The editorial guidelines of the American Society of Freudian Psychoanalysis exist to preserve a coherent intellectual and institutional standard across the Publications section. Contributors are invited to submit material that enters seriously into psychoanalysis, Freudian thought, intellectual history, theory, culture, institutional life, or adjacent fields capable of supporting an informed psychoanalytic conversation. The Society does not require uniformity of voice, but it does require seriousness of purpose, clarity of expression, and respect for the editorial framework into which a text is submitted.
Texts should be written in a manner appropriate to a scholarly and institutional public. Polemical or strongly argued writing may be considered, but it should still demonstrate conceptual discipline and rhetorical control. Submissions that are careless, sensational, purely promotional, aggressively commercial, or incompatible with the editorial dignity of the Society are unlikely to proceed. The Society is not interested in creating a generic content stream. It is interested in sustaining an editorial environment whose tone and standards are worthy of the intellectual tradition it names.
Contributors should ensure that a submission is original or appropriately authorized for publication. Where a text has appeared elsewhere, this should be disclosed clearly in the submission notes. If the Society judges that a text requires revision, clarification, shortening, or reframing before a decision can be made, the author may be contacted with a revision request. Submission therefore implies willingness to enter an editorial process rather than an assumption of immediate publication.
Subject Matter and Relevance
Suitable topics may include Freud and the Freudian tradition, psychoanalytic theory, clinical reflection framed responsibly for publication, history of psychoanalysis, intellectual biography, archival or textual interpretation, culture and society, dream interpretation in its serious intellectual forms, psychoanalytic readings of contemporary life, and institutional questions related to psychoanalysis. The Society also welcomes well-judged institutional or editorial texts where appropriate.
Not every text on psychology or mental health falls within the Society’s remit. The contribution should show why it belongs in a Freudian or psychoanalytic intellectual environment. This does not require doctrinal rigidity, but it does require relevance. Authors should ask whether the submission would make sense within the editorial life of an institution devoted to the Freudian tradition. If the answer is uncertain, the abstract should explain the relation more directly.
Form, Tone, and Editorial Conduct
Submissions should be carefully written and structurally coherent. Authors are encouraged to provide clear titles, concise abstracts, and useful author biographies. If a file is uploaded, it should be readable and reasonably formatted. If text is pasted into the submission area, it should be divided into intelligible paragraphs. The Society does not demand ornate academic formality in every case, but it does expect writing that is responsible, readable, and intellectually grounded.
Contributors should also understand that editorial correspondence forms part of the institutional record. Respectful communication, responsiveness to revision requests, and accuracy in administrative details all matter. A submission process is not merely technical; it is part of the author’s relation to the Society as an editorial institution. The same seriousness expected in the text should also appear in the manner of submission.
Languages and Translation
The Society is international and multilingual. Submissions may therefore arise in more than one language. The submission form asks contributors to indicate the language of the text. Editorial capacity may vary by language and by the kind of text submitted. Where a submission is accepted, the Society may later discuss translation, translated summaries, or multilingual presentation. Contributors should not assume that all accepted texts will automatically appear in every language, but the architecture of the Publications section is designed to support multilingual editorial development over time.
If an author submits in a language other than English, the abstract should still be clear and informative. Where useful, contributors may also provide a translated title or summary, though this is not always required at the initial stage.
No Guarantee of Publication
The Society states plainly that payment of a submission or handling fee does not guarantee publication. Editorial discretion remains with the Society. A text may be accepted, declined, returned for revision, or judged unsuitable for the selected track. This policy is not punitive. It is the necessary basis of any serious editorial environment. Without it, publication would lose its institutional meaning and public trust would be diminished.
Contributors who submit to the Publications section should therefore do so because they wish to enter a structured editorial process within a serious institution. The Society welcomes this kind of engagement. It is precisely what allows publication to function as part of intellectual continuity rather than as mere circulation.