Call for Papers: Special issue of Japanese Psychological Research "Innovations in Clinical Psychological Science in the Era of Complexity: High-Definition Mental Health Care Through Digital-Human Integration" Edited by Jun Kashihara, Masaya Ito, and Yoshihiko Kunisato

Publication:

JPR Vol.67, No.1 (January 15, 2025)

Deadline for abstract submission:

August 31, 2023

Deadline for full paper submission:

January 31, 2024

Submission:

https://jpa.iap-jp.org/jpr/

Mental disorders are complex and heterogeneous. Complex patterns of symptoms differ from person to person and cannot be easily classified into predefined diagnostic categories. Psychological distress involves various dimensions (e.g., affect, cognition, behavior) and levels (e.g., biophysiological, sociocultural), all of which contribute to the complexity of mental disorders that cannot be captured only by traditional conceptualizations (e.g., diagnostic systems such as DSM) and methodologies (e.g., questionnaire-based measures, latent variable modeling) in psychology.

Recent clinical psychological science has rapidly applied perspectives and methodologies originally developed in other disciplines to address such complexities. Examples include a) network psychometrics to capture complex interactions between symptoms, b) natural language processing of text-based dialogue stored in clinical sessions, and c) acoustic analyses of verbal data to detect signs of mental disorders. Moreover, digital devices and smart sensing technologies have enabled researchers to collect high-definition and multimodal therapy data. Innovative frameworks and approaches for mental health care, such as process-based therapy and just-in-time adaptive interventions, have emerged to implement these advanced methodologies.

This special issue aims to showcase papers that accelerate such innovations in clinical psychological science in the era of complexity. We welcome papers addressing not only the topics mentioned above but also related issues. We hope that this collection becomes a stepping stone for researchers, clinicians, and patients to join the discussion of high-definition mental health care through digital-human integration.

We welcome both review and empirical research papers. Review papers can be short (approx. 3,000 words). Empirical research papers do not necessarily need to include clinical samples as long as clinical implications are clearly and logically stated.

Although the journal is named Japanese Psychological Research, we welcome authors from all over the world. The papers do not necessarily need to consider Japanese contexts or include cross-cultural comparisons. Rather, authors are encouraged to draw conclusions that are potentially applicable across diverse cultural contexts.

We are also open to inquiries before the abstract submission. To obtain additional information regarding the editors’ backgrounds and vision, please visit our website (https://uhd-mental-health-care.jp/en/).