Journal profile · INTEGRATIVE & COMPLEMENTARY MEDICINE
Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice
ISSN 1744-3881 · eISSN 1873-6947 · Churchill Livingstone · NETHERLANDS
Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice: CAS Zone 3 · Medicine (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 3.31; hybrid open access; APC about USD 3,530; median 161 days to acceptance (99 articles, last 24 months); 77 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice is published by Churchill Livingstone and is in Zone 3 of Medicine in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Complementary and Alternative Medicine Studies, Acupuncture Treatment Research Studies and Mindfulness and Compassion Interventions, together about 39.5% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice is an internationally refereed journal published to meet the broad ranging needs of the healthcare profession in the effective and professional integration of complementary therapies within clinical practice.Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice aims to provide rigorous peer reviewed papers providing evidence for the efficacy of complementary therapies and the underlying mechanisms through original research, registered systematic reviews and meta-analyses, as well as addressing the implementation of complementary therapies (CTs) in the clinical setting, legal and ethical concerns through evaluative accounts of therapy in practice in order to promote safe and efficacious clinical practice.Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice welcomes and considers accounts of reflective practice.It will be of interest to all members of the healthcare profession including nurses, midwives, pharmacists, hospital doctors, general practitioners, physiotherapists, social scientists, psychologists, CTs researchers, practitioners of CTs, educationalists, managers, patients and individuals interested in CTs.The Editor of Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice invites authors to submit articles on all aspects of individual therapies, international news, book reviews, multimedia reports and correspondence.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): INTEGRATIVE & COMPLEMENTARY MEDICINE
Editorial board by country: 4 in mainland China (about 10%); most named United Kingdom 23, Australia 7, Mainland China 4, United States 2, Türkiye 2 (40 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Complementary and Alternative Medicine StudiesMedicine20%
- Acupuncture Treatment Research StudiesMedicine10.4%
- Mindfulness and Compassion InterventionsPsychology9.1%
- Music Therapy and HealthPsychology6.4%
- Musculoskeletal pain and rehabilitationMedicine4.8%
- Cancer survivorship and careMedicine3.7%
- Pain Management and Placebo EffectNeuroscience3.6%
- Human auditory perception and evaluationEngineering3.4%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Medicine Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Integrative & Complementary Medicine | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Medicine Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Integrative & Complementary Medicine | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Medicine Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Integrative & Complementary Medicine | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusLetPub
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
- 3.31LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 3.4Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 6.7LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 6.7Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.92LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.32LetPub ·
- h-index
- 43LetPub ·
- h-index
- 89OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 1,205OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 3.48OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 2.9%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 27.23%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 69LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 1,944 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 26 | 10 | 1 |
| 2025 | 77 | 35 | 195 |
| 2024 | 79 | 31 | 438 |
| 2023 | 78 | 29 | 1,064 |
| 2022 | 158 | 55 | 2,357 |
| 2021 | 200 | 39 | 3,592 |
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
161 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 91 days – 253 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 2 days (99 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 162 days
- Sample
- 99 articles with submission and acceptance dates (151 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
- Submission to first decision
- 4 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 56 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance
- 125 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 2 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 3,530 / EUR 3,300 / GBP 2,830 / JPY 437,830 | — | — | |
| Publisher website | USD 3,890 | — | — |
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 prepare4 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- ≤ 250 words
- Keywords
- ≥ 1
- Reference style
- Numbered, in order of citation
- Highlights
- Optional
Article types accepted1
- systematic reviewSystematic reviews and meta-analyses should be registered in advance of the work being undertaken with an appropriate agency, e.g. PROSPERO, OSF or INPLASY, and…Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Conflicts of interest, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review, Preprints
- AI use Declaration of generative AI use
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 Group authorship
Group authorship refers to the attribution of an article to a defined and named group of authors whose members have contributed to the work. Examples include research consortia, clinical trial groups, collaborative networks, task forces or working groups, expert panels or consensus groups, and participatory research groups. Group authorship must be declared on the title page at submission. When av…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Declaration of competing interests
All authors must disclose any financial and personal relationships with other people or organizations that could inappropriately influence or bias their work. Examples of potential competing interests include:EmploymentConsultanciesStock ownershipHonorariaPaid expert testimonyPatent applications or registrationsGrants or any other fundingAffiliation with the journal as an Editor or Advisory Board …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright License options
Authors will be offered open access user license options which will determine how you, and third parties, can reuse your open access article. We advise that you review these options and any funding body license requirements before selecting a license option.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access
We refer you to our open access information page to learn about open access options for this journal.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer review
This journal follows a double anonymized review process. Your submission will initially be assessed by our editors. If your submission is deemed suitable, it will typically be sent to be reviewed by a minimum of two reviewers for an independent expert assessment of the scientific quality. The decision as to whether your article is accepted or rejected for publication will be made by our editors.Re…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints Preprints
Preprint sharingAuthors may share preprints in line with Elsevier's article sharing policy. Sharing preprints, such as on a preprint server, will not count as prior publication.We advise you to read our policy on multiple, redundant or concurrent publication. In support of Open Science, this journal offers its authors a free preprint posting service on SSRN, Elsevier’s preprint and early research …
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
- Churchill Livingstone
- Country or region
- NETHERLANDS
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 1744-3881
- Electronic ISSN
- 1873-6947
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice
What CAS zone is Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice is in Zone 3 of Medicine, and in Zone 3 of the minor category Integrative & Complementary Medicine. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 2 of Medicine. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 3.31; CiteScore 6.7, h-index 89.
How long does peer review take at Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice?
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 161 days (interquartile range 91–253 days). 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 Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: ≤ 250 words; Keywords: ≥ 1; Reference style: Numbered, in order of citation; Highlights: 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 Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice based?
Of the 40 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 4 (about 10%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United Kingdom (23), Australia (7) and Mainland China (4). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice is indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Is Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice open access, and what is the APC?
Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 3,530.
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 2026-08-25). Last updated: .