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Obsessional Disorders in al-Balkhi′s 9th century treatise: Sustenance of the Body and Soul
Abstract
Some argue that the earliest case of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) was reported by Robert Burton in his compendium The Anatomy of Melancholy (1621) and that only in the 19th century did modern concepts of OCD evolve, differentiating it from other types of mental illness. In this paper, we aim to reveal an even earlier presentation of the malady we now call OCD based on the 9th century work, Sustenance of the Body and Soul, written by Abu Zayd al-Balkhi during the Islamic Golden Era. Discovery of this manuscript reveals that Abu Zayd al-Balkhi should be credited with differentiating OCD from other forms of mental illnesses nearly a millennium earlier than is currently claimed by anthologies documenting the history of mental illness. Particular attention is paid to al-Balkhi's classifications, symptom descriptions, predisposing factors, and the treatment modalities for obsessional disorders. Analysis of this manuscript in light of the DSM-5 and modern scientific discoveries reveals transcultural diagnostic consistency of OCD across many centuries. Theoretical and clinical implications of these findings are also discussed.
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... During the Islamic Golden Age, roughly corresponding to the 8th to 15th centuries of the Gregorian calendar, Islamic culture and civilisation thrived and cultivated new developments in the arts and sciences. This period has often been of interest to medical historians (see, e.g., Browne, 1921;Carnevali & Masillo, 2008;Dols, 1984Dols, , 1992Ullmann, 1978;Pormann & Savage-Smith, 2007;Porter, 1999;Shoshan, 2003) and contemporary Muslim scholars (e.g., Ammar, 1984;Awaad & Ali, 2015;Badri, 2013;Hamarneh, 1983;Khan, 1986;Mestiri, 2006;Omrani, Hotlzman, Akiskal & Ghaemi, 2012), including most recently Awaad and colleagues (2019). These scholars have sought to advance our understanding of this time period in critiquing the idea that Muslim scholars were simply translators and "holders" of Hellenestic theories until Europe was able to "reclaim" them during the Renaissance. ...
... This theory postulated that the body is comprised of four humours: black bile, yellow bile, blood, and phlegm (Browne, 1921;Dols, 1984;Hamarneh, 1983;Mestiri, 2006;Pormann & Savage-Smith, 2007). These humours correspond to the four elements of: earth, fire, air, and water; and the four qualities of: dry-cold, dry-hot, moist-warm, and wet-cold (Dols, 1984;Pormann & Savage-Smith, 2007;Awaad & Ali, 2015). To be in proper health, it was believed that the four humours ought to be in equilibrium, and, subsequently, poor health was due to an imbalance (Dols, 1984;Pormann & Savage-Smith, 2007). ...
... Badri (2013) draws an analogy between this framework of connecting cognitions and pathological behaviours to contemporary cognitive behavioural therapy, which uses cognitive restructuring and behavioural training. Al-Balkhi was also notable for distinguishing between neuroses and psychosis, classifying neuroses into four categories: fear and anxiety (al-khawf wa al-faza'), anger and aggression (al-ghadab), sadness and depression (alhuzn wa al-jaza'), and obsessions (wasawes al-sadr) (Awaad & Ali, 2015;Haque, 2004;Badri, 2013). Awaad and Ali (2015) argue that many of al-Balkhi's categorisations of these conditions, which were based on symptomatic presentation, echo current diagnostic criteria in the DSM-5, such as that of obsessive compulsive disorder. ...
Although Islam is the world’s second-largest religion, there continues to be misconceptions and an overall lack of awareness regarding the religious and social worlds that make up the global Muslim community. This is particularly concerning when examining notions of mental ill-health, where a lack of cultural awareness, understanding, and sensitivity can impede adequate treatment. As a global religion, Islam is practiced within various cultural milieus, and, given the centrality of faith amongst Muslim communities, a conflation of religion and culture can occur when attempting to understand mental health paradigms. Whilst much of the discourse regarding Muslim mental health centres on cultural formulations, this article discusses how, historically, conceptualisations relating to medicine and mental health were ensconced within the particular medical paradigm of the day. Specifically, it considers the frameworks within which mental health and illness were understood within the medieval Muslim medical tradition and their relevance to contemporary debates in psychology and psychiatry. In sum, this paper seeks to demonstrate that cultural formulations of mental illness, often viewed as “Islamic”, are distinct from historical Islamic approaches to mental health which employed contemporaneous medical discourse and which act as the reference marker for the emergent revivalist Islamic psychology movement seen today.
