The following types of papers will be considered for publication:

Case reports provide a description of a medically unexpected outcome subsequent to Pentecostal or Charismatic healing practices, including both unforeseen improvements and adverse effects. Case reports should include sufficient medical documentation to identify the original diagnosis and prognosis, including critical consideration of any possible differential diagnoses, any biomedical and/or alternative interventions administered, as well as medical documentation of the outcome following the reported spiritual healing practice. Case report papers should provide a narrative of the time course of events, including any biomedical or alternative interventions, spiritual healing practices, patient experiences, and meanings ascribed by the patient and/or attending medical or spiritual healing practitioners. The manuscript must provide a careful consideration of the expected range of possible medical outcomes given the diagnoses and differential diagnoses and medical treatments administered, as well as a critical evaluation of how the actual outcome compares with the expected range of possible outcomes. In addition to novel cases, case reports may provide critical evidence-based analyses of previously published cases.  Case reports will generally not exceed 3000 words, though permission for a longer length may be granted at the editor’s discretion. Case reports should include an Abstract of 200 words or less, Keywords (3-5), an Introduction that presents the medical background of the case including relevant original medical records, a Methods section that describes both medical and spiritual healing practices administered to the patient, an Outcome section that describes the patient’s outcome including relevant original medical records, a Discussion section that critically evaluates the case and any limitations to the findings, and a short Conclusion regarding what can and cannot be learned or inferred from the case.

Clinical trials report the results of prospective trials of Pentecostal and/or Charismatic healing practices on clinical measures. Trials may be randomized controlled trials or trials in which the subjects serve as their own control at different time points, following accepted practices. Clinical trial manuscripts will generally not exceed 5000 words, though permission for a longer length may be granted at the editor’s discretion. Clinical trial manuscripts should include an Abstract of 200 words or less, Keywords (3-5), and be organized into the following sections: Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, and Conclusion.

Invited Reviews are commissioned by the editor and will provide a survey of existing work, synthesizing and analyzing available literature from case reports, clinical trials, and sociological and ethnographic studies. Potential authors are welcome to suggest review topics to the editor (editor@charismedica.org).

Commentaries are short communications that provide a novel or critical perspective on current reports or issues of interest to the field. These will generally not exceed 2000 words.