Volume 4, Article 1: Editorial

Editorial: Ecopsychology Research Continues

Stephen Palmer and Siobhain O’Riordan

Citation: Palmer, S., & O’Riordan, S. (2024). Editorial: Ecopsychology Research Continues. Journal of Ecopsychology, 4, 1, 1-4. https://joe.nationalwellbeingservice.com/volumes/volume-4-2024/volume-3-article-1-editorial

Processing dates: Submitted: 11th March 2024; Accepted: 11th March 2024; Published: 11th March 2024

Volume 4, Article 1

EDITORIAL

Editorial: Ecopsychology Research Continues

Stephen Palmer 1 2 3 4, Siobhain O’Riordan 1 2 3 4

Welcome to Volume Four of the Journal of Ecopsychology (JoE). This relatively new journal is going from strength to strength. We have been encouraged by the number of submissions.

Volume 3
Discussion and research papers can inform the theory and practice of ecopsychology. We are delighted that in Volume three, we published five papers covering a range of themes including Nature’s Role in Positive Youth Development and as a Protective Factor Against Adverse Childhood Experiences (Alavi et al., 2023); Outdoor sandplay: Using Jungian inspired sandplay therapy in an ecotherapy session (Mangin, & Edelman, 2023); The Future by Looking to the Past: Personal Relationships to the Environment (O’Neill et al., 2023); Mapping psychoterratic distress amongst suburban Australians (Rhodes, & Kelly, 2023); and The importance of biophilic design: a person-centred approach (Watts, Rawson, & Uchechukwu, 2023).

Invitation for papers

The Journal of Ecopsychology editorial team invite papers on the theory, research, philosophy and practice of Ecopsychology. This includes papers on the human-nature relationship; Biophilia hypothesis; Attention Restoration Theory; nature connectedness; nature walks; climate coaching; nature powered coaching; eco-wellbeing and eco-health; climate crisis; shinrin yoku and forest therapy; unsettling ecopsychology practice; green, red and blue exercise and space research; improving wellbeing through urban nature; virtual reality and other areas that can be informed by Ecopsychology. Articles on conservation, nature-based solutions, nature networks environmental and positive psychology are also invited. We welcome discussion papers, position and opinion papers, brief reports, short papers on techniques, case studies, book reviews and conference reports.


Submission and Review Process
Submitted articles will be initially reviewed by an editor to verify its suitability for the journal and that it adheres to the Journal of Ecopsychology (JoE) submission guidelines. If the article passes this initial stage, then it will then be subject to a masked reviewing process depending upon which section of the journal it is being submitted to.

Key items that they will be considering are:

Is the article relevant to ecopsychology and allied fields?

Does it address issues of interest to a broad readership?

If a research paper, then is the methodological rigour of sufficient standard?

Is it written clearly to understand?

Does it add to the existing knowledge-base?


Length
Papers should normally be no more than 8000 words including abstract, references and figures. The editors will consider an extended article if there is a clear rationale for its submission, for example, a mixed methodology paper. However, the Editors retain discretion to publish extended papers.


Brief reports
Brief reports are no longer than 1500 words in length. They could be a commentary, discussion, research paper or a previously presented conference poster extended to make it suitable for publication. Research protocols can also be submitted prior to the research having been undertaken. Research papers and research protocols will be subject to a peer review process.


Position Papers
Position papers focus on subjects or fields of work which, in the author’s opinion, need readdressing. A clear position with possible actions, should be made on the subject. Position papers would normally be between 1500-3500 words in length.


Opinion Papers
Opinion Papers are original reports and personal views on a given topic or field of work (focusing on the author’s views). Claims and assertions should be supported with facts, statistics, or published research studies. Opinion papers would normally be between 1500-5000 words in length.


Approaches, techniques, interventions and strategies section
We are interested in receiving articles about ecopsychology based techniques, interventions and strategies. Articles would normally be between 750-1500 words in length.


Book reviews
Book reviews should include the book title, author(s) or editor(s), publisher, date of publication, number of pages, cost. We recommend that the journal editor is initially contacted to ascertain if the book is suitable for review in this journal and to ensure that it is not already in the process of being reviewed. We will consider reviews of classic and/or influential books in the field that are out of print.


Conference, congress, workshop and symposium reports
Reports on conferences, congresses, workshops and symposium are important in order to keep practitioners and researchers up-to-date with events they were unable to attend. All submissions should include the event title, organising body, location, date and URL to the event website. It is important to receive agreement for an event submission from the editor to confirm if the event falls within the remit of this journal.


Poetry
Poetry is generally not published in academic psychology journals. However, the editors will consider poetry submissions relating to ecopsychological issues. The author will need to include an introduction to the poem in order to provide details about what inspired them to write the poem. The overall length of the submission should be a maximum of 1000 words. Poetry will be reviewed by the editors for suitability.


Use of photographs
We actively encourage the inclusion of relevant photos in articles especially the connection with nature. However, authors must confirm the ownership of photographs submitted for publication. Copyright or the appropriate license for reproduction in the journal is essential. Photographs of people should include written consent. As children and young people may not be able to provide legal consent our policy is not to accept photos of them.

Red Space, Kent, UK. © Stephen Palmer


Publication
The Journal of Ecopsychology has adopted a continuous online publication model. Therefore, once a paper is accepted for publication, it will usually be uploaded to the website within 90 days subject to typesetting, processing and annual holidays. In order to publish accepted articles promptly, National Wellbeing Service journals use article numbers instead of the traditional method of continuous pagination through any particular volume. (Page numbers will still be used within each article.) Although it is an e-journal, it may be published in a print format for professional bodies or organisations on an annual basis if requested.


License and Open Access
National Wellbeing Service Ltd journals are hybrid publications. There are a number of options regarding archiving, licensing and Open Access. Please note the 3 key items listed below:

  • Authors can archive their pre-print (ie pre-refereeing) and/or post-print (ie final draft post-refereeing) paper.
  • All articles are published on the journal website in a public, readable format and these webpages (not files) can be shared online, with the publisher retaining the copyright at no cost to the author or their employers.
  • There is an Open Access (OA) option if the author(s) wish to have their copyright assigned to them under a Creative Commons license. The OA fee is currently £150 plus VAT paid by the author(s) or their employer or funding agency.

Conclusion
The editorial team are looking forward to receiving contributions to the journal. We would like to thank our contributors, reviewers, the Consulting Editors and sub-editor and the International Editorial Board for their on-going support.
For further details about submitting papers, please visit our journal submission webpage. See: https://joe.nationalwellbeingservice.com/submission-review-process

Corresponding author
Stephen Palmer
National Wellbeing Service Ltd
156 Westcombe Hill
London SE3 7DH
email: coeditor@nationalwellbeingservice.com

Affiliations
1 Wales Academy for Professional Practice and Applied Research, University of Wales Trinity Saint David, UK.
2 International Centre for Ecopsychology
3 ISCP International Centre for Coaching Psychology Research Centre
4 National Wellbeing Service Ltd, UK

Copyright
© National Wellbeing Service Ltd

Processing dates: Submitted: 11 March, 2024; Accepted: 11 March, 2024; Published: 11 March 2024.

Funding
None declared.

Declaration of conflicting interests
The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest in respect to their authorship or the publication of this paper. (However, for links to organisations, see affiliations.)

Acknowledgments
None.

References

Alavi, S. H., O’Neill, P., Bitensky, D., Liaqat, A., Huertas-Trujillo, M., & Bodnar, S. S. (2023). Nature’s Role in Positive Youth Development and as a Protective Factor Against Adverse Childhood Experiences. Journal of Ecopsychology, 3, 5, 1-12. https://joe.nationalwellbeingservice.com/volumes/volume-3-2023/volume-3-article-5

Mangin, J., & Edelman, R. (2023). Outdoor sandplay: Using Jungian inspired sandplay therapy in an ecotherapy session. Journal of Ecopsychology, 3, 6, 1-4.
https://joe.nationalwellbeingservice.com/volumes/volume-3-2023/volume-3-article-6

O’Neill, P., Alavi, S., Yadav, P., Chen, R., Teka, N., & Bodnar, S. (2023). Saving the Future by Looking to the Past: Personal Relationships to the Environment. Journal of Ecopsychology, 3, 2, 1-10. https://joe.nationalwellbeingservice.com/volumes/volume-3-2023/volume-3-article-2

Rhodes, P., & Kelly, E. (2023). Mapping psychoterratic distress amongst suburban Australians. Journal of Ecopsychology, 3, 3, 1-10. https://joe.nationalwellbeingservice.com/volumes/volume-3-2023/volume-3-article-3

Watts, P., Rawson, R., & Uchechukwu, O. (2023). The importance of biophilic design: a person-centred approach. Journal of Ecopsychology, 3, 4, 1-4.
https://joe.nationalwellbeingservice.com/volumes/volume-3-2023/volume-3-article-4

Citation: Palmer, S., & O’Riordan, S. (2024). Editorial: Ecopsychology Research Continues. Journal of Ecopsychology, 4, 1, 1-X. https://joe.nationalwellbeingservice.com/volumes/volume-4-2024/volume-3-article-1-editorial

Biographies

Professor Stephen Palmer PhD is Professor of Practice at the Wales Academy for Professional Practice and Applied Research, University of Wales Trinity Saint David and is an Adjunct Professor of Coaching Psychology at Aalborg University, Denmark. He is Honorary President of the International Society for Coaching Psychology, and Director of the International Centre for Ecopsychology, London. Stephen’s professional qualifications include being a Chartered Psychologist, Chartered Biologist and Chartered Scientist with an interest in climate change and biodiversity. He set up the Forum for Ecopsychology and is a member of the British Ecological Society. Stephen co-edits a number of academic journals and has written and edited 60 books.
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0108-6999

Dr Siobhain O’Riordan PhD FISCP is a chartered coaching psychologist and chartered scientist. She is a Fellow and Chair of the International Society for Coaching Psychology (ISCP) and a member of the International Research Centre Development Team of the ISCP. She is also an Honorary Research Fellow at the Wales Academy for Professional Practice and Applied Research, University of Wales Trinity Saint David. Her recent book, Introduction to Coaching Psychology (with Palmer) was published in 2021 by Routledge.
http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3216-2939