Scientists conducting research in the field of LGBTQ+ Mental Health, like scientists in any other field, have the option of submitting their work to a more specialized or a more general interest journal (Panter, Citationn.d.). The Journal of Gay and Lesbian Mental Health (JGLMH) is one of five journals regularly cited in LGBTQ+ mental health research that is thus specialized.
Of these journals, all are related to specific professional disciplines (psychiatry, psychology, family therapy, social work, counselling), though generally publish work from multiple disciplines. Four of the five, including JGLMH, originated with the late Bill Cohen’s pioneering Haworth Press (Lambda, Citation2019). JGLMH is the oldest of these journals, having first published in 1989 as Haworth’s The Journal of Gay and Lesbian Psychotherapy and now in its 25th volume.
Specialized journals play a key role in an area of study by allowing scientists to communicate specifically with others interested in the same field. As the field grows, these specialized journals take on greater prominence. JGLMH has been fortunate to see tremendous growth in its manuscript submission rate in the past year, and this has been especially gratifying considering the many options that scientists in our field have. In addition to the five journals explicitly addressing our topic, journals that address sexual orientation and gender studies more broadly sometimes publish on LGBTQ+ mental health and journals that publish on mental health more broadly will sometimes publish on LGBTQ+ mental health.
Often the decision to submit to a broad-focus journal is about increasing the audience for the findings, but it is worth considering that now with the increased platform of the digital publishing universe this may be less of a consideration.
As JGLMH’s profile within the field grows, we are considering how we best position our journal to advance the field. Please look forward to more commentaries and reviews that address important topics in the field and contribute to knowledge translation from research to clinical practice. We are interested in your feedback on this issue, so please send informal comments or formal Letters to the Editor to [email protected].
References
- Lambda, L. (2019). Noted publisher and editor Bill Cohen has died. [Website Post December 14, 2019]. Retrieved from: https://www.lambdaliterary.org/2019/12/noted-publisher-and-editor-bill-cohen-has-died/
- Panter, M. ( n.d.) How to choose between general and specialized journals. [Blog post]. AJE Scholar. Retrieved from: https://www.aje.com/arc/how-choose-between-general-and-specialized-journals/
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