The long and illustrious history of the Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association (JAPA) began in 1953, when The American decided to publish the official proceedings of conferences along with psychoanalytic papers. JAPA's mission with respect to scientific papers was expressed by Robert Knight, then president of The American: “to select the best contributions of psychoanalysis the editor and the editorial board can find among submitted and solicit articles.”
Although the membership of The American was around 500 at the time of JAPA's founding, the journal was launched with some 1,400 subscriptions. By 1959 the circulation had reached 2,600, and by 1965 it approached 4,000. We now have roughly 6,500 subscribers, of whom 2,200 are members of The American. It should be noted, regrettably, that some 700 members of The American do not subscribe to the journal.
JAPA's first editor was John Frosch. During his twenty-year tenure, Frosch and his associate editor, Nathaniel Ross (who began the journal's book section in 1954) shaped JAPA into the distinguished publication it has become. Their standards were ably maintained by Harold Blum, who became editor in 1973, and Theodore Shapiro, who replaced Blum in 1983.
A number of important developments took place during Blum's editorship: Three book-length supplements were published, circulation reached 7,400, anthologies of JAPA articles were published in a number of languages, and the book section was expanded. Finally, a generous endowment from the Mark and Aviva Kanzer Fund made it possible for JAPA to sponsor several prizes and to make gifts of the journal to several libraries.
JAPA's subsequent editor, Theodore Shapiro, stressed the importance of making available to analysts “the new observations and advances within and outside of psychoanalysis and other sciences,” clearly incorporating a call for papers from humanists and scientists outside the field. During Shapiro's tenure JAPA published three supplements, including one on psychoanalytic research that represented a fine embodiment of his credo.
I became editor in 1994, JAPA's fortieth anniversary. During those forty years the climate of psychoanalytic journal publishing dramatically changed. In 1954, when the journal was launched, John Frosch could note that JAPA would be competing with only three other journals: Psychoanalytic Review, International Journal of Psychoanalysis, and The Psychoanalytic Quarterly. Now, of course, we have a plethora of journals. Long-standing journals like the Quarterly, the International, and Psychoanalytic Study of the Child remain important reference works for our members. But newer journals—Psychoanalysis and Contemporary Thought, Psychoanalytic Inquiry, Psychoanalytic Psychology, Psychoanalytic Dialogues, and The Journal of Clinical Psychoanalysis—command significant attention. My main mission as editor is to see to it that JAPA maintains its preeminence as a peer-reviewed psychoanalytic journal in this pluralistic journal environment.
Intent on maximizing JAPA's relevance to a wide psychoanalytic readership, I have sought to broaden the journal in its administrative and editorial operations and to broaden the scope of material submitted for publication. Last year, the number of editorial board associates—younger members of unusual scholarly and editorial promise—was increased from two to four members.
At the annual meeting in May, Robert Caper, a member of the California Center for Psychoanalysis, was elected to the editorial board along with Peggy Hutson, Arnold Rothstein, Nancy Kulish, Norman Doidge, and Arnold Wilson. Six members of the editorial board are elected every year for a three-year term from a slate of twelve nominated by the editorial board. We welcome suggestions for nominees to the editorial board and for outside readers from the membership.
An important change in the review process instituted in 1994 is consistent with the scholarly integrity of the journal. I refer to the blind submission of reviews, whereby every reasonable effort is made to remove identifying information from submitted articles. Despite the fact that absolute anonymity is impossible—the author of a paper can often be inferred from the content of the paper, writing style, or reference fist—the editorial board is committed to maintaining author anonymity of submissions. We believe it is very important to maintain a review process that provides prospective contributors with every assurance that their submissions will be considered strictly on the basis of merit.
The majority of JAPA submissions are from members of The American, although there has been a significant increase in submissions from members of non-American institutes of the IPA, here and abroad, over the past few years. Each paper submitted to JAPA is read by three reviewers, usually two members of the editorial board and one outside reader. Reviewers are anonymous to each other; each reviewer and the author receive copies of all reviews. The system works well, although the process itself is subject to continuing review and will be discussed in depth at the next editorial board meeting this December.
Approximately 25 percent of submitted papers are accepted for publication, although papers are rarely accepted on first submission without suggestions for revision. The Board feels strongly that the review process is not a pass or fail exercise, but an opportunity for scholarly dialogue among reviewers, editors, and authors that leads to strengthened papers, whether or not they are accepted. It is central to the process that papers are judged only on the basis of scholarly content, not on the basis of whether the author's point of view is in accord with that of the reviewers. Of course, final judgment about how well this process works rests with the readers of each issue.
The current associate editor of the book section, Glen Gabbard, receives many books each month from a variety of publishers.
Owing to a current backlog of book reviews, JAPA can only select some forty-eight books per year for review. This means that many worthwhile books must be passed over due to space constraints.
As a partial remedy for this problem, we have inaugurated a “Briefly Noted” feature in the book section in which books will be discussed in a paragraph or two by editorial board members.
In selecting book reviewers, JAPA casts a broad net, calling on members and nonmembers here and abroad and attempting to match areas of interest and expertise with the content of specific books. Gabbard welcomes suggestions of reviewers and books.
JAPA depends on the work of a large number of people: the editor and associate editors, the administrative board, the thirty-member editorial board, two hundred writers and more than a hundred outside readers each year. It is my hope, shared by the associate editors and the editorial board, that the publication reflects the commitment and dedication that go into its production.