ISSN 1415-4714 printed version
ISSN 1984-0381 online version

INSTRUCTIONS TO AUTHORS

• Scope and policies
• Form and preparation of manuscripts
• Submission of manuscripts

Revista Latinoamericana de Psicopatologia Fundamental (Latin American Journal of Fundamental Psychopathology) is the official organ of the University Association for Research in Fundamental Psychopathology (AUPPF), a scientific society that brings together doctorate professors at public and private universities in many places around the world.

This journal is dedicated to publishing original editorials, articles and reviews in psychopathology that take subjectivity into consideration. The journal also publishes rare, hard-to-find and often historically important texts, meant to serve as aids in future research. Special importance is given to unpublished articles and essays resulting from studies using the clinical method.

The journal is directed by an editor and associate editors who are responsible for the various sections. The Editorial Board and the Scientific Board also play important roles related to the journal.

The Editorial in each issue is signed by the editor or by a person invited by him. Texts for editorials may also be submitted by persons with recognized knowledge of the theme being presented.

The Articles section is under the responsibility of the editor, and includes only as yet unpublished articles, in either Portuguese, English, Spanish or French.

The Mental Health section presents unpublished articles on this theme from different countries.

Observing Medicine includes unpublished articles and/or essays that discuss the most recent trends in the field of medicine.

Observing Psychiatry presents unpublished articles and essays on the most recent trends in psychiatry.

Classics of Psychopathology consists of unpublished articles and essays on clinical and descriptive psychopathology from the 19th and 20th centuries.

The Medicine of the Soul section presents unpublished articles and essays from the Ancient World and up until the 18th century on medical practices and reflections on questions that were relevant before the rise of modern medicine.

History of Psychiatry consists of unpublished articles and essays on the theme of each issue.

Review by outside consultants:
All articles submitted for publication are evaluated by outside consultants. Whenever possible, the decision whether or not to accept an article for publication will be made within two months as of the date of its receipt. A copy of the evaluation of the article is normally sent to authors, but the respective consultants remain anonymous.

Target group:
Physicians, psychologists, psychoanalysts, mental health workers, philosophers, psychotherapists and other interested persons.

1) Objectives
Revista Latinoamericana de Psicopatologia Fundamental (Latin American Journal of Fundamental Psychopathology) is the official quarterly organ of the University Association for Research in Fundamental Psychopathology, and has the objective of publishing scientific papers that may contribute to the advance of knowledge regarding the treatment and prevention of mental suffering (pathos). Special importance is given to unpublished articles and essays resulting from studies using the clinical method.

2) Selection of articles for publication
In selecting articles for publication, evaluations consider originality, importance of the topic and the quality of the scientific methodology used. Compliance with the journal's editorial regulations is also essential. Articles that analyze fictional characters from books or movies will not be considered. Undergraduate, masters or doctoral students may submit articles for publication and, among such texts, preference will be given to those in which the adviser appears as co-author. Priority will also be given to subscribers of the journal.

3) Evaluation by outside consultants
All articles published are commented on by outside consultants. Whenever possible, the decision whether or not to accept an article for publication will be made within two months as of the date of its receipt. The evaluation of the article is sent to the authors, but the consultants themselves remain anonymous. The Editorial Committee reserves the right to introduce any changes needed to adapt the texts to the journal's editorial possibilities. For substantial changes, the authors will be consulted in advance.

4) Unpublished material
The contents of material sent for publication in Revista Latinoamericana de Psicopatologia Fundamental must not have been published previously nor even submitted for publication to any other organ. The editor's written approval is required for presentation to other publications, even for only part of the article. The concepts and declarations contained in the text are of the authors' sole responsibility.

5) How to send material to the editor
Texts for publication may be written in Portuguese, Spanish, French or English. The material should be sent to the editor of Revista Latinoamericana de Psicopatologia Fundamental at: Rua Tupi, 397/104, 01233-001, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.

Authors submitting articles should include 1) a letter to the editor requesting publication of the text in Revista Latinoamericana de Psicopatologia Fundamental, 2) three printed copies of the article (fax copies are not acceptable); 3) one copy of the article on diskette or CD containing a single PC file in MS-Word format. Figures, tables, photographs should be sent as separate files in the appropriate format.

5.1) Letter of presentation
All the authors must sign the letter sent to the editor, providing their full addresses (including postal code), telephone number and e-mail address for contact.

5.2) Ethical aspects
In the letter the authors must mention any possible conflicts of interest (professional, financial, or direct or indirect benefits) that could possibly influence the results of the research. Authors must also disclose all the sources of financing involved in the work and guarantee that the privacy and anonymity of the persons involved have been respected.

When referring to diagnostic or therapeutic interventions on human beings, approval by the Ethics Committee of the institution where the research was carried out must also be submitted.

