Submission Guidelines available here and in any Voices issue.

Direct questions and submissions to the editors: Molly Donovan (drmollyd@aol.com), Jonathan Farber (Jonathan.farber@gmail.com), Hallie Lovett (hallielovett@gmail.com), Penelope Norton (penelope.norton@gmail.com), and Barry Wepman (bjwep@aol.com)

We live in a time of rapid change: that would be trite, were it not so piercingly true. As practicing psychotherapists “of a certain age,” we five have been reading, writing for, or editing Voices for over five decades.  Today, we find ourselves, our readers, and our contributors facing a new challenge: obsolescence or evolution. Where might we go next as spokespersons and storytellers for the art and science of psychotherapy?

In considering Voices’ evolution, our thoughts turned to our Academy and its origin story:  How a group of traditionally trained therapists, frustrated by the segmentation and rigidity of psychoanalytic practice, conceived an organization grounded in the centrality of the person of the therapist. When we think of the chain of therapists, beginning with our founders, some of whom we knew personally, and continuing in our mentees and trainees, we celebrate that blend of tradition and innovation embodied in the generations of the Academy.   Help us add links to this chain!  Ultimately, Voices’ (and the Academy’s) evolution can be traced through its stories. We have five experienced editors for this issue, and we welcome contributions from new or struggling writers.  Tell us your story; we will gladly help you write it.  Tell us about how you copied and how you differed from your teachers. Tell us about the ways newer therapists learn from and differ from you.  Tell us how you evolved as a therapist and a person. Tell us about your link in the chain.

Our field has taken many turns in the past several years, as theory and practice have expanded and even been turned on their heads. The Relational turn in psychoanalysis, for example, has reconceptualized the implications of therapist and patient being fully in the room, with conscious and unconscious elements at play. Strides in understanding the brain have led to techniques, such as EMDR which stimulates memory, and the recognition that trauma is physiological has challenged us to integrate specific attention to the body with our verbal psychodynamic approaches – the body as an avenue to the unconscious. We have become more aware of cultural, gender, and racial factors in development and in the treatment room. What stories from your life and work reflect foundation or innovation in psychotherapy?

Special section:  Mentoring Moments

In addition to our regular articles (up to 4,000 words) we are looking for brief (one or two paragraphs) first person accounts of adding links to the chain.   Tell us about a memorable encounter when you learned something from a mentor, or taught something about psychotherapy to a mentor or colleague?  Don’t think too hard about this, just write it and send it along to us.

Voices welcomes submissions in the form of personal essays, research and case-based inquiry, poetry, art, cartoons, dreams, and photography.

Voices: The Art and Science of Psychotherapy – Journal of the American Academy of Psychotherapists