Editorial winter 2018

Dear Readers,

In this issue we have a rich tapestry of interesting articles and book reviews. We have decided to include three reviews due to the lack of a review in the recent special issue on eros, gender and sexuality.

Firstly though, we would like to point out to authors considering submitting articles for peer review in any journal the following information.

Submitting works for publication: what constitutes good conduct on the part of an author?

As Editors responsible for a journal that publishes work representing the best of research, opinion and practice in fields of body, movement and dance in psychotherapy, we have collaborated with the Editor-in-Chief of the Arts in Psychotherapy (Elsiver), Jane Edwards, to jointly produce the following information for authors to be published in each of the editorials for our respective journals this winter.

We come to this editorial aware that many of us in senior researcher roles across these fields know each other, and have collaborated over a long period of time. Many people, likely to read this editorial, teach and train students in one or more of the disciplines; including doctoral students. Students are also a key audience for our publications.

This editorial considers a challenge for editors in navigating the process towards publication with authors. We refer to one clear difficulty which is the withdrawal of manuscripts after either full or tacit acceptance of the article for publication. We note that the Committee on Publishing Ethics has dealt with multiple cases of such behaviour. While considered deplorable the committee urges an educational rather than punitive approach. See: https://publicationethics.org/case/unethical-withdrawal-after-acceptance-maximize-impact-factor. We note concerns that graduate students may be encouraged to engage in this behaviour to raise the impact of their work.

Recently, we had the experience where an article had progressed through review, nearly to publication in one of our journals, then was withdrawn by the author, submitted to the other journal, and published. It was only after publication that we were able to confer and realise what had happened.

We urge our colleagues not to engage in this practice. Our journal resources are minimal, and based in large part on good will. Reviewers spend time and effort on articles, as do editors and the journal technical staff with the expectation that the article, if accepted, will be published in the journal. There is a great cost to each journal in progressing an article. When one journal has more or less accepted the article, withdrawing it and submitting it elsewhere shows a lack of judgement by authors with regards to good practice in publication of research.

We also remind all authors, especially those new to publishing, that only one version of the article should be under review at any one time. Multiple submissions of the same article is not permitted. At the same time, it is good practice on rejection to resubmit elsewhere. This is to be encouraged, especially as we are aware that women tend to resubmit less frequently than men (Meredith, 2013).

Publishers have multiple contemporary challenges including the rise of predatory journals (Clark & Smith, 2015), the need to be vigilant around confirming author identity and the veracity of manuscripts (Van Noorden, 2014), and the increase in borderline practices by universities in achieving high value metrics from academic work (Edwards & Roy, 2017). From our perspective as Editors-in-Chief, what we do not need to contend with is authors who use the resources of one journal to build a manuscript’s quality for submission to another journal. To claim that the fit is not right between the journal and the article after advice that it is ‘nearly there’ is not optimal use of our precious resources. Our sage editorial advice is to avoid this whether at a more senior level or seeking first opportunities for publication. If you hear of this practice, are advised of this practice as a strategy, or are tempted to try it yourself we caution to take stock of the potential reputational risk of being seen as engaging in unacceptable and unprofessional conduct.

Moving on now, drawing your attention to the articles in this issue, we are delighted to present several interesting and thought-proving papers. The first is from Tony Buckley, Marko Punkanen and Pat Ogden entitled ‘The role of the body in fostering resilience: A sensorimotor psychotherapy perspective’. The authors see resilience as “one’s ability to recuperate quickly “ (p.2) from distress and the importance of building this capacity in clients in the body psychotherapy, sensorimotor psychotherapy. They regard the core of resilience as being able to predict future painful or pleasurable events, which gives the possibility of flexible responses in daily life. They discuss relevant findings from attachment theories and neuroscience underpinning their work, which emphasises ‘Embedded Relational Mindfulness’ and they provide two examples of simple awareness practices to develop somatic resources. Their work addresses those with dysregulated autonomic nervous system responses, insecure early attachments, and those who have not recovered from traumatic incidents. Key themes discussed are grounding, boundaries, and self-compassion through self-touch. By working somatically with clients, these develop more integration, more capacity for auto and interactive regulation, and movement potential. This changes old habitual patterns of relating and leads to more confidence, pleasure, and joy.

Secondly, we have an article from Tina Bellemans, Robert Didden, Rosanne Visser, Dilana Schaafsma, Vasiliki Totsika and Jooske van Busschbach, ‘Psychomotor therapy for anger and aggression in mild intellectual disability or borderline intellectual functioning: An intervention mapping approach’ which highlights the lack of standardised programmes in this area based on evidenced based research. Their research took place in the Netherlands and involved interviewing 17 participants who described how they work with those with anger regulation difficulties and were mildly intellectually impaired. They used Intervention Mapping (IM), a 6-stage process, which they found to be a valuable mapping tool. They found a general consensus that Adaptive Coping Skills (ADS) and Interoceptive Awareness (IA) within Psychomotor Therapy (PMT) increased the capacity to manage anger and change aggressive behaviours with those with mild intellectual functioning. They found that those therapists using (ADS) had more coherence in their theoretical approach and methods of evaluation compared with those using IA. They highlight gaps in the theoretical base and evaluation of IA, in particular, and call for further investigation. They suggest future investigation of ADS, IA, and anger to further develop the evidence based of PMT.