5.3) Copyrights
A declaration of cession of copyrights must be submitted together with the letter to the editor, signed by all the authors, according to the following model: "I (we), ..., author(s) of the text entitled ..., which I (we) submit for approval for publication in Revista Latinoamericana de Psicopatologia Fundamental agree that any and all copyrights referring to said text shall become the exclusive property of the Associação Universitária de Pesquisa em Psicopatologia Fundamental and that no reproduction, in full or in part, in any other means of communication may be made without the prior written authorization of said association."

Date:
Signatures:

6) Preparation of manuscripts
For presentation of articles, Revista Latinoamericana de Psicopatologia Fundamental follows norms NBR-6023/2000 of the Brazilian Association of Technical Norms (ABNT). Articles must be in Times New Roman format, font 12, double-spaced (including tables and references), and, when printed, only one side of the sheet should be used. All pages must be numbered, including the title page, with a maximum of 15 pages with 2,100 characters each. Articles may not exceed 30,000 characters including spaces. Book reviews may not exceed 6,000 characters including spaces.

The first page must show: a) a full but concise title of the article, describing the topic treated (superfluous words should be omitted). The title to the article must be provided in English, French and Spanish; b) Names of the authors (names will be published as sent); c) Academic titles and indication of the institution to which each author is affiliated, with respective full address; d) Name of the research group and institution where the work was carried out; e) Information regarding any funding for the research, including the supporting agency; f) If the article was based on an academic dissertation or thesis, the title, year and institution where it was defended must be identified; g) If the contents were presented at a scientific gathering, the name, location and date of the event must be indicated.

6.1) Footnotes: footnotes consist of very brief non-bibliographic notes places at the bottom of pages in numerical order and indicated by Arabic numbers, and should appear immediately after the segment of text to which they refer.

6.1.1) Bibliographic notes must comply with the author-date system, including page numbers, and must appear in parentheses immediately following the point in the text to which each note refers.

The text must be organized in a way that facilitates understanding, including a system of titles and subtitles that reflect this organization.

Minor corrections in the text may be made by the journal's editor or editorial board. When substantial changes are necessary, the text will be returned to the authors for such modifications. The authors should then return the corrected text within the timeframe stipulated in the correspondence.

7) Abstracts and keywords
7.1) Articles
All articles must contain, on the second page, four abstracts of the same content, in Portuguese, Spanish, French and English. Abstracts should identify objectives, procedures and conclusions of the article and may not exceed 7 lines of 70 characters, in other words, 490 characters, including spaces. Authors should also provide keywords, which are expressions that represent the topic treated in the text. They should be four in number, presented in Portuguese, Spanish, French and English.

8) Acknowledgments
Acknowledgments should appear before the references. They should be brief and direct, and refer only to those persons or institutions that have substantially contributed to the work involved.

9) Structure of the text
9.1) References
References must be placed at the end of the article in alphabetical order by last name. Authors must verify that all sources quoted in the text are shown on the list of references, with the exact dates and names of authors, correctly spelled. The accuracy of these references is the responsibility of the authors. Personal communications, unpublished texts and work still underway may be quoted when absolutely necessary. However, they should only be mentioned in the text or in footnotes without appearing in the list of references. References must comply with the models shown in the examples below.

9.2) Articles in periodicals (single author)
Berlinck, Manoel Tosta. A dor. Revista Latinoamericana de Psicopatologia Fundamental, São Paulo, v. II, n. 3, p. 46-58, set. 1999.

9.3) Articles in periodicals (two authors)
Berlinck, Manoel Tosta e Fédida, Pierre. A clínica da depressão: questões atuais. Revista Latinoamericana de Psicopatologia Fundamental, São Paulo, v. III, n. 2, p. 9-25, jun. 1999.

9.4) Articles in periodicals (three or more authors)
Canongia, Ana Irene et. al. A participação da enfermagem e do alunato nos grupos com pacientes psicóticos: um encontro fundamental. Pulsional Revista de Psicanálise, São Paulo, ano XIV, n. 150, p. 27-31, out. 2001.

9.5) Articles without author's name
Editorial. Pulsional Revista de Psicanálise, São Paulo, ano XIV, n. 150, p. 3-4, out. 2001.

9.6) Books
Berlinck, Manoel Tosta. Psicopatologia Fundamental. São Paulo: Escuta, 2000.

9.7) Chapters of books
Berlinck, Manoel Tosta. A histeria e o psicanalista. In: Berlinck, Manoel Tosta (org.). Histeria. São Paulo: Escuta, 1991. p. 29-47.

9.8) Theses
Marin, Isabel da Silva Kahn. Sujeito e violência na contemporaneidade. 2001. 224 p. Tese (doutorado em Psicologia Clínica). Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo.

9.9) Papers presented at congresses
Magalhães, M. Cristina Rios. Haverá psicanálise no século XXI ou A psicanálise tem futuro? Congresso O século da psicanálise, Salvador, BA, out. 1995.

9.10) Article in periodical in electronic format
Berlinck, Manoel Tosta e Gama, Carlos Alberto Pegolo da. Agorafobia, espaço e subjetividade. Psychiatry On-Line Brazil, n. 7, janeiro 2002. <http://polbr.med.br/editorial.htm> Acesso em: 30 janeiro 2002.

Other types of reference should follow the NBR 6023/2000 norms, available on the Internet at http://www.abnt.org.br
If the list of references is not in accord with the regulations, articles may be rejected without review of contents.

9.11) Abbreviations
Abbreviations should be indicated in the text when they first appear. After that, they should be used without repeating the full name.

Procedures for processing manuscripts:

As soon the journal receives a manuscript, it is sent to an outside consultant for comments, accompanied by a letter and the guideline presented below. The comments are then sent to the authors to make the suggested changes.

Revista Latinoamericana de Psicopatologia Fundamental uses the system of evaluation of articles by anonymous outside consultants, following the policy adopted by the São Paulo State Research Support Foundation (Fapesp). Consultants have access to the names of the authors, but the names of the outside consultants for articles submitted for publication are confidential. Once a year, the journal publishes a complete list of outside consultants who have commented on the texts published in the volume.

Letter to outside consultant:
Professor (name)
Address:
Dear Dr......:

I am sending you the enclosed article, entitled............, for your analysis, detailed comments and opinion. This text has been received for publication in Revista Latinoamericana de Psicopatologia Fundamental.

The comments and opinion should be presented in the attached form and returned within four weeks. If this timeframe is unfeasible, I would appreciate your returning the manuscript to us immediately.

Even if you prefer not to use the attached form, each question shown on it should be explicitly treated in your opinion.

Considering the great number of articles received by the journal and the constant concern for a standard of excellence, I would ask that you make your opinion as strict as possible. I would also ask for your special attention to the importance and relevance of the article, since this journal concerns Fundamental Psychopathology and not psychoanalysis, psychology, psychiatry or any such field. The question of mental suffering should therefore be present, although interfaces among different areas dedicated to this issue are considered important. The journal gives special attention to articles based on the clinical method. Texts consisting of bibliographic reviews and disclosure are generally not considered appropriate for this publication.

If for any reason you are not able to issue an opinion, we would appreciate receiving suggestions as to the name and address of some other ad hoc consultant for this respective article.

The names of outside consultants for Revista Latinoamericana de Psicopatologia Fundamental are kept completely confidential.

Thank you for your participation and cooperation.

Dr. Manoel Tosta Berlinck
Editor

Guideline for peer review

Title of article:

Please check your options for the questions below, and comment freely in writing.

1. Editorial line: Would you classify this article as being within the field of psychopathology that takes subjectivity into consideration?
( ) yes ( ) no

If not, please suggest reformulations in your comments, below.

2. Title: Does the title precisely and sufficiently reflect the article's contents?
( ) yes ( ) no

3. Abstract:

3.1. Does the abstract precisely and sufficiently reflect the article's contents?
( ) yes ( ) no

3.2. Does the abstract contain the number of characters indicated in the instructions?
( ) yes ( ) no

4. Keywords: Are the keywords appropriate to the text and are they four in number?
( ) yes ( ) no

5. Importance: Is the subject matter treated relevant enough or important enough to be published in the journal?
( ) yes ( ) no

6. Method:

6.1. The basis of the text is predominantly:
a. Clinical (based on a case or case fragment)?
( ) yes ( ) no
b. Medical, based on evidence or proof?
( ) yes ( ) no
c. Epidemiological? ( ) yes ( ) no
d. Historical? ( ) yes ( ) no
e. Socio-political? ( ) yes ( ) no
f. Theoretical? ( ) yes ( ) no
g. Philosophical? ( ) yes ( ) no
i. Artistic? ( ) yes ( ) no
j. Ideological (based on judgments of value without empirical grounds)?
( ) yes ( ) no
k. Other? (Please specify)

6.2. Does the text have clear, precise and succinct indications of the argument used in coming to the conclusions?
( ) yes ( ) no

6.3. Is the argument presented in the article predominantly inductive? That is, does it move from observation to the abstract? Or is it predominantly deductive, meaning, does it move from general and abstract sentences toward the conclusions?
( ) inductive ( ) deductive

6.4. What relationships with time are involved in the text?

6.4.1. Is the argument presented in a hurried manner?
( ) yes ( ) no

6.4.2. Is the argument governed mainly by mechanically applied or hollow-sounding sentences?
( ) yes ( ) no

6.4.3. Is the argument based on a problematic situation where one can note a discrepancy between what is and what should be (or was) expected?
( ) yes ( ) no

6.4.4. Does the text show a clear distinction between judgments of reality and judgments of value? ( ) yes ( ) no

6.5. If the text is clinical, are there clear and precise references to the singularity of the case in terms of the way each patient is received and treated, according to a set of unique particularities and contingencies that govern her or his life?
( ) yes ( ) no

6.5.1. If the text is clinical, is the account of the fragment of a case used as the grounds for the metapsychological arguments?
( ) yes ( ) no

6.5.2. If the text is clinical, is the account of the fragment of the case used to illustrate or exemplify the theory?
( ) yes ( ) no

6.6. Into which basic category would you classify the psychopathology discussed in the article?
6.6.1. Medicine of the soul? ( ) yes ( ) no
6.6.2. Descriptive psychiatry? ( ) yes ( ) no
6.6.3. American Association of Psychiatry (disorders described in the DSM)?
( ) yes ( ) no
6.6.4. The World Health Organization (ICD)?
( ) yes ( ) no
6.6.5. Psychoanalysis? ( ) yes ( ) no
6.6.6. Other (Please specify)
6.7. If the text is clinical, is the relationship based predominantly on:
6.7.1. Medical semiology? ( ) yes ( ) no
6.7.2. Anthropological observation? ( ) yes ( ) no
6.7.3. The interdisciplinary semiology of mental health?
( ) yes ( ) no
6.7.4. Transference/counter-transference?
( ) yes ( ) no
6.7.5. Other (Please specify)
6.8. If the text is clinical, was intervention involved?
( ) yes ( ) no
6.8.1. If yes, is the method of intervention predominantly:
6.8.1.1. Based on medication?
( ) yes ( ) no
6.8.1.2. Out-patient (health center, recovery facility, day-hospital, etc.)?
( ) yes ( ) no
6.8.1.3. In-patient (hospitalized)? ( ) yes ( ) no
6.8.1.4. Behavioral? ( ) yes ( ) no
6.8.1.5. Experimental? ( ) yes ( ) no
6.8.1.6. Pedagogical? ( ) yes ( ) no
6.8.1.7. Educational? ( ) yes ( ) no
6.8.1.8. Interpretative? ( ) yes ( ) no
6.8.1.9. Other (Please specify)

7. Language: Does the article comply with the requirements of 1) objectivity, 2) style, 3) conciseness and 4) correctness of language that appropriately represents the author's thinking?
1) Objectivity: ( ) yes ( ) no
2) Style: ( ) yes ( ) no
3) Conciseness: ( ) yes ( ) no
4) Correctness: ( ) yes ( ) no
If not, please suggest changes.

8. Logical sequence: Does the article have a logic sequence: 1) identification, 2) description, 3) argumentation, and 4) conclusion, which adequately represent the author's thinking?
1) Identification: ( ) yes ( ) no
2) Description: ( ) yes ( ) no
3) Argumentation ( ) yes ( ) no
4) Conclusion ( ) yes ( ) no

9. Literature: Does the article contain significant references that contribute to a fuller understanding and specification of the topic treated?
( ) yes ( ) no
If not, please indicate the omissions or problems in your comments, below.

10. Contents: 1) Do the main ideas presented in the article have an innovative nature? 2) Are the statements in the article accurate in terms of facts, evidence, proof and information?
1) Innovative nature: ( ) yes ( ) no
2) Accuracy of the statements: ( ) yes ( ) no
If not, please comment on the shortcomings you found.

11. Grounds: Does the article contain arguments based on the topic?
( ) yes ( ) no

If not, please indicate what is missing.

12. Conclusion: 1) Are the conclusions significant for the advance of knowledge in the field of psychopathology? 2) Are there indications for possible lines of research on the basis of the article's contents?
1) Significant conclusions: ( ) yes ( ) no
2) Possible lines of research: ( ) yes ( ) no
If not, please make recommendations for changes in the conclusions.

13. Aspects concerning ethics:
13.1 In the letter of presentation, do the authors disclose any conflicts of interest (professional, financial, or direct or indirect benefits) which might have influenced the results of the research?
( ) yes ( ) no
13.2 Did the authors mention sources of financing involved in the article?
( ) yes ( ) no
13.3 Do the authors declare that they have respected the privacy and anonymity of the persons involved?
( ) yes ( ) no

14. Formal aspects:
Does the text comply with the journal's instructions to authors?
( ) yes ( ) no

15. Final position:
( ) Should be published, with priority. No need for revision.
( ) Should be published. No need for revision.
( ) Should be published, but needs revision.
( ) Should not be published

Comments on revision:
We ask that you write as legibly as possible. Do not sign.
Do you have any objection against our sending a copy of this report to the authors?

( ) yes ( ) no

If you think that this article should not be published as is, please indicate changes that would make it publishable.