Psychoanalysis is about the sum-total of what it is to be human. So is TAP.  

The American Psychoanalyst (TAP) has been published by the American Psychoanalytic Association for over 50 years. In 2023, it underwent a makeover and a rebirth, much like psychoanalysis itself has done in the last decades. The field of psychoanalysis, founded by Sigmund Freud, started a revolution in psychology by introducing talk therapy and the notion of unconscious thoughts and feelings. The 21st century has witnessed an explosion of new evidence in support of 20th-century psychoanalytic ideas like defense mechanisms and the lasting influence of childhood attachments. The New York Times has called it a “Freudaissance”: people are returning to psychoanalytic thinking to explain the crazy behavior they see all around them and to understand themselves and seek out change. To meet and expand upon this rebirth of interest in the science of feelings and consciousness, TAP offers a psychoanalytic perspective on current events in psychology, the arts, and culture for mental health professionals, students, and the general public. TAP’s bold, human-interest stories contribute a powerful psychoanalytic voice to the national conversation around mental health. 

Guidelines for Authors

Thank you for your interest in submitting to The American Psychoanalyst. TAP is a print and digital magazine offering a psychoanalytic perspective on mental health, arts, culture, and current events. We believe that the tradition stemming from Freud has important insights to offer the contemporary moment, and we want to be an important part of spreading those insights to a popular as well as clinical audience. 

TAP accepts both pitches and full articles from writers of all backgrounds, including coauthors. We welcome reporting by journalists, personal memoirs that evoke psychoanalytic themes, discussions of the state of the mental health professions by clinicians, and historical and conceptual analysis by scholars. In all cases, we seek to produce engaging stories that address a broad audience including but going beyond the membership of the American Psychoanalytic Association. For a sense of our scope and style, browse our website at tapmagazine.org or our Substack account. 

Submission and editorial process:

  • TAP accepts articles of different lengths (roughly 500 to 3,000 words), ranging from short blog-style writing to long-form essays.

  • The text must be submitted in English in an editable Word document (not PDF). Please include a 40-word author bio to accompany your piece.

  • The text must be previously unpublished and entirely the author’s own work.

  • Any discussion of clinical work must anonymize patients. Authors must take all necessary measures to ensure that none of the individuals written about can be identified by any third party.

  • We do not accept poetry submissions.

  • Because TAP is not a scholarly journal, please briefly explain any historical figures or terminology that general readers may not be familiar with. We do not use scholarly footnotes and citations, although some articles may contain a “For Further Reading” section akin to a bibliography.

  • Accepted articles will be edited for style and content, in collaboration with the author. TAP’s house style, adapted from The Chicago Manual of Style, will be employed for consistency. 

  • Authors must review and respond to edits in a timely and flexible fashion. Feedback will be provided using the tracked changes and commenting features in Microsoft Word.

  • The finalized piece may appear online, in print, or both, depending on space and editorial needs.

  • We can offer modest payment to writers for longer stories.

Please submit your pitch or story to info@tapmag.org. 

Thanks again for contributing to the psychoanalytic conversation!

TAP: THE AMERICAN PSYCHOANALYST

Editor in Chief

Lucas McGranahan

Contributing Editor

Austin Ratner

Art Director

Austin Hughes

Design Director

Melissa Overton

THE AMERICAN PSYCHOANALYTIC ASSOCIATION

President

DANIEL W. PREZANT

President-Elect

BONNIE J. BUCHELE

Secretary

CAROLINE M. SEHON

Treasurer

JULIO G. CALDERON

Executive Director

THOMAS H. NEWMAN