Open Peer Review Policy

Transparent Post-Publication Open Peer Review Policy

Mental Health Open adopts an open and collaborative post-publication peer review model, ensuring transparency, constructive feedback, and academic integrity throughout the publication process. By embracing open peer review, Mental Health Open fosters collaborative knowledge-building, constructive critique, and ethical publishing practices.

Core Principles of Open Peer Review:

Reviewer Identity Disclosure – The names and affiliations of reviewers are openly available, fostering accountability and credibility.

Publicly Accessible Review Reports – Evaluations and comments from reviewers are published alongside the article, enabling open scholarly discussions.

Post-Publication Review Process – Articles undergo peer review after publication, allowing for rapid dissemination while maintaining rigorous evaluation.

Interactive Author-Reviewer Dialogue – Authors can engage with reviewers, respond to feedback, and refine their work based on constructive suggestions.

Approval Status System – Articles receive one of five designations:

  • Accept – Minor or no revisions required.

  • Revision Required – The article is valuable but requires specific modifications before full approval.

  • Resubmit for Review – Significant improvements are needed before the article meets publication standards.

  • Decline - Article must be entirely rewritten as it does not meet standards.

  • Resubmit Elsewhere - The article does not correspond to the journal's area, and authors should consider submitting it to other journals.

Workflow, Revision & Reassessment Process

After the article's submission, technical check, and copyediting, the article is immediately published on the Journal's website (with the assigned Volume and Issue; DOI assignment will be done after the Journal has an ISSN, and this will happen after the first whole issue is published). It will be accompanied by the subtitle {under peer review} and will not have a PDF version, only HTML. Also, it will be indexed in Google Scholar. 

Authors are encouraged to refine their articles based on the feedback from reviewers. Revised versions undergo re-evaluation by the original reviewers, who update their assessments. All versions and peer review reports remain publicly accessible, ensuring transparency in the review history.

After the peer review, if accepted, the article will be accompanied by the subtitle {peer reviewed} and have a PDF version. 

To be accepted, a minimum of 2 of the 3 reviewers must mark the article as Accepted. If the article is declined by 2 of the 3 reviewers, it will be deleted from the Journal's website. However, authors can submit it again after thorough revision. 

Several types of publications will not be submitted to peer review, and will be reviewed only by Editors—namely, Editorial, Open Letters, and Lived Experience Insights. However, all are welcome to register on the journal's website as a Reviewer and send the request to the Editor to be a peer reviewer for all types of published text.