Writer's Guidelines

Psychology Information Online wants to educate consumers about psychological problems, psychological treatment, and the practice of psychology. Your article should reflect this purpose.

Benefits of publishing an article on Psychology Information Online: 

• You become known as a psychologist with unique knowledge and experience in a specific area of psychology.
• You contribute to the Campaign for Public Education in psychology, by publishing an article that provides useful information about psychology.
• The article provides a link to your website, your byline, and a brief biographical statement.
• Readers interested in contacting you for more information about the topic can easily locate you.
• The article link can increase traffic to your  website.

We are not interested in advertising copy or public relations pieces, and they will not be accepted. We are also not interested in purely opinion articles, unless those opinions are backed by research citations. Articles should focus on a specific psychological topic, either a problem or a service, and should be of similar quality to articles published in well known consumer magazines, such as Parents Magazine. 

You can submit reviews and summaries of articles published in psychology journals, or compare and contrast two or more articles on the same topic, if your review is written for a general audience. Please provide a full citation for all articles reviewed, and be certain that your summary does not infringe on the original copyright. Do not review professional journal articles you have published, as that would be considered a public relations article. However, you can rewrite an articl previously published or a professional journal, in a fomat moreappropriate to a consumer magazine.

Consumer articles describing the effectiveness of a specific treatment approach for a psychological problem, or comparing two or more treatment approaches, are also welcome. You might consider discussing the impact of a psychological problem on a particular group (e.g. social phobia among teens) or a treatment approach with a specific group (e.g. group treatment of teens with social phobia). Another possibility is the comparison of two theoretical approaches, either with a specific problem or providing a specific service (e.g. comparing psychodynamic and cognitive therapy groups for men). We are interested in articles written by licensed professionals (psychologists, social workers, psychiatrists, family therapists) who have both academic training and professional experience in their topic area.

We are not interested in articles written by students. We are also not interested in articles written by professional writers who are not mental health professionals. The exception to this restriction would be articles written for professional organizations or advocacy groups about their mission.

Articles that are more specific are preferred, rather than general descriptive articles. Psychology Information Online already provides general information about many psychological problems and services. Articles written by contributing psychologists should expand the scope of Psychology Information Online, beyond the knowledge and experience of our staff.  Everyone benefits from the expanded knowledge base of the website.

You are encouraged to contact us by email first, to be sure that your topic fits the format and organization of Psychology Information Online. I also suggest that you browse the different sections of the website, both for ideas for articles and to gain a better understanding of the type of psychological information we are providing to the public. Your article should fit one of the currently existing topic categories on the site, but that should not be difficult, as the categories are broad. As a general guideline, articles should be between 750 and 2500 words. The ideal size would be about 1500 words, but be sure to fully present your topic.

Acceptance of Articles

Publication of all consumer articles by Psychology Information Online is subject to editorial approval. We reserve the right to screen, edit and approve any content for placement on the site. We reserve the right to reject any article, for any reason. All editorial decisions are final.

All accepted articles will include your byline, a brief biographical statement, an e-mail link to the author, and a link directly to your website. You will grant to Psychology Information Online, exclusive rights to online, electronic publication of the article for a period of one year, and the perpetual right to publish the article online. Psychology Information Online reserves the right to format the online presentation of the article to conform to the design of the website. Psychology Information Online may choose to publish the article in more than one online location, at the sole discretion of Psychology Information Online.

The article will be published by Psychology Information Online, but you will still retain the copyright. If the article was published previously, either online or in print media, we will include that information in a footnote. While the article is part of Psychology Information Online, you may also publish the article on your own website.

Contract Term - Acceptance of an article by Psychology Information Online will guarantee online publication for one year, but the article may continue to be published online as long as it is mutually acceptable.

Contract Provisions - Psychology Information Online agrees to publish accepted articles in one or more topic areas of the Psychology Information Online website, with the topic area being chosen at the sole discretion of Psychology Information Online.  Writers are not paid for submitted articles. The writer is responsible for hosting charges for the article while it is under contract.

If the article is appropriate to more than one topic area, Psychology Information Online may choose to publish the article under more than one heading, at no additional cost to the writer. The additional hosting charges will be covered by Psychology Information Online.

If a writer wishes the article to be published under a different heading, s/he may revise the article as directed by Psychology Information Online to meet our requirements for that topic; or s/he may accept the topic designation chosen by Psychology Information Online; or s/he may choose to withdraw the article from publication.

The initial contract for publication online will be for one year, commencing on the date of publication. Publication beyond that time frame shall be continued upon mutual agreement between the writer and Psychology Information Online. During the term of the publication contract, the writer agrees not to publish the article in any other media, print or electronic. By this agreement, the writer grants to Psychology Information Online, exclusive publication rights for the term of the contract. The exception to this exclusive publication right, is that the writer may publish the article on his/her website, with notification that the publication appears on Psychology Information Online. 

The writer stipulates that s/he is the author of the article, as presented to Psychology Information Online, or holds the copyright to the article. The writer agrees to hold Psychology Information Online, and Donald J. Franklin, Ph.D., harmless, in any claims of plagiarism or copyright infringement, brought by any person or entity, regarding the online publication of this article. The writer agrees to be responsible for any damages owed by Psychology Information Online, as a result of any claim of plagiarism or copyright infringement, based on the publication of this article online.

If you wish to publish a consumer article on Psychology Information Online, or have questions about the process, please contact Donald J. Franklin, Ph.D. at:

Complete information about publishing articles:

• Writing for Online Publications - Why publish articles online?
• Writer's Guidelines for Publishing Professional Journals
• Writer's Guidelines for Publishing Consumer Psychology Articles
• Topics for Consumer Articles - Suggestions
• Publication Costs
• Current Online Articles

Top of Page and Navigation Bar         Internet Services for Psychologists