Journal profile · PSYCHOLOGY, APPLIED
BRITISH JOURNAL OF GUIDANCE & COUNSELLING
ISSN 0306-9885 · eISSN 1469-3534 · Taylor & Francis
BRITISH JOURNAL OF GUIDANCE & COUNSELLING: CAS Zone 4 · Psychology (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 1.51; hybrid open access; APC about USD 3,190; median 364 days to acceptance (93 articles, last 24 months); acceptance rate 38% (journal website); 67 articles in 2025; indexed in SSCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
BRITISH JOURNAL OF GUIDANCE & COUNSELLING is published by Taylor & Francis and is in Zone 4 of Psychology in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Counseling Practices and Supervision, Counseling, Therapy, and Family Dynamics and Psychotherapy Techniques and Applications, together about 35.1% of its articles. Its main subfields are Clinical Psychology. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
The aim of the British Journal of Guidance & Counselling is to publish work that sets trends and provokes fresh thought and innovation in the practice and understanding of counselling, psychotherapy and career guidance. The journal seeks to communicate, enrich and advance theory, research, policy and practice in these fields. As an international journal, the British Journal of Guidance & Counselling provides a high quality platform to authors from across the globe, and from diverse cultural backgrounds and disciplines. Manuscripts are published under three broad headings: (a) counselling and psychotherapy, (b) career counselling and career development in particular and (c) cross-disciplinary issues relevant to counselling, psychotherapy and career services. We welcome theoretical and empirical papers relating to the practice of counselling, psychotherapy and career services, and allied fields. Research papers may use quantitative, qualitative or mixed methods and may range in scope from large-scale surveys to individual case studies, with samples drawn from a broad variety of contexts. Of special interest are incisive reviews of literature, novel conceptualisation of relevant phenomena, critique and advancement of theory and practice, the use of unusual methods, work with under-studied populations and empirical findings that can point to new directions. Policy papers and special articles under the headings ‘Interview’ and ‘In Practice’ are also sought. In addition, the journal publishes frequent symposia focusing on areas of particular interest. Critical engagement with relevant concepts and literature is required for all submissions. Discussion of the implications and recommendations for practice of (at least one of) counselling/psychotherapy, career or other forms of guidance, advice or support work and mental health care are important to ensure relevance to this journal. The editorial team consists of two Co-Editors, who divide responsibility for the counselling/psychotherapy, career guidance and cross-disciplinary papers according to their specialism. Two Symposium Editors oversee special editions of the journal that focus on a particular topic through an invited series of related papers, and who work in conjunction with Guest Editors appointed for their expertise for that specific edition. All manuscripts are considered on the strict condition that they have been submitted only to the British Journal of Guidance & Counselling and that they have not be
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): PSYCHOLOGY, APPLIED
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named Italy 2, Australia 2, Canada 1, Malaysia 1 (6 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Counseling Practices and SupervisionPsychology15.1%
- Counseling, Therapy, and Family DynamicsPsychology10.1%
- Psychotherapy Techniques and ApplicationsPsychology9.9%
- Higher Education and EmployabilitySocial Sciences7.2%
- Career Development and DiversitySocial Sciences6.5%
- Educational and Psychological AssessmentsPsychology5.6%
- Education Systems and PolicySocial Sciences5.1%
- Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional DevelopmentPsychology4.3%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Psychology Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Psychology | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Psychology, Applied | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Psychology Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Psychology | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Psychology, Applied | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Psychology Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Psychology | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Psychology, Applied | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
JCR / CiteScore quartiles on the journal's website
- CiteScore Q1 · 2025
Publisher-reported: JCR figures are Clarivate's and CiteScore figures Scopus's to confirm; both are a different system from the CAS zones.Publisher website
Database indexing
SSCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
PsycINFOCINAHLERICPublisher website
Other: Community Care, ASSIA (Applied Social Sciences Index & Abstracts), British Education Index, British Nursing Index, Caredata, Contents Pages in Education, Educational Research Abstracts online (ERA), Education Yearbook, International Bibliography of Periodical Literature, ISI Alerting Services, Research into Higher Education Abstracts, Sage Family Studies Abstracts, Social SciSearch, Sociological Abstracts (SA), Studies on Women and Gender Abstracts
As the journal's website lists them, not checked against each database; for Web of Science editions the records above apply.