... The belief and perception of illness make them seek Islamic spiritual healers whenever they are mentally disturbed. With regards to OCD in Islam, most Muslims view this condition as doubt in performing ibadah, which is commonly called waswasah (Awaad & Ali, 2015;Okasha et al., 1994) Al-Bakhi, who is among the Muslim scholars that put much effort on the topic of obsessions during his era (849-934 CE), also emphasised addressing one's cultural and religious belief as the key to the success of the treatment of obsessions (Awaad & Ali, 2015). On top of that, this case showed an overlap of symptoms between mental pollution and contamination, making combination therapy beneficial; with ERP focusing on the compulsive washing, and religious elements focusing on the mental pollution. ...
... The belief and perception of illness make them seek Islamic spiritual healers whenever they are mentally disturbed. With regards to OCD in Islam, most Muslims view this condition as doubt in performing ibadah, which is commonly called waswasah (Awaad & Ali, 2015;Okasha et al., 1994) Al-Bakhi, who is among the Muslim scholars that put much effort on the topic of obsessions during his era (849-934 CE), also emphasised addressing one's cultural and religious belief as the key to the success of the treatment of obsessions (Awaad & Ali, 2015). On top of that, this case showed an overlap of symptoms between mental pollution and contamination, making combination therapy beneficial; with ERP focusing on the compulsive washing, and religious elements focusing on the mental pollution. ...
... The fact that the patient had adhered to the therapy was also one of the reasons this intervention worked for her as she believed that she could get better if she came for therapy regularly. Al-Bakhi stated that one's belief on the importance and effectiveness of treatment is the main factor of a successful treatment for obsession (Awaad & Ali, 2015). On top of that, the presence of the therapist during the exposure sessions had significantly made her more confident to carry out the techniques that had been taught to her in real life situations. ...
Contamination obsession is the commonest subtype of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and has been found to be higher among Muslim populations. The presentation of clinical OCD is influenced by one’s religious belief, practice, and culture. Islamic rituals that emphasise on cleanliness or ritual purity could explain why the common contents of obsessions/compulsions among Muslim population are contamination and religion. We want to examine whether Islamic Integrated exposure response therapy (IERT) is suitable for mental pollution. We report a 27-year-old Muslim lady with an acute onset of contamination OCD, complicated with secondary depression. Her fear of contamination was strongly related to impurity and pertaining to Islamic rituals. Ten sessions of IERT were conducted. The patient improved clinically and objectively following the IERT. IERT is another variant of treatment mode that can be used to treat OCD, especially with contamination themes.
... In fact, in the Quran, God states that the Quran has been sent to humanity as a healing (Quran 17:82, from Koenig & Shohaib, 2014). This belief corresponds with the development of medicine and concepts of psychosocial health by Islamic scholar and physicians, which predates the development of medical knowledge in Europe by roughly a thousand years, longer if developments that predate Islam in the Islamic world are included (Awaad & Ali, 2015;Koenig & Shohaib, 2014). The first psychiatric hospitals were built in the Islamic world as early as the 8 th century (Wael, 2008). ...
... Physicians such as Ahmed ibn Sahl al-Balkhi and Muhamed ibn Zakariya Razi were the first to speak of psychotherapy, and describe depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, phobias and treatments for mental illness such as psychosis and neurosis, in the late 9 th and early 10 th centuries. (Awaad & Ali, 2015;Awaad & Ali, 2016;Wael, 2008). Al-Balkhi even suggested an approach that is basically the same as modern day cognitive behavioral therapy (Awaad & Ali, 2016). ...
... Al-Balkhi even suggested an approach that is basically the same as modern day cognitive behavioral therapy (Awaad & Ali, 2016). There is a natural connection between Islam and mental health, and Muslims' religious beliefs and spiritual practices have long served as a way to improve mental health, and are PFs for health in general (Awaad & Ali, 2015). ...
http://hdl.handle.net/10211.3/193152
... This special issue of Spirituality in Clinical Practice focuses on Islamic spirituality in clinical contexts and highlights the various ways clinicians are integrating Islam into clinical practice today. Historically, Muslims were some of the earliest clinicians (e.g., see Awaad & Ali, 2015;Awaad et al., 2019Awaad et al., , 2020Badri, 2013;Haque, 2004). Moreover, what is today called psychology as well as the broader field of mental health was not "discovered" or "developed" by White Europeans 150 years ago as is taught in most psychology textbooks. ...
... Moreover, what is today called psychology as well as the broader field of mental health was not "discovered" or "developed" by White Europeans 150 years ago as is taught in most psychology textbooks. Rather, Muslims and Muslim cultures have produced some of the earliest works on psychology, medicine, and healing (e.g., see Awaad & Ali, 2015, 2016Awaad et al., 2019Awaad et al., , 2020Badri, 2013;Haque, 2004) and Muslims continue to make important contributions in contemporary times (e.g., see Abu-Raiya, 2012;Ahmed & Amer, 2012;Elzamzamy & Keshavarzi, 2019;Haque & Rothman, 2021;Kaplick & Skinner, 2017;Keshavarzi et al., 2020;Rassool, 2016Rassool, , 2021Rothman, 2022;Rothman & Coyle, 2020;Utz, 2011;York Al-Karam, 2018a, 2018b, 2021 and more are featured in this special issue. These matters notwithstanding, the articles in this issue are diverse and represent important topics. ...
... Al-Balkhi was a Persian-born, Muslim pioneer of knowledge, and a physician who wrote about Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in his manuscript entitled "Sustenance of the Soul", which was translated and annotated by Badri [42]. He was the first scholar in the 9th Century who was known for his astounding theory on CBT, and he differentiated between neurosis and psychosis and elaborated on psychosomatics [43]. ...
... The qualitative findings of this study help enlighten the effectiveness and the acceptance of the treatment by the participants. Another worthy contribution is that this is the first study tested on the applicability and effectiveness of Al-Balkhi's theory of CBT in combination with Beck's theory, while others were describing Al-Balkhi's theory [43]. However, there is a limitation to this study, as we did not have an active control group of treatment as usual (TAU) to control the Hawthorne effect on the waitlist control group [85]. ...
Aims:
Previous research has shown the efficacy of culturally adapted Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CA-CBT) in reducing depression, yet its effect on increasing sexual satisfaction is not well documented. In this study, an embedded randomized controlled trial design was used to examine the effect of group and individual CA-CBT on depression and sexual satisfaction among perimenopausal women.
Method:
A total of 64 depressed Iranian perimenopausal women were randomly assigned to two formats of treatments; sixteen sessions of group CA-CBT and eight sessions of individual CA-CBT, as well as a waitlist control group. Depression and sexual satisfaction were measured using BDI-II and ENRICH, respectively, at T1 (pre-treatment), T2 (post-treatment) and T3 (follow-up).
Results:
Repeated measures ANOVA indicated that the women who underwent both group and individual CA-CBT had effectively reduced depression and increased sexual satisfaction between pre-treatment and post-treatment, and it was sustained after six months of follow-ups with large effect sizes of significant differences (p < 0.001), but the control group did not.
Conclusion:
The results showed promising evidence for the efficacy of both treatment groups of CA-CBT for depression and sexual satisfaction among perimenopausal women. The population mental health burden among perimenopausal women may likely be reduced by propagating this effective treatment.
... In this regard, those who prefer an integrative approach in Islamic psychotherapy came up with few recommendations on how to use compatible Western approaches with traditional Islamic techniques. For example, some of them recommend Cognitive Behavior Therapy (Awaad and Ali 2015), Family Therapy (Isgandarova and O'Connor 2012), or other short-term approaches like Solution-Focused and Narrative Therapy (Valiante 2003). Manijeh Daneshpur (2012) also suggested that the family systems theory can be used as a framework for understanding Muslim family behaviors and dynamics because it holds similar values to Islam about family relationships and identifies family interactions as milestones for emotional development, behavioral patterns, values, and loyalties for the individual members. ...
... For example, during the reflection process, the client can contemplate how their anxiety fits into the four main categories which al-Balkhi discussed in his book (al-Balkhi 2013). These four main categories of anxiety are: al-ghadab (anger); al-jaza' (sadness and depression); al-faza' (fears and phobias); and, wasawes al-sadr (obsessional disorders) (Awaad and Ali 2015). The client can also be encouraged to reflect on al-Balkhi's thought how their thoughts prevent individuals from enjoying life, performing daily activities, and concentrating on other aspects of life. ...
This article first describes Sufism, the mystical/spiritual tradition of Islam then move to define Islamic psychotherapy and the various aspects of muraqaba by providing an overview of the Sufi literature. I will also highlight how the techniques used in muraqaba can be adapted and used as mindfulness-based stress reduction, mindfulness-based cognitive therapy, meditation, transcendental meditation, mind-body techniques (meditation, relaxation), and body-mind techniques. Although muraqaba might not be effective for all mental health issues, I suggest a possible value of muraqaba for treating symptomatic anxiety, depression, and pain. Furthermore, Muslim clinicians must be properly trained in classical Sufi traditions before using muraqaba techniques in their clinical practice.
... From our perspective, the impetus in developing the field of Islam and psychology has mainly transpired from Westerneducated Muslim practitioners of psychological therapy who have a background in academic psychiatry or psychology (e.g., Malik Badri and Amber Haque; and for reviews of the British community of Muslim psychologists and their approaches, see: Betteridge, 2012;Kaplick & Rüschoff, 2018;Maynard, 2008;Pasha, 2003). These psychologists typically refer to classical Islamic philosophers of the Self such as Abu Hamid Al-Ghazali, Abu Zayd Al-Balkhi, and Abu Yaqub Ibn Ishaq Al-Kindi; and often find parallels in some areas of Western Psychology, for example, CBT (Awaad & Ali, 2015Badri, 1979Badri, , 2000Haque, 2004) and Jung's Analytical Psychology (Bajari, 2007;Haeri, A., 1990;Karim, 1984;Spiegelman, Inayat, & Fernandez, 1991;Skinner, 1989Skinner, , 2010. A small group of psychologists coming from other faith backgrounds or no faith tradition at all have also commented on Islam and psychology (e.g., Lohlker, 2010;. ...
... Publications in the scope of the filter approach attempt to develop an Islamic perspective on Western psychological concepts (e.g., Amjad, 1996;Badri, 2012;Utz, 2011). Other articles draw attention to early Muslim scholars' works in which concepts and therapeutic techniques later developed in the realm of Western Psychology and psychiatry have been discussed (e.g., Ali, 1995;Awaad & Ali, 2015Badri, 2000Badri, , 2013Badri, , 2014aHaque, 2004;Khalili et al., 2002). Such compositions contribute to identify universals in Western Psychology and encourage Muslim psychologists to be more open to the full range of Western psychological concepts. ...
Since the late 1970s there has been a growing awareness in academic literature, and particularly among Muslim psychologists, of the relationship between Islam and psychology. Indicated by almost 40 years of publications and debates, this progression of interest has pointed toward the potential establishment of an Islam and psychology movement within the landscape of psychological sciences. We provide a narrative review that outlines the constitutive elements and appraises the current state of the field. Attention is given to the predominantly-involved professionals, academics, and associations; as well as to the definition of its subject matter and conceptual approaches. We conclude by summarizing current opinions on how the movement may successfully evolve.
... He adopted external and internal approaches to the treatment of obsessive disorders. The external approach asserts that a person should avoid loneliness because it may increase the chances of obsessive thoughts while an internal approach to therapy asserts that a person should remind oneself that the intrusive thoughts are irrational and unreal and are causing unnecessary fear (Awaad & Ali, 2015b). Additionally, he was the first to explain the opposite reactions appearing post-disease, commonly known as reciprocal inhibition (Haque, 2004). ...
Psychology has been the significant discipline since the time of antiquity which becomes more consolidated during the medieval age of Islam. It had a strong foundation in the professional writings of polymaths from the Islamic Middle Ages that were eventually transmitted to the West. However, the unique psychological contributions of these medieval polymaths remained largely unexplored. Despite the growing interest in their work, which is partly due to Islamic psychology, only a handful of them have been investigated for their unique psychological contributions, and a complete examination of psychological work has not been done, separately from an Islamic perspective. The majority of them have only been examined in terms of their medical value, neglecting psychological issues in their all-encompassing approaches to care. Therefore, it was quintessential to extensively explore all those scholars who contributed to the various fields of psychology and to fill a gap of information that has been left by the previous researchers.
... In academic writing, the DOTSH concept has been described elsewhere (Frager, 2005;Haque, 2004;Rothman, 2022;Rasool, 2021). Awaad and Ali (2015) conducted an interesting study that discussed obsessional disorders from the writing of al-Balkhi, the 9th-century Islamic scholar. However, to our knowledge, no attempt has been made to connect the DOTSH concept derived from the Islamic religion with the scientific medical concepts of mental disorders. ...
The intertwined relationship between religion and mental health has been accounted for since the earliest recorded history. This study aimed to explore the relationship between the concept of diseases of the spiritual heart (DOTSH) from the Islamic-Sufi perspective and the medical-psychiatric concept of mental disorder. We examined two essential documents as our primary data sources: (1) Al Ghazali's Ihya Ulumuddin (Revivals of Religion Sciences) Volume III entitled the Quarter of the Destructive and (2) The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, Fifth Version, Text Revision (DSM-5-TR). We employed a document analysis of the qualitative method by applying six steps of data analysis. We reviewed the English version of Al Ghazali's book to identified DOTSH. In this stage, we found six DOTSH categories which comprised of 40 DOTSH. Then, we searched the correspondence of DOTSH's categories to the DSM-5-TR criteria for mental disorders. We found that all DOTSH categories correspond to DSM-5-TR diagnostics criteria, diagnostic features or diagnostic associated features. We concluded that spiritual heart diseases not only present as symptoms but also can be regarded as mental disorder preconditions that require preventive intervention.
... Badri also identifies further interesting deductions from al-Balḫī's statements, e.g. the categorization of disorders in neuroses and psychoses. From the perspective of psychiatrists, Rania Awaad and Sara Ali examined phobias and OCD (Awaad;& Ali, 2015;2016), being equivalent to faza' (anxiety/panic) and wasāwis (aṣ-ṣadr) (obsessive thoughts) as specific components in al-Balḫī's classification of disorders. In their article which was published in the renowned Journal of Anxiety Disorders, they explain that the scholar is the first to present phobia (fazaʿ) as a distinct mental disorder and to assign it its own diagnostic entity in psychiatry and thus in medicine. ...
... Al-Balakhi was the first one in the world mentioned a mental illness and he put the differentiation of OCD from other forms of mental illnesses nearly a millennium earlier (11). ...
