About the Journal

Growing Edges and Interdisciplinary Dialogues

Focus and Scope

Field Theory and Clinical Phenomenology is an international peer-reviewed journal publishing original contributions in psychotherapy research, clinical psychology, and psychiatry. The journal is grounded in clinical phenomenology and field theory, with a specific focus on their applications to mental health, clinical practice, and therapeutic processes. What distinguishes the journal is its emphasis on the dynamic interplay between experiential, relational, and contextual dimensions of clinical phenomena, understood within a field perspective.

The journal welcomes empirical and theoretical contributions, including quantitative and qualitative studies, clinical case studies, process and outcome research, methodological papers, and interdisciplinary contributions. Its aim is to advance the scientific and clinical understanding of psychotherapy by integrating rigorous research methods with the analysis of lived experience and relational dynamics.

The journal provides a platform for dialogue between research and clinical practice, fostering evidence-informed approaches while preserving the complexity of lived experience in therapeutic contexts. It is particularly attentive to the development of Gestalt therapy, clinical phenomenology, phenomenological and existential approaches, as well as relational and intersubjective psychoanalysis, and post-Bionian perspectives, while actively engaging with a wide range of contemporary developments in psychology and psychiatry.

All submissions undergo a rigorous peer-review process, ensuring scientific quality, methodological transparency, and relevance for an international audience.

Thematic Areas and Contributions

The journal publishes contributions addressing the role of field theory and phenomenology across a wide range of domains within psychology and mental health, including:

  • Research on psychotherapy processes and outcomes
  • Clinical assessment and intervention in mental health settings
  • Qualitative and mixed-methods research on subjective experience
  • Relational and interpersonal processes in psychotherapy
  • Psychopathology and clinical phenomenology
  • Integration with neuroscience, social psychology, and bioethics

Contributions are expected to engage with the interplay between field processes and lived experience. The journal particularly encourages submissions that explore intersections between:

  • Gestalt therapy and field-oriented clinical methodologies
  • Phenomenological and existential approaches to psychotherapy
  • Relational and intersubjective psychoanalysis and contemporary interpersonal theory
  • Developments in post-Bionian perspectives and analytical field theory

By fostering interdisciplinary exchange, the journal aims to contribute to the advancement of scientifically grounded, clinically relevant, and theoretically informed knowledge in psychotherapy and mental health, with particular attention to emerging and underexplored areas of research and practice.

Peer Review Policy

Field Theory and Clinical Phenomenology uses a double-blind peer review process for research articles, theoretical articles, historical articles, systematic reviews, and clinical case studies.

Each submitted manuscript first undergoes an editorial screening by the Editors-in-Chief, Scientific Director, Managing Editor, or relevant Associate Editor. At this stage, manuscripts may be declined without external review when they are outside the scope of the journal, do not meet minimal scholarly standards, lack ethical transparency, or are not prepared according to the author guidelines.

Manuscripts judged suitable for review are assigned to at least two independent reviewers with relevant expertise. Reviewers are asked to evaluate originality, theoretical relevance, methodological soundness, clinical significance, ethical adequacy, clarity of argument, and contribution to the field.

The possible editorial decisions are:

  • accept
  • minor revisions
  • major revisions
  • revise and resubmit
  • reject

The final decision rests with the Editors-in-Chief or the delegated handling editor. Reviewers provide recommendations, but they do not make the final editorial decision.

Editorials, book reviews, film reviews, invited dialogues, interviews, and short reflections may undergo editorial review rather than external double-blind peer review. Their review status will be clearly identifiable.

Submissions by editors, editorial board members, or close collaborators of editors are handled through an independent review process. Editors do not manage manuscripts where they have a conflict of interest.

The journal aims to provide a first editorial decision within 8-12 weeks whenever possible. More complex submissions may require longer review times.

Open Access, Copyright and Licensing

Field Theory and Clinical Phenomenology is a Diamond Open Access journal.

  • All articles are immediately available online without registration, subscription, embargo, or payment.
  • Authors are not charged submission fees, editorial processing fees, article processing charges, page charges, or publication fees.
  • Authors retain copyright of their work and grant the journal the right of first publication.

Unless otherwise stated, articles are published under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). This license permits use, distribution, reproduction, translation, and adaptation in any medium, provided that the original author, the article title, the journal, and the DOI or permanent URL are properly cited.

The journal encourages authors to deposit preprints, accepted manuscripts, and published versions of record in institutional repositories, disciplinary repositories, and personal academic webpages, provided that the published version is clearly cited.