Islamically Integrated Psychotherapy
Uniting Faith and Professional Practice
Edited by Carrie York Al-Karam
With Layla Asamarai Sayyed Mohsen Fatemi Afshana Haque Paul M. Kaplick Hooman Keshavarzi Fahad Khan Farah Lodi Rabia Malik Abdallah Rothman Ibrahim Rüschoff Fyeqa Sheikh
Integrating the Islamic faith with modern psychotherapy is at the forefront of the spiritually integrated psychotherapy movement. To bring this work to wider attention and to promote its continuation, Dr. Carrie York Al-Karam has brought together the present volume of nine essays, each of which is written by a Muslim clinician who practices Islamically integrated psychotherapy (IIP)—a modern approach that unites the teachings, principles, and interventions of the faith with Western therapeutic approaches.
As delineated in the Introduction, IIP has emerged from a variety of domains including the psychology of religion and spirituality, multicultural psychology and counseling, transpersonal psychology, Muslim Mental Health, and Islamic Psychology. The individual chapters then describe a variety of ways IIP is practiced by Muslim clinicians in their service provision with Muslim clients.
The contributors discuss a wide range of topics, such as how Islam can be viewed as a system for psychological wellbeing, or a “science of the soul”; what marital counseling can look like from an Islamically-integrated perspective; Prophet Mohammed as a psycho-spiritual exemplar in a new approach called The HEART Method; the use of Quranic stories in family therapy; as well as using Islamic teachings when working with Muslim children and adolescents.
A description of the various approaches is supplemented with discussions of their theoretical underpinnings as well as research-based recommendations for advancing clinical application. What emerges is a vital resource for Muslim and non-Muslim clinicians alike as well as the lay Muslim reader wanting to know more about how the Islamic faith and psychotherapy are engaging with each other in a modern clinical context.
Acknowledgments / ix
Preface / xiii
Introduction / 3
Carrie York Al-Karam, PhD
Chapter 1: An Islamic Theoretical Orientation to Psychotherapy / 25
Abdallah Rothman, LPC
Chapter 2: Utilization of Islamic Principles in Marital Counseling / 57
Layla Asamarai, PsyD
Chapter 3: The HEART Method: Healthy Emotions Anchored in RasoolAllah’s Teachings: Cognitive Therapy Using Prophet Mohammed as a Psycho-Spiritual Exemplar / 76
Farah Lodi, MA, CCC
Chapter 4: Conducting Spiritually Integrated Family Therapy with Muslim Clients Utilizing a Culturally Responsive Paradigm / 103
Afshana Haque, PhD, LMFT-S
Chapter 5: Integrating Islamic Spirituality into Psychodynamic
Therapy with Muslim Patients / 127
Ibrahim Rüschoff, MD, and Paul M. Kaplick, BSc
Chapter 6: Family Therapy and the Use of Quranic Stories / 152
Rabia Malik, PhD
Chapter 7: Outlining a Case Illustration of Traditional Islamically
Integrated Psychotherapy / 175
Hooman Keshavarzi, LPC, and Fahad Khan, PsyD
Chapter 8
Marrying Islamic Principles with Western Psychotherapy for Children and Adolescents: Successes and Challenges / 208
Fyeqa Sheikh, PsyD
Chapter 9: Integrating Duaa Arafa and Other Shiite Teachings
into Psychotherapy / 229
Sayyed Mohsen Fatemi, PhD
About the Contributors / 243
Index / 251
“Al-Karam has assembled a diverse and talented team to demonstrate how psychology (and psychotherapy in particular) can be approached from a Muslim worldview. This remarkable and nuanced work will serve the field by spurring discussion, promoting understanding, and hopefully igniting research in the area. I heartily encourage it as a starting point for all who want to understand and work effectively with Muslims in therapy.”
“This edited volume makes a profound contribution to the existing literature on psychotherapy broadly, and amplifies the voices of Muslim practitioners. Among the most salient features are the diverse treatment modalities featured, the weaving of conceptual and practical content, and the range of audiences that can benefit from the book!”
“The book is a testimony to the profound multifaceted contributions of a new generation of Muslim psychologists. Just by reading the titles of the chapters and the names of the authors, any psychologist practicing in the Muslim world would find it necessary to have it as a reference for helping him or her with the unique problems of Muslim clients.”
“This is a timely book to guide practitioners worldwide in developing and using Islamic paradigms and principles in their work. The need to share their insights is paramount in taking this field further to the Muslim community and to the mainstream globally.”
“A timely, bold and much-needed work offering insights into working with Muslim clients all over the world.”
“This book is a landmark in the epiphany of Islamic Psychology in the West: a ‘must read’ for all those with an interest in the field.”
“Carrie York Al-Karam has edited a must-read primer for any counselor or therapist working with Muslim patients and couples. After reading this book, you will have learned from some of the best researchers in the field.”
“This is a remarkable and skillfully written book. All the chapters give us the opportunity to explore and better understand psychology through the Islamic lens. I applaud this initiative, and highly recommend this book to be a source of reference for all in the field of psychology.”
“How truly fortunate we are to have this fascinating overview and useful introduction to the important field of global Islamic psychotherapy.”
“This book is a most welcome and vital addition to the re-emerging and rapidly growing field of Islamic Psychology and Psychotherapy. It is an essential read for all Muslim counsellors, psychotherapists, psychologists and psychiatrists from all modalities, and contains valuable insights for any clinician working with Muslim clients.”
Journal of Religion and Health
“Islamically Integrated Psychotherapy seeks to bridge the gap between Islamic spirituality and psychotherapy by pulling together the work of nine practicing Muslim clinicians who are synthesizing Islam with Western therapeutic approaches. . . . [T]he Islamic tradition urges people to seek healing, and this book gives us vivid descriptions of therapeutic techniques based on Islamic principles. Some outcomes are more favorable than others, but in the cases recorded in this book, the introduction of Islamic spirituality helped clients engage more fully in therapeutic processes. This makes Islamically Integrated Psychotherapy a resource for any reader who wants to explore how Islam and psychotherapy are enriching each other in clinical settings.”