

2. Style guidelines

• Description of the Journal's article style
• Description of the Journal's reference style, Quick guide
• Manuscripts may be submitted in any standard format, including Word, PostScript and PDF. These files will be automatically converted into a PDF file for the review process.
• This journal does not accept Microsoft Word 2007 documents.
• Please use British spelling (e.g. colour, organise). Use double quotation marks with single within if needed.

We welcome figures sent electronically, but care and attention to these guidelines are essential as importing graphics packages can often be problematic.

• Illustrations (including photographs, graphs and diagrams) should be referred to as Figures and their position indicated in the text (e.g. Figure 3). Each figure should be numbered with Figure number (Arabic numerals).
• Figures must be saved separate to text. Please do not embed figures in the main document.
• Files should be saved as one of the following formats: TIFF (tagged image file format), PostScript or EPS (encapsulated PostScript), and should contain all the necessary font information and the source file of the application (e.g. CorelDraw/Mac, CorelDraw/PC).
• All figures must be numbered in the order in which they appear in the paper (e.g. Figure 1, Figure 2). In multi-part figures, each part should be labelled (e.g. Figure 1(a), Figure 1(b)).
• Figure captions must be saved separately, as part of the file containing the complete text of the paper, and numbered correspondingly. Captions should include keys to symbols, and should make interpretation possible without reference to the text.
• The filename for a graphic should be descriptive of the graphic, e.g. Figure1, Figure2a.

Please note that it is in the author's interest to provide the highest quality figure format possible. Please do not hesitate to contact our Production Department if you have any queries.

• Copyright permission letter template

7. Code of experimental ethics and practice and confidentiality

Contributors are required to follow the procedures in force in their countries which govern the ethics of work conducted with human or animal subjects. The Code of Ethics of the World Medical Association (Declaration of Helsinki) represents a minimal requirement.

Papers that specifically concern psychiatry, anthropology, medicine and sociology should be directed to Dr Simon Dein.

Papers that specifically concern psychology and religious studies should be directed either to Professor Kate Miriam Loewenthal, or Dr Christopher Alan Lewis. If in doubt, papers can be directed to any Editor.

Authors are invited to nominate up to two referees (not from their own institution) although it is not guaranteed that they will be consulted.

Exceptions are made for Government employees whose policies require that copyright cannot be transferred to other parties. We ask that a signed statement to this effect is submitted when returning proofs for accepted papers.