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
- 1.51LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 1.5Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 1.7Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 3.8LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 3.8Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.61LetPub ·
- SJR (publisher) 2025
- 0.61Publisher website ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.14LetPub ·
- SNIP (publisher) 2025
- 1.14Publisher website ·
- h-index
- 84OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 942OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 1.38OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 0%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 19.05%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 60LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher)
- 351,000Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 3,345 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 61 | 12 | 15 |
| 2025 | 67 | 23 | 67 |
| 2024 | 47 | 16 | 160 |
| 2023 | 66 | 24 | 348 |
| 2022 | 76 | 24 | 455 |
| 2021 | 96 | 34 | 1,020 |
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 Crossref · to
364 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 231 days – 534 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 37 days (93 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 455 days
- Sample
- 93 articles with submission and acceptance dates (135 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)
- 38%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 179 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 331 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 27 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Publisher website | USD 3,190 | — | — |
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)
Article types accepted6
- noteNote | Published online: 27 Aug 2026Length not stated
- policy papersPolicy papers and special articles under the headings ‘Interview’ and ‘In Practice’ are also sought.Length not stated
- research articleResearch Article | Published online: 8 Sep 2026Length not stated
- research papersWe welcome theoretical and empirical papers relating to the practice of counselling, psychotherapy and career services, and allied fields. Research papers may u…Length not stated
- special articlesPolicy papers and special articles under the headings ‘Interview’ and ‘In Practice’ are also sought.Length not stated
- symposiaIn addition, the journal publishes frequent symposia focusing on areas of particular interest.Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAuthorship, Open access, Peer review
- Authorship
Original work only; not published or under consideration elsewhere. Model summary
All manuscripts are considered on the strict condition that they have been submitted only to the British Journal of Guidance & Counselling and that they have not been published already, nor are they under consideration for publication or in press elsewhere. Contributions must report original work, regardless of whether it is a research, policy, practice or conceptual article.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access
Publishes manuscripts in English only Model summary
British Journal of Guidance & Counselling is a hybrid open access journal that is part of the Taylor & Francis Open Select publishing program, giving you the option to publish open access. Publishing open access means that your article will be free to access online immediately on publication, increasing the visibility, readership, and impact of your research. Why choose open access? Increase the d…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review
Preprint sharing may compromise double-anonymized review. Model summary
If you have shared an earlier version of your Author’s Original Manuscript on a preprint server, please be aware that anonymity cannot be guaranteed.
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
- Taylor & Francis
- ISSN
- 0306-9885
- Electronic ISSN
- 1469-3534
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 54, Issue 4 (2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about BRITISH JOURNAL OF GUIDANCE & COUNSELLING
What CAS zone is BRITISH JOURNAL OF GUIDANCE & COUNSELLING in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, BRITISH JOURNAL OF GUIDANCE & COUNSELLING is in Zone 4 of Psychology, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Psychology, Applied. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 4 of Psychology. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of BRITISH JOURNAL OF GUIDANCE & COUNSELLING?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 1.51; CiteScore 3.8, h-index 84.
How long does peer review take at BRITISH JOURNAL OF GUIDANCE & COUNSELLING?
Based on the dates recorded on 93 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 364 days (interquartile range 231–534 days); the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 38%. 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.
Where are the editorial board members of BRITISH JOURNAL OF GUIDANCE & COUNSELLING based?
Of the 6 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are Italy (2), Australia (2) and Canada (1). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index BRITISH JOURNAL OF GUIDANCE & COUNSELLING?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, BRITISH JOURNAL OF GUIDANCE & COUNSELLING is indexed in SSCI and Scopus. The journal's website also lists PsycINFO, CINAHL and ERIC; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is BRITISH JOURNAL OF GUIDANCE & COUNSELLING open access, and what is the APC?
BRITISH JOURNAL OF GUIDANCE & COUNSELLING is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 3,190.
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: .