Introducing Nature Mental Health: Putting Ideas into Practice

Sponsored by Springer Nature

Recorded on 10/19/2022
Posted in The Authority File

Episode 285

The forthcoming Nature Mental Health aims to build DEI principles into its editorial approach, thereby underpinning mental health as a human right. However, bringing these goals to fruition requires intentionality through inclusive initiatives and equitable publication practices—such as, global partnerships, lived experience advisory boards, and community-based recognition.

In the third episode of this four-part series, Chief Editor Dr. Rebecca “Bek” Cooney lays out how to put anti-racist and inclusive publishing ideals into practice. She highlights pledges as a solid jumping-off point, inviting transparency and accountability from readership. She also explains how publishers can ease the burden on contributors or reviewers through flexible deadlines and uncovering key pain points. Last, Bek discusses the shifting role of librarians as publishers face changes in data aggregation, content bundling, and open access policies.


About the guest:

Rebecca Cooney headshot

Rebecca Cooney, PhD
Chief Editor
Nature Mental Health

Rebecca “Bek” Cooney is the Chief Editor of Nature Mental Health. Before joining the Nature Group in 2022, she served as the North American Executive Editor of The Lancet and the Assistant Editor of The Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. She received her PhD in Psychology from Stanford University in 2007, where her work focused on the neural basis of mood and anxiety disorders and rumination in depression using fMRI. She subsequently trained as a postdoctoral fellow in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the New York State Psychiatric Institute/Columbia University, where she studied inhibitory function in obsessive-compulsive disorder. Her research interests include a broad range of topics in psychology and psychiatry, but particularly, mood disorders, clinical trials, and public health policy. Bek is based in the New York office.


Enjoy the conversation? Listen to the rest of the series:


Check out our previous series with Springer Nature:
– Artificial Intelligence in Medicine (AIM) & Ethics
– Practical Sustainability
– Ethics and Integrity in Educational Contexts
– The Path Toward Open Science
– Understanding and Implementing Cybersecurity


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