Online Submission

The Archives of Clinical Psychiatry was founded in 1972 by A. C. Pacheco e Silva, Fernando de O. Bastos, J. Carvalhal Ribas, and J. R. de Albuquerque Fortes.

The mission of the Archives of Clinical Psychiatry is to provide relevant clinical information and clinically oriented research, including also basic research, whose results have potential implications for clinical practice. The scope of the journal encompasses: Human Sciences, Basic and Clinical Neuroscience, and Clinical Psychiatry. The Archives of Clinical Psychiatry strives to inform and to educate mental health care professionals and to stimulate debates and further exploration into the nature, causes, treatment, and public health importance of mental health issues.

The Archives of Clinical Psychiatry publishes articles within the following categories: Original Articles, Brief Communications, Reviews, Letters to the Editor

From 2014 on, the Archives of Clinical Psychiatry accepts only manuscripts written in English.

Manuscripts should be submitted on-line through: https://mc04.manuscriptcentral.com/rpc-scielo and come along with a cover letter (submitted as Supp. files), applying for publication in the Archives of Clinical Psychiatry, summarizing the essence of the work and presenting the main results.

The cover letter (as well as the abstract) should respond to the following questions: 1. Why this study has been done?, 2. How this study has been done? (Literature Review: consulted databases, number of articles found, number of articles included, inclusion and exclusion criteria, meta-analysis or descriptive work; Original article: study design, number of subjects included, study duration, etc.), 3. What are the key findings?, 4. What significance do your results have for the field and for the broader community?

Peer Review

All papers are evaluated anonymously by at least two independent experts. With few exceptions, the authors will be notified within 2 months whether the paper is accepted for publication in the form that it was submitted, acceptable after a revision (which, in general, will be reviewed again), or rejected.

Once accepted for publication, the manuscript becomes permanent property of the Archives of Clinical Psychiatry. This copyright transfer subsumes exclusive and unlimited entitlement of the Archives of Clinical Psychiatry to publish and distribute the full contents of articles in whichever publishing medium, including press and electronic media, in Brazil and abroad.

Structure and Preparation of Manuscripts

I. The first page should include the title of the manuscript.

II. The second page, which will not be sent to the reviewers, should include: a) entire names of the authors (first name, middle initials, and family name) and the main affiliation (no academic titles); b) name and address of the institution where the study was conducted; c) complete address of the corresponding author, including phone, fax, and e-mail.

III. The third page should include an abstract in English, followed by up to 5 relevant key words. The abstract should be informative, giving a clear and concise description of the articles content (see instructions stated below) and not exceeding the limit of 200 words. 
IMPORTANT: The abstract should be structured as follows: Background, Objectives, Methods, Results, and Discussion/Conclusion, and respond to the following questions: 1. Why this study has been done?, 2. How this study has been done? (Literature Review: consulted databases, number of articles found, number of articles included, inclusion and exclusion criteria, meta-analysis or descriptive work; Original article: study design, number of subjects included, study duration, etc.), 3. What are the key findings?, 4. What significance do your results have for the field and for the broader community?

IV. REFERENCES . Citations in the text should be organized in the Vancouver style, i.e., followed by the appropriate reference Arabic number in parentheses. References should be numbered and listed by their order of appearance in text. Do not arrange the list alphabetically. Authors' names, article title, journal name, and publication details should be included, according to the Vancouver style. Reference list should be double-spaced. For references with multiple authors please include the family name and initials for the first 6 authors followed by "et al.", otherwise all authors must be cited.

V. TABLES. Tables should be restricted in size, consecutively numbered with Arabic numbers in the text, and presented in separate pages after the Reference List (one page for each table). Refer to every table in the text in numerical order. Indicate within angle brackets < > its preferred location in the main text. Legends should provide a complete understanding of the tables without the need to go back to the text. Tables should be restricted to information that was not included in the text already.

VI. FIGURES. Figures should restricted both in number and size to the strictly necessary in order to clarify the text contents. Color illustrations are accepted, but additional costs will be forwarded to authors. Figures should be presented after the Reference List in separate pages (one page for each figure). Refer to every figure in the text in numerical order. Indicate within angle brackets < > its preferred location.

VII. LEGENDS. Each table and figure should include a legend with the necessary information for its thorough understanding. For that purpose, a short title followed by a concise explanation of the table or figure is encouraged. However, legends should not replicate contents in the text. Abbreviations and symbols that appear in tables or figures should be referred to, even though already cited in the text.

VIII. PATIENT PHOTOGRAPHY. The Archives of Clinical Psychiatry does not encourage the publication of photography of patients. Whenever indispensable for the comprehension of the article, written informed consent must be signed by the patient or respective caregiver, and patient details must be removed from the illustration.

ORIGINAL ARTICLES

Typically, original articles contain new data derived from a sizable and representative sample of patients or subjects.
Original articles should not exceed 3'500 words and include a maximum number of 6 tables and/or figures and 30 references. Word count includes only the main body of the text (i.e., not tables, figures, abstracts or references).

The abstract should describe in brief the essence of the work in no more than 200 words and be structured as follows: Background, Objectives, Methods, Results, and Discussion.

These 5 topics should also define the structure of the main text: Introduction (containing the elements Background and Objectives), Methods, Results, Discussion, Acknowledgment (if available), and References.

Manuscripts that report results of experimental investigation and interviews with human subjects include under "Methods" a statement that written informed consent was obtained, according to the regulation of clinical research in the correspondent country, and that the study was approved by a Research Ethical Board. Furthermore, they must confirm that animal trials are in accordance with ethical care standards required for animal experiments.

BRIEF REPORTS

Brief reports are short manuscripts with maximal 1'500 words, being structured the same way, containing the same topics as an original article (see instructions above) and maximal 1 table or figure and 15 references.

The abstract should describe in brief the essence of the work in no more than 200 words and be structured as follows: Background, Objectives, Methods, Results, and Discussion.

The main text should be structured as follows: Introduction (containing the elements Background and Objectives), Methods, Results, Discussion, Acknowledgment (if available), and References.

Manuscripts that report results of experimental investigation and interviews with human subjects include under "Methods" a statement that written informed consent was obtained, according to the regulation of clinical research in the correspondent country, and that the study was approved by a Research Ethical Board. Furthermore, they must confirm that animal trials are in accordance with ethical care standards required for animal experiments.

REVIEW ARTICLES

Reviews should contain maximal 5'000 words and 6 tables or figures. There is no limit for references, although it is recommend to include only the most important ones.

The abstract should describe in brief the essence of the work in no more than 200 words and be structured as follows: Background, Objectives, Methods ((including keywords, database(s), and any year or language limits used), Results (number of located, included an excluded articles, reasons for exclusion, main findings of the review), and Discussion.

The main text should be structured as follows: Introduction (containing the elements Background and Objectives), Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusions, Acknowledgements, References, and further chapters if required.
Publication of meta-analyses and systematic reviews are preferred.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR