Farewell! thou art too dear for my possessing.
William Shakespeare
Sonnet lxxxvii
In this, my last editorial as Editor-in Chief of Acta Neuropsychiatrica I would like to review a number of the achievements of the Journal and thank the many friends and colleagues that over the past five years have made editing this Journal not only possible but a sheer pleasure.
I begin by thanking Lisbeth Cranfield and the publishers, Wiley-Blackwell, for showing confidence in me, and my abilities, and for allowing me free reign throughout this time to develop and implement new ideas and direct the Journal as I desired. In this undertaking I am especially indebted to Povl Munk-Jørgensen, the illustrious Editor of our sister journal, Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica. Throughout my time as Editor, Povl has provided expert guidance and assisted in determining a strategy for the Journal that has gradually steered Acta Neuropsychiatrica towards success. Personally, he has been a superb mentor and wonderful friend.
During the first six months under my editorship Acta Neuropsychiatrica underwent complete revision with new styling, presentation and content that culminated in a relaunch of the Journal at the beginning of 2007. Soon after, it moved to web-based submission and peer review and the capability for early online publication was introduced. All of this expedited the review process and facilitated the publication of research. This was reflected in a dramatic increase in quality submissions to the Journal. However, despite these necessary technological advances, retaining an Editorial Office allowed the Journal to maintain a personal touch, a fact that proved important with respect to forming an Editorial and Advisory Board. I extend a special thanks to the many that have served on these two boards during my tenure specifically, for providing advice and assisting with the journal in multiple capacities. I know that initially many had their arms gently twisted to commit to the Journal, but ultimately they did so willingly, at my request.
Working as part of this team has been enjoyable and fulfilling, and over the years this made the task both possible and worthwhile. Clearly, my role as Editor-In-Chief would not have been possible without the support of my editorial assistants in the Sydney-based Editorial Office namely, Kirsteen Moss and Kimberly Tufrey. In this context I am equally grateful to the Associate Editors that have shared the responsibilities of the Journal and supported me across its many facets, in particular Dr Pritha Das, Dr Andrew Kemp and Dr Seetal Dodd.
I am also thankful to my many friends and colleagues that have essentially functioned as sub-editors from time to time for example, Michael Berk, Garry Walter and Dusan Hadzi-Pavlovic. With their support and with regular contributions from Matcheri Keshavan, Chris Pantelis, Michael Robertson and Ute Vollmer-Conna the Journal was able to embark upon the introduction of Special Sections, such as my own favorite; Pictures and Prose. When I first proposed this novel idea it was regarded with some trepidation; however, because of their immediate popularity the Special Sections, in particular Statistically Speaking and Insight Interventions, soon became a regular feature. The publisher generously allowed these to be styled distinctively and it was decided that these types of articles that essentially provided education should not be subject to stringent peer review. Hence, sections such as Brain Bytes though often carrying references were published without undergoing a formal peer review process.
To generate a theme within the Journal the alliteration used to describe the Special Sections was also applied to other sections. This allowed the transformation of correspondence to the journal into Comment and Critique and the publication of book reviews within a new section termed Book Bash. The healthy and detailed correspondence from contributors to Acta Neuropsychiatrica, alongside the abundance of book reviews, is testament to the renewed vigour and interest these sections brought to the Journal.
Finally, I am thankful to the many authors that have submitted their papers to Acta Neuropsychiatrica whilst I have been Editor, and appreciate immensely the efforts of the many hundreds of reviewers that have selflessly dedicated their time to peer review and made publication of the Journal possible.
It is because of this collective effort that from a standstill start in 2006, Acta Neuropsychiatrica has achieved regular and timely publication for several years on a bimonthly basis. The quality of articles has steadily improved and this is reflected in its strengthening impact factor and broadening subscription base.
My successor, an accomplished researcher and fellow mentee of Povl, will therefore inherit a healthy and vibrant journal. I have no doubt that he will take Acta Neuropsychiatrica in a new direction and to new heights. I have given much of myself over the past five years to this Journal, and for this I thank my family who have allowed me this indulgence. However, I must add that I feel I have gained equally as it has been both a privilege and a joy to serve as Editor-in-Chief of Acta Neuropsychiatrica. In this role I have had to make many difficult decisions, but none more so than leaving the Journal. However, I do so without regret, partly because I will be able to continue to contribute to the publication and dissemination of science as the Editor of the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry. Farewell, one and all.