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is one of the top 20 causes of illness-related disability for individuals between 15 and 44 years of age. The Palestinian people are especially at a higher risk of developing mental disorders in particular OCD, as a result of trauma from enmity and the immanent violence which has led to psychological disorders in people living in Palestine because it is under a seventh decade of Israeli occupation with continues violence and immanent abuses of basic human rights. The Palestinians Mental Health status needs a high level policy and services development, and there are high ratios of Palestinians having an OCD (15.6% of adolescents in Palestinian). This literature review aims to have an overview about OCD in Palestine (West Bank and Gaza Strip). Methods A computerized literature searches (Google Scholar, PubMed, Science Direct, Springer Link, Elsevier, Semantic Scholar, and HINARI) was used to collect studies addressing the OCD in Palestine. Results and Conclusion OCD in Palestine is widely presented in adolescence and children at a young age. The most common type of OCD in Palestine is checking type. Set of risk factors increases developing OCD, including sexual abuse at any age as well as anxiety, depression, phobia and somatization disorders. In addition, the family incomes play a big role in presenting OCD, especially low income families. Most of the patients who have OCD were depressed and complaining of stigma and ignorance. Recommendations include getting rid of the stigma, creating a chance for low income families, further studies into OCD in Palestine, ending of the occupation and preventing children from following TV programs and war results.
... Still others claim that the work of early Muslims scholars such as al-Ghazali, al-Balkhi, Ibn Sina, and al-Razi is Islamic Psychology (Haque, 2004;Badri, 2013). Part of al-Balkhi's work in the 9th century was on phobias and obsessional disorders and his classification system is nearly identical to that found in the DSM-V (Awaad & Ali, 2014, 2015. the more complex the problems owned by humans as a social component in it. ...
The article discusses the existence of Islamic Psychology amid Western civilization and Eastern civilization (Islam). Where Western Civilization lays the foundation of logical and rational thinking. While on the other hand, Eastern civilization and Islam, prioritize ethics and morals based on normative mindset. Furthermore, there are various contemporary issues of civilization that emerge as evidence of the development of patterns of life, related to the dynamic social changes of today, among others: artificial intelligence, education reform, and digital literacy. Further research is carried out using quantitative approaches. The population in this study were students in four faculties at Imam Bonjol Padang State Islamic University (Faculty of Ushuluddin and Religious Studies, Faculty of Tarbiyah and Teacher Training, Faculty of Da'wah, and Faculty of Sharia), which is as many as 1658 students, using the formula Slovin then, obtained a sample of 322 students. Sample withdrawal is done randomly simply. Data collection is conducted using a scale of psychology, observation, and interviews. The results of this study found a relationship between students' perceptions and their interest in the issues of contemporary civilization. This is shown through r 2 = 0.875**
... Still, others claim that the work of early Muslim scholars such as al-Ghazali, al-Balkhi, Ibn Sina, and al-Razi is Islamic Psychology Badri, 2013). Part of al-Balkhi's work in the 9th century was on phobias and obsessional disorders and his classification system is nearly identical to that found in the DSM-V (Awaad & Ali, 2014: ...
International Conference on Muslim Psychologist 2022
... Still, others claim that the work of early Muslim scholars such as al-Ghazali, al-Balkhi, Ibn Sina, and al-Razi is Islamic Psychology (Haque, 2004;Badri, 2013). Part of al-Balkhi's work in the 9th century was on phobias and obsessional disorders and his classification system is nearly identical to that found in the DSM-V (Awaad & Ali, 2014, 2015: ...
Islamic psychology is a science that grows and develops, along with the development of civilization itself. Furthermore, there are various contemporary issues of civilization that emerge as evidence of the development of patterns of life, related to the dynamic social changes of today, among others: artificial intelligence, education reform, and digital literacy. The research is carried out using quantitative approaches. The population in this study were students in four faculties at UIN Imam Bonjol Padang which is as many as 1658 students, using the formula Slovin then, obtained a sample of 322 students. Sample withdrawal is done randomly simply. Data collection is conducted using a scale of psychology, observation, and interviews. The results of this study found a relationship between students' perceptions and their interest in the issues of contemporary civilization. This is shown through r 2 = 0.875**.
... In this process, rewriting and reviving ancient books, as an important task of TIP students or graduates, leads to accessing new data about the history of pharmacy and medicine, literature, philosophy, alchemy, and medical ethics, each of which can be used as a research subject. For instance, the study of Masalih Al Abdan wa al-Anfus, a treatise from Al-Balkhi, an Iranian encyclopedic scholar (849-934 AD) at the Islamic Golden Era, has revealed the precedence of his innovative definition about obsession and its differentiations from melancholia (40). Moreover, unlike other scholars, he had proposed behavioral management for phobias quite similar to contemporary therapies (41). ...
Traditional Iranian Pharmacy (TIP) is a rarity which has not been introduced to the world. In fact, this branch of pharmacy can benefit Iranians and all people right across the world. It is a new field in Iran, on which a lot of research has not been done. In other words, this field suffers from scarcity of research. This paper tries to analyze the current situation of TIP in Iran by using the SWOT framework so as to come up with strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats which are associated with this field at the moment. It is believed that this new field has a lot of potentials which can benefit the health care system substantially. Moreover, it can help the economy to a great extent if the schemes and strategies presented by TIP are taken into consideration.
... Still others claim that the work of early Muslims scholars such as al-Ghazali, al-Balkhi, Ibn Sina, and al-Razi is Islamic Psychology (Haque, 2004;Badri, 2013). Part of al-Balkhi's work in the 9th century was on phobias and obsessional disorders and his classification system is nearly identical to that found in the DSM-V (Awaad & Ali, 2014. Does that mean that the DSM is Islamic as it relates to these disorders? ...
In this article the author attempts to give a brief summary and critique of the various ways Islamic Psychology is conceptualized and defined. She then proposes and discusses a conceptual model, the Multilevel Interdisciplinary Paradigm (MIP), as a potential theoretical unifier for the emerging field, which also serves as a methodology for defining it. Recommendations for ways forward in the domain of Islamic Psychology are also provided.
... For example, Robert Frager and his work on Transpersonal Psychology brings Sufi approaches to psychology to the forefront (Bektasoglu and Ulusoy). Other thinkers such as Ali (2015, 2016) have written about early work in Islamic psychology, which predates European psychology by 1000 years, in their commentary on Al Balkhi. There is a significant amount of work emerging about the possibilities for and benefits of Islamically Integrated Psychotherapy (al-Karam). ...
Liberation psychology is an emerging field of psychological theory with an orientation towards justice as the telos of psychology. Rejecting the traditional European psychological practices which have based psychological work on the isolated individual, liberation psychology theorizes that individual wellness is inextricably connected to societal forces of oppression. This paper discusses Islamic connections to liberation psychology, including psychological approaches that are consistent with Islamic assumptions and conceptualizations of the self, human rights in relationship to the principle of tawhid, environmental justice, and an analysis of pathologies of violence in relationship to the Muslim community and the human community.
... Even though it seems obvious that expanding critically upon existing knowledge is naturally the first step toward avoiding a never-ending reinvention of the wheel, we know of relatively little about early Muslim scholarly thought in the English IP literature. Only a few listings of topics (Haque 2004;Düzgüner and Şentepe 2015) and explorative studies on Abū H .ā mid al-Ghazālī's conception of the soul (Abu-Raiya 2012; Keshavarzi and Haque 2013), the striking commonalities between the ninth-century physician Abū Zayd al-Balkhī's cognitive therapeutic approach and contemporary cognitive behavioral therapy (Badri 2013;Awaad andAli 2015, 2016), and the potential usefulness and explanatory power of emergent accounts of consciousness (Brown 2013;Khan 2017) are available. Apart from drawing comparisons with contemporary thought, we continue to be at sea as to how we could consider Muslim scholarly works for IP theory building in a methodologically sound fashion. ...
The Islamic psychology (IP) community in Europe has recently witnessed a heated debate about the credentials required to participate in the theoretical substantiation of IP and Islamically integrated psychotherapy and counseling. This debate has provided convenient circumstances for Muslim psychologists and Islamic scholars alike to rethink their roles within the flourishing movement. Specifically, the discussions hint toward the importance of adopting a collaborative research methodology for IP, in particular for basic research. The methodology of choice will need to define the necessary qualifications and responsibilities of scholars and psychologists in a collaborative research process (personal collaboration) and evince its capability to appropriately marry knowledge and data, diverging research methods, and perspectives, concepts, and theories from Islamic studies and contemporary psychology (content-related collaboration). Here, we devise and offer a case illustration of an Islamic Psychology Basic Research Framework (coined the SALAAM Framework). This framework uses the Institute for Interdisciplinary Studies (IIS) Model of Interdisciplinary Research, developed by the IIS at the University of Amsterdam. Our first aim is to appropriate the IIS model for the IP literature by applying the model's research process phases and technique for the integration of disparate bodies of knowledge-that is, the identification of common ground-to methodological approaches in the contemporary IP literature. Our second aim is to exemplify the devised SALAAM Framework using the relatively unexplored area of Islamic cognitive theories (ICTs), which remain underdeveloped in contemporary psychological literature, primarily because of a lack of commensurability with the nomenclature of contemporary psychology. We thus provide a primer on the potential scope of ICTs. Toward Paul Kaplick is a graduate student, Brain and Cognitive Sciences,
... Although the field of psychology nourished and established itself in the West in the nineteenth century, philosophical precursors discussing human psychology were ever-present in the Muslim world as early as the ninth century (Badri, 2013;Qureshi & Rehman, 2015;Awaad & Ali, 2015, 2016. Since then, many Muslim philosophers and scholars have written on the topic. ...
This chapter offers an illustration of a Traditional Islamically-Integrative Psychotherapy (TIIP) model for addressing Muslim mental health originally published by Keshavarzi & Haque (2013). The basic theoretical underpinnings of the Islamic model are summarized and the overarching therapeutic goals and objectives related to the principles of change are presented. The model offers a framework of integrating contemporary behavioral science into an inherently traditional Islamic framework. Accompanying intervention strategies are reflective of both Islamic and modern methodologies delivered within an Islamic context and are consistent with its foundational principles of change and Islamic thought. Interventions across sessions are designed to specifically target the elements of the human psyche (a) aql or cogntion; (b) nafs or behavioral inclinations; (c) ruh or spirit and (d) ihsaas or emotions. A specific application of the therapeutic goals across sessions as a practical demonstration of the model is provided. A demonstrative case example with interventions across 12 sessions is offered, providing its applications in psychotherapy. The case is that of an American Muslim patient with social anxiety that sought out an Islamically integrative psychotherapist. Illustrations of integrated techniques are demonstrated with the accompanying impacts of such interventions on the patient across sessions. Concluding recommendations highlight the emergence and consolidation of IIP. Additional directions for future investigations in helping to further advance Traditional Islamically-Integrative Psychotherapy (TIIP) are encouraged.
... While the Islamic model is more concerned with the heart than the mind as the central focus of intervention, cognitive restructuring certainly has its place within the Islamic paradigm. Over one thousand years before the advent of CBT, the ninth-century Muslim scholar Abu Zayd al-Balkhi wrote a treatise (Badri, 2013;Awaad & Ali, 2015, 2016) that specifically details the same phenomena and processes that are now lauded over by the Western domain of psychology as CBT. Along with his work on identifying many of the diagnoses of psychopathology used today, al-Balkhi recognized the importance of restructuring cognitions to align with values and bringing the mind into the process of healing the soul and integrating worship of God. ...
Abdallah Rothman’s chapter begins this volume by distinguishing between Muslim mental health and Islamic psychology and asserting the existence of and need for a uniquely Islamic paradigm of human psychology. He goes on to describe how Islam can be viewed as a system for psychological wellbeing or a ‘science of the soul’ and how he operates from within an Islamic theoretical orientation to psychology. He concludes by giving examples from his clinical practice of how he works with his clients by employing uniquely Islamic therapeutic interventions derived from the Islamic tradition.
... Historically, one can easily trace the traditional Islamic discourse on this condition. An example of such would be Abu Zayd al-Balