Journal profile · PSYCHOLOGY, APPLIED
Journal of Spirituality in Mental Health
ISSN 1934-9637 · eISSN 1934-9645 · Taylor & Francis
Journal of Spirituality in Mental Health: CAS Zone 4 · Psychology (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 1 (journal website); hybrid open access; APC charged, amount not published; review about 34 days (first decision after review, publisher); acceptance rate 8% (journal website); 31 articles in 2025; indexed in ESCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Journal of Spirituality in Mental Health 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 Religion, Spirituality, and Psychology, Grief, Bereavement, and Mental Health and Mindfulness and Compassion Interventions, together about 47% of its articles. Its main subfields are Clinical Psychology and Sociology and Political Science. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
The Journal of Spirituality in Mental Health is an interdisciplinary professional journal (retitled from American Journal of Pastoral Counseling to better reflect its broader scope) that is devoted to the scholarly study of spirituality as a resource for counseling and psychotherapeutic disciplines. This peer-reviewed quarterly journal seeks to enhance the understanding of spirituality as a core component of human well-being in individual, relational, and communal life. Leading authorities provide insights into research and effective therapy in an interdisciplinary dialog that crosses the disciplines of psychology, spirituality, theology, sociology, cultural analysis, and other fields. The Journal of Spirituality in Mental Health is a crucial forum that provides deeper insight into human meaning-making within therapeutic and growth-fostering activity. The primary spiritual experience is explored as it occurs either for practitioners or clients, with an examination of therapeutic meanings. Expert contributors explore the impact of cultural life patterns within issues of race and gender, ethnicity, sexuality, and relational structures as they contribute to both human wholeness, and to its loss and therapeutic recovery. This journal is challenging, inspirational, and superbly beneficial to all who desire perspectives and ideas extending beyond their own scope and field of focus. Peer Review Policy: All research articles in the Journal have undergone peer review based on initial editor screening, and anonymous refereeing by at least two anonymous double-anonymized referees.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): PSYCHOLOGY, APPLIED
Editor-in-chief William S. SchmidtPublisher website
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Religion, Spirituality, and PsychologySocial Sciences32.5%
- Grief, Bereavement, and Mental HealthPsychology9.5%
- Mindfulness and Compassion InterventionsPsychology5%
- Psychological Well-being and Life SatisfactionPsychology4.4%
- Workplace Spirituality and LeadershipSocial Sciences3.6%
- Religion and Society InteractionsSocial Sciences3.5%
- Counseling, Therapy, and Family DynamicsPsychology3.5%
- Theological Perspectives and PracticesSocial Sciences3.3%
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)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
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
ESCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
PsycINFOCINAHLPublisher website
Other: EBSCOhost Online Research Databases, Family Index Database, H.W. Wilson, Index Copernicus, Pastoral Abstracts, Social Work 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 (publisher) 2025
- 1Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 1.3Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 2.6LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 2.6Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.41LetPub ·
- SJR (publisher) 2025
- 0.41Publisher website ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.76LetPub ·
- SNIP (publisher) 2025
- 0.76Publisher website ·
- h-index
- 28OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 121OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 1.32OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 10%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 12.2%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 27LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher)
- 72,000Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 467 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 16 | 3 | 1 |
| 2025 | 31 | 5 | 33 |
| 2024 | 27 | 5 | 64 |
| 2023 | 32 | 8 | 143 |
| 2022 | 23 | 4 | 118 |
| 2021 | 11 | 2 | 83 |
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
Publisher-reported review time from the journal's website
34 daysfirst decision after review
The publisher's own definition applies; dates from this journal's articles in the last 24 months are not available yet, so the publisher's figure is used.
Figures by source
- Acceptance rate (publisher)
- 8%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 6 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 34 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Publisher website | Yes, amount not published | — | — |
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)
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteOpen access, Peer review
- Open access Open access
Journal of Spirituality in Mental Health 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 di…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review
Peer review: initial editor screening plus anonymous refereeing by at least two double-anonymized referees. Model summary
All research articles in the Journal have undergone peer review based on initial editor screening, and anonymous refereeing by at least two anonymous double-anonymized referees.
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
- 1934-9637
- Electronic ISSN
- 1934-9645
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 28, Issue 3 (2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Journal of Spirituality in Mental Health
What CAS zone is Journal of Spirituality in Mental Health in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Journal of Spirituality in Mental Health 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 Journal of Spirituality in Mental Health?
The journal's website gives an impact factor of 1 (2025); this is the journal's own figure, as LetPub lists none for it; CiteScore 2.6, h-index 28.
How long does peer review take at Journal of Spirituality in Mental Health?
The publisher reports about 34 days (first decision after review); the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 8%. 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.
Which databases index Journal of Spirituality in Mental Health?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Journal of Spirituality in Mental Health is indexed in ESCI and Scopus. The journal's website also lists PsycINFO and CINAHL; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Journal of Spirituality in Mental Health open access, and what is the APC?
Journal of Spirituality in Mental Health is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC charged, amount not published.
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: .