RESEARCH ETHICS AND INFORMED CONSENT POLICY

International Journal of Counseling and Psychotherapy (IJCP) upholds the highest ethical standards in scholarly publishing. Authors must ensure that all research involving human participants, clinical case studies, or identifiable personal data is conducted ethically, responsibly, and in full compliance with relevant institutional or national regulations.
All submitted manuscripts must include clear statements regarding ethical approval and informed consent in a dedicated section before the reference list. Manuscripts may be rejected if the Editor considers that the research has not been carried out within an appropriate ethical framework.
IJCP statements and actions regarding Research Ethics and Informed Consent Policy are based on the following policies:

General Principles of Informed Consent
Authors must ensure that all study participants are fully informed about the nature, purpose, and potential risks or benefits of the research. Participants should provide their voluntary, written consent before inclusion in the study. This consent must be documented and retained safely by the authors.
When participants cannot provide written consent (e.g., due to specific literacy, safety, or cultural reasons), the authors must explicitly explain the process for obtaining oral or alternative forms of consent within the manuscript and justify it. IJCP reserves the right to request a masked review of the consent protocols during the evaluation process to verify compliance.

Specific Requirements and Sample Statements
1. Human Subjects (Experimental or Clinical Studies)
Research involving active human participants must be reviewed and approved by an accredited Institutional Review Board (IRB) or Research Ethics Committee prior to the start of the study.
   Sample Statement: “The study involving human participants was reviewed and approved by the Ethics Committee of ABC University (Approval No. XYZ). Written informed consent to participate in this study was provided by the participants or their legal guardians.”

2. Surveys, Qualitative Interviews, or Observational Studies
For surveys, online questionnaires, qualitative interviews, or observational studies, authors must confirm that participants gave their voluntary informed consent, understood their rights, and knew they could withdraw at any stage without penalty.
   Sample Statement: “All procedures performed in this study involving human participants were conducted in accordance with the ethical standards of the Institutional Research Committee and the Declaration of Helsinki. Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants prior to data collection. Participation was entirely voluntary, and participants reserved the right to withdraw at any stage.”

3. Clinical Case Studies and Identifiable Human Data
Due to the highly sensitive nature of counseling and psychotherapy records, when research involves clinical case histories or identifiable personal data, explicit Informed Consent to Publish must be obtained in addition to the consent to participate. The anonymity and confidentiality of clients/patients must be rigorously protected.
   Sample Statement: “The research involving the use of clinical data/case history was approved by the Institutional Review Board of ABC University (Approval No. XYZ). Explicit written informed consent to publish the clinical details and anonymized case profiles was obtained from all participants. All identifiable personal information has been omitted to ensure confidentiality.”

4. Research Involving Cell Lines or Non-identifiable Secondary Data
If the research utilizes pre-existing cell lines, fully de-identified biological samples, or secondary datasets, authors must confirm that these materials were sourced ethically and comply with the terms of the original ethics clearance.
   Sample Statement: “The non-identifiable human data/samples used in this study were sourced ethically, and their research use was in compliance with the terms of the original ethics approval of the Ethics Committee of ABC University (Approval No. XYZ).”

5. Ethics Committee Approval Exemptions
If a study is officially deemed exempt from ethical review (e.g., secondary analysis of fully anonymized public datasets, systemic reviews, or meta-analyses), authors must state the grounds for exemption and name the committee that granted it.
   Sample Statement: “Ethical review and approval were waived for this study by the Ethics Committee of ABC University because the research relied entirely on secondary analysis of fully anonymized and publicly available data.”

Editorial and Institutional Policies
1. Retrospective Ethics Approval
Ethics committee approval must be obtained before the research commences. Retrospective ethics approval is generally not accepted by IJCP, and manuscripts lacking prior approval may be rejected without peer review. The final decision to proceed in exceptional circumstances rests solely at the Editor's discretion.

2. New Clinical Tools, Interventions, and Procedures
Authors reporting the use or evaluation of a new therapeutic tool, intervention, or procedure in a clinical setting (e.g., as a technical advance or clinical case report) must provide a clear justification in the manuscript explaining why the new method was deemed more appropriate than standard clinical practice to meet the patient’s clinical need.
Authors are required to have obtained formal institutional/ethics committee approval and explicit informed patient consent for any experimental use of a novel procedure or tool where a clear advantage was not established prior to treatment.

3. Vulnerable Participants
For research involving vulnerable groups common in counseling contexts (e.g., children under 16, individuals with severe cognitive impairments, or trauma survivors), informed consent must be obtained from a parent or legal guardian alongside the assent of the participant wherever possible.