AUTHOR STATEMENT OF ETHICS POLICY

The International Journal of Counseling and Psychotherapy (IJCP) is committed to upholding the highest standards of publication ethics and academic integrity. To maintain transparency, accountability, and ethical research conduct, all authors submitting manuscripts to IJCP are required to adhere strictly to the eight (8) core ethical principles outlined below. Furthermore, the Corresponding Author must complete, sign, and upload the official Author Statement of Ethics Form on behalf of all co-authors during the manuscript submission process.

Core Ethical Guidelines for Authors
1. Originality
Authors must guarantee that the submitted manuscript is an original work. The manuscript must not have been previously published in any language or format (in whole or in part) and must not be under consideration for publication by any other journal or media platform.
2. Plagiarism & Data Integrity
Manuscripts must be strictly free from all forms of academic misconduct, including plagiarism, data fabrication, and data falsification. All sources, literature, data, and methodologies used in the research must be accurately cited and referenced in accordance with standard academic guidelines.
3. Authorship Agreement
All listed authors must meet the criteria for authorship as defined by ICMJE and COPE by making significant intellectual contributions to the study's design, execution, or interpretation. The Corresponding Author confirms that all co-authors have thoroughly reviewed, agreed upon, and explicitly approved the final version of the manuscript prior to submission.
4. Ethical Compliance
For studies involving human participants (e.g., psychological assessments, interviews, counseling interventions) or animal subjects, the research must be conducted in strict accordance with applicable ethical regulations and guidelines. Authors must obtain prior ethical clearance from an authorized Ethics Committee or Institutional Review Board (IRB) where required.
5. Conflict of Interest & Funding Disclosure
Authors must transparently disclose any potential financial, personal, or institutional conflicts of interest that could be perceived as inappropriately influencing their research or interpretation. Additionally, all sources of research funding, grants, or sponsorship must be explicitly declared.
6. Data Sharing
Authors must agree to adhere to IJCP’s Data Availability Policy. Authors are expected to make their research data available upon reasonable request or deposit it in an accessible repository to support scientific transparency.
7. Responsible Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Generative AI tools and Large Language Models (LLMs) cannot be credited as authors or co-authors, as they lack legal and ethical accountability. Any use of AI tools in manuscript drafting, data processing, or graphic creation must be transparently disclosed within the manuscript.
8. Policy Agreement & Sanctions
Authors acknowledge and accept that any breach of publication ethics may result in editorial sanctions in accordance with COPE guidelines. Such measures may include immediate manuscript rejection, formal article retraction, and official notification to the authors' home institutions or funding agencies.

Official Declaration Form Download
To access, download, and sign the official declaration form containing these eight requirements, please visit the following link:

Author Statement of Ethics Form

Note for Authors: The completed and signed form must be uploaded as a Supplementary File during the OJS submission process. Submissions lacking this form will not proceed to peer review.