Journal profile · Multiple
Behavior Therapy
ISSN 0005-7894 · eISSN 1878-1888 · Elsevier
Behavior Therapy: CAS Zone 2 · Psychology (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal); impact factor 4.18; hybrid open access; APC about USD 3,600; median 193 days to acceptance (99 articles, last 24 months); acceptance rate 19% (journal website); 89 articles in 2025; indexed in SSCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Behavior Therapy is published by Elsevier and is in Zone 2 of Psychology in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development, Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes and Behavioral and Psychological Studies, together about 39.9% of its articles. Its main subfields are Clinical Psychology. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Published on behalf of Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (ABCT)Behavior Therapy, published six times a year, is an international journal devoted to the application of the behavioral and cognitive sciences to the conceptualization, assessment, and treatment of psychopathology and related clinical problems. It is intended for mental health professionals and students from all related disciplines who wish to remain current in these areas and provides a vehicle for scientist-practitioners and clinical scientists to report the results of their original empirical research. Although the major emphasis is placed upon empirical research, methodological and theoretical papers as well as evaluative reviews of the literature will also be published. Controlled single-case designs and clinical replication series are welcome.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Multiple
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named United States 98, Canada 8, Germany 4, United Kingdom 2, Netherlands 2 (118 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional DevelopmentPsychology16.6%
- Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive ProcessesPsychology12.3%
- Behavioral and Psychological StudiesPsychology11%
- Mental Health Research TopicsPsychology5.8%
- Human auditory perception and evaluationEngineering4.7%
- Diverse Scientific and Economic StudiesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance4.6%
- Autism Spectrum Disorder ResearchNeuroscience4.6%
- Psychotherapy Techniques and ApplicationsPsychology4.2%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Psychology Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Psychology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Psychology, Clinical | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Psychiatry | Zone 2 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Psychology Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Psychology | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Psychology, Clinical | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Psychiatry | Zone 2 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Psychology Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Psychology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Psychology, Clinical | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Psychiatry | Zone 2 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SSCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor
- 4.18LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 4.4Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 6.9LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 6.9Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 1.58LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.6LetPub ·
- h-index
- 213OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 2,995OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 4.76OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 4.5%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 24.61%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 88LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 4,967 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 43 | 24 | 10 |
| 2025 | 89 | 48 | 157 |
| 2024 | 98 | 53 | 927 |
| 2023 | 95 | 58 | 975 |
| 2022 | 138 | 52 | 1,662 |
| 2021 | 98 | 46 | 1,836 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Review time from article dates manuscript dates registered with PubMed · to
193 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 155 days – 254 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 5 days (99 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 200 days
- Sample
- 99 articles with submission and acceptance dates (170 in the window); the latest was accepted on
Only articles that were accepted and published are counted, not the time spent on rejected manuscripts, so this usually runs longer than a publisher's "time to first decision".
Other sources
- Acceptance rate (publisher)
- 19%Publisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 86 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance
- 200 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 7 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Double anonymous peer reviewPublisher website
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | USD 3,600 / EUR 3,370 / GBP 2,880 / JPY 446,510 | — | — | |
| Publisher website | USD 3,730 | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
What to prepare2 items from the author guidelines
- Keywords
- ≥ 3
- Graphical abstract
- Optional
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Conflicts of interest, Publication ethics, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review, Preprints
- AI use Declaration of generative AI in scientific writing
Authors must declare the use of generative AI tools in the manuscript preparation process upon submission of the paper.Generative AI and AI-assisted technologies (“AI tools”) have been rapidly adopted in research and scholarly publishing, offering significant benefits while requiring clear standards for responsible and transparent use.Authors preparing a manuscript for this journal may use AI tool…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Authorship Authorship
Manuscript length limit of 35 pages total (up to 40 pages in rare circumstances, e.g., review manuscripts, with justification in cover letter); double spaced, 12-point standard font, 1-inch margins. Model summary
Authorship should be limited to those who have made a significant contribution to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the reported study. All those who have made significant contributions should be listed as co-authors. Where there are others who have participated in certain substantive aspects of the research project, they should be acknowledged or listed as contributors.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Declaration of interest
All authors must disclose any financial and personal relationships with other people or organizations that could inappropriately influence (bias) their work. Examples of potential competing interests include employment, consultancies, stock ownership, honoraria, paid expert testimony, patent applications/registrations, and grants or other funding. Authors must disclose any interests in two places:…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Publication ethics
Ethics requirements for human subjects (Declaration of Helsinki, informed consent, ethical approval statements) and animal experiments (ARRIVE guidelines, relevant laws); no unethically sourced organs or tissue. Model summary
The journal will not accept manuscripts that contain data derived from unethically sourced organs or tissue, including from executed prisoners or prisoners of conscience
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright Copyright
Upon acceptance of an article, authors will be asked to transfer copyright to ABCT. This transfer will ensure the widest possible dissemination of information.The corresponding author will receive a link to the online agreement by email. We advise you to read Elsevier's policies related to copyright to learn more about our copyright policies and your, and your employer’s/institution’s, additional …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access
Copyright transfer to ABCT upon acceptance; open access publishing available per journal's Open Access page. Model summary
Please visit our Open Access page for more information about open access publishing in this journal.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer review
Double anonymized peer review; initial editor assessment, then typically a minimum of two independent expert reviewers; Editor makes final decision. Model summary
This journal operates a double anonymized review process. All contributions will be initially assessed by the editor for suitability for the journal. Papers deemed suitable are then typically sent to a minimum of two independent expert reviewers to assess the scientific quality of the paper. The Editor is responsible for the final decision regarding acceptance or rejection of articles. The Editor'…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints Preprints
Preprints may be shared anywhere at any time per Elsevier's sharing policy and do not count as prior publication. Model summary
Please note that preprints can be shared anywhere at any time, in line with Elsevier's sharing policy. Sharing your preprints e.g. on a preprint server will not count as prior publication (see 'Multiple, redundant or concurrent publication' for more information).
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Elsevier
- ISSN
- 0005-7894
- Electronic ISSN
- 1878-1888
- Society / sponsor
- Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Behavior Therapy
What CAS zone is Behavior Therapy in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Behavior Therapy is in Zone 2 of Psychology, and in Zone 1 of the minor category Psychology, Clinical / Psychiatry; it is a Top journal. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 1 of Psychology. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Behavior Therapy?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 4.18; CiteScore 6.9, h-index 213.
How long does peer review take at Behavior Therapy?
Based on the dates recorded on 99 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 193 days (interquartile range 155–254 days); the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 19%. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
What are the manuscript requirements of Behavior Therapy?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Keywords: ≥ 3; Graphical abstract: Optional. A model extracted these from the author guidelines and each was checked against the text; check the latest version on the journal's website before submitting.
Where are the editorial board members of Behavior Therapy based?
Of the 118 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (98), Canada (8) and Germany (4). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Behavior Therapy?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Behavior Therapy is indexed in SSCI and Scopus.
Is Behavior Therapy open access, and what is the APC?
Behavior Therapy is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 3,600.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-26). Last updated: .