People come to Psychology.com at hard moments, often looking for words to make sense of what they or someone they love is going through. That deserves care. Here is exactly how every page on this site is made, and how to read the labels you will see at the top of our content.
How a page is made
Every guide moves through the same four steps before it goes live.
- Written by experienced writers. Our content is written by people who know how to explain mental health clearly and compassionately, in plain language that respects the reader.
- Built to documented standards. Each subject area has a written editorial standard that defines how a topic should be covered: what to include, which claims need a citation, the tone to use, and the lines we will not cross.
- Checked for accuracy. Before a page is published, an automated accuracy check compares its factual claims against an approved source list. Anything that cannot be matched to an approved source is flagged for a human to resolve.
- Reviewed and overseen by a board expert. Each subject area has a credentialed Editorial Board member who is the named reviewer responsible for it and who oversees the content on an ongoing basis.
Our Editorial Board, explained honestly
We want to be straight with you about how expert oversight works here, because we think the honesty is the point.
Each subject area is assigned to a credentialed member of our Editorial Board, a PhD or PsyD, or an equivalently licensed expert, with relevant training. That board member is the named reviewer responsible for the pages in their area. Their name, credentials, and the scope of their role are public on their reviewer profile.
The board member oversees their section on an ongoing basis: they read the pages, flag corrections, add clinical nuance, and refine the content over time. An automated accuracy check runs on every page first, so their attention goes to judgment and nuance rather than catching typos.
The label you will see
At the top of our content you will see the expert responsible for that section, in this form:
“Clinical review by Dr. X, PhD, Psychology.com Editorial Board”
A credentialed member of our Editorial Board is the named reviewer responsible for this page and the section it belongs to, and oversees it on an ongoing basis. Where that expert has personally completed a review of a specific page, we also mark it “Reviewed” with the date.
We keep this accurate. The byline reflects who is responsible for the section, and the dated “Reviewed” note reflects when a specific page was personally checked. We will not claim a personal review that did not happen.
Our sourcing standard
Claims about mental health should rest on solid ground. Our approved source list is built from:
- Peer-reviewed research. Studies and reviews published in reputable scientific and medical journals.
- Government and public health data. Authorities such as the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), the CDC, and other .gov health sources.
- Professional bodies. Organizations like the American Psychological Association and the American Psychiatric Association, plus established clinical references such as the Mayo Clinic and the NHS.
When a factual claim cannot be tied to a source on that list, it does not ship until a person resolves it.
Corrections
We get things wrong sometimes, and when we do we want to fix them quickly and openly. If you spot an error, email hello@psychology.com and tell us what looks off. We review every message, correct confirmed errors, and update the page. Where a change is significant, we note that the page was revised.