Next, there is an article from Ailsa Shaw Parsons and Linda Dubrow-Marshall entitled ‘’Putting themselves out there’ into the unknown: Dance movement psychotherapy as perceived by five educators and three pupils” which forms one of the new researcher awards submissions for 2017. In their article they examine how an education setting views dance movement psychotherapy. The authors conducted semi-structured interviews with pupils ‘pupil-clients’ and school staff ‘educators’, which were then analysed using constructivist grounded theory. The study highlighted two polarised themes, which were both enabling and challenging. These were constraints, normative inhibitions and expectations, on the one hand, and, on the other hand, themes of empowerment, novel perceptions and awareness. The results shine light on the inherent dynamics of providing dance movement psychotherapy (DMP) in a school environment and of the tensions between DMP and the culture of a school. There was, for example, a tension between the aims, objectives, and procedures of the school day and those of creative endeavour in DMP. The study makes transparent some of the likely tensions for DMPs working within the school environment and this forewarns those involved of both potential difficulties and benefits and makes the discussion of some of the likely tensions possible.

The book reviews are of ‘Attention, balance and coordination: The A.B.C. of learning success’ by Sally Goddard Blythe; ‘Essentials of dance movement psychotherapy: International perspectives on theory, research and practice’ edited by Helen Payne and ‘The Oxford handbook of dance and wellbeing’.

Finally, we are pleased to announce our forthcoming call for the New Researcher Award. This is open to any early-career researcher or student in a relevant discipline. Please see below for the call.

Body, Movement and Dance in Psychotherapy is the only international peer-reviewed journal focusing on the role of the body in its relationship with the mind in psychotherapy. It combines two close but distinctly different fields in inter and intra – disciplinary dialogue, namely Dance Movement Psychotherapy and Body Psychotherapy. It publishes high quality research, theory and evidence-based clinical practice that follow the development of a wide range of methodologies, as well as new theoretical insights into the field of dance movement psychotherapy and body psychotherapy.

Research in this area is a developing field in an emerging discipline. Work carried out by new researchers is part of this process. Let your colleagues share your research results and let your contribution to the evolution of our work be better known. The Editorial Board of Body, Movement and Dance in Psychotherapy (BMDP) encourages new researchers in the fields of dance movement psychotherapy, body psychotherapy, somatic psychology and related fields to submit a paper for the 2018 BMDP New Researcher Award.

We are currently looking for submissions that demonstrate the following features in describing an aspect of research:

• Clarity of research aims and research question

• Use of methods appropriate to the research question and in a way that meets those standards and guidelines adopted by the journal

• Exploration of the relevant theoretical framework(s)

• Appropriate conclusions

• Contribution to knowledge

• Implications for dance movement psychotherapy and body psychotherapy practice

Submissions are invited from current full-time or part-time registered students, or those who have graduated in the last 24 months. Submissions may be co-authored, (e.g. with a research supervisor), but the first author must be a new researcher and must include, with their submission, a statement that confirms the research to be their own and that the paper primarily represents their own writing. The paper must not exceed 6000 words (including references). An abstract of no more than 150 words should accompany your submission. Up to 6 keywords that capture the key aspects of your study should be placed below the abstract.

The paper should follow the academic conventions of BMDP, e.g., referencing styles, publishing guidelines for qualitative research, etc. Instructions for Authors must be adhered to. Visit the BMDP website for details: www.tandf.co.uk/journals/bmdp. Follow the links for ‘Instructions for Authors’.

Studies involving quantitative and/or qualitative research methods are equally welcomed. Regardless of the method used, there should be empirical content. That is, the submission should be about a study where data has been collected and analysis has been completed. This is not to say that the research project needs to have been completed in its entirety.

Balance between reflexivity and presentation of the empirical findings of the study is required. Whilst you need to adopt a reflexive position (where you reflect on yourself as the researcher in relation to your study), you need to ensure that your data is/are presented adequately, the analysis of them is described clearly, and their meaning is discussed.

The paper should be complete in and of itself. The submission of chapters from dissertations and theses where the focus of the chapter is detached from the study as a whole is not acceptable.

Submissions for the 2018 BMDP New Researcher Award can also be made by having an article accepted for publication in BMDP. The accepted article must be your first published piece of research in any journal (you will be asked to verify this at submission), and all papers will be subject to usual BMDP peer review procedures.

Submissions should be made through the journal’s online ScholarOne Manuscripts site: http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/tbmd by 5.00pm on Friday 21 December 2018.

The winning entry will receive one year’s free online subscription post qualification to the journal and £150 worth of books on publication of the article.

For further enquiries, please email [email protected].

We hope you enjoy this issue,

Helen Payne and Gill Westland (editors)

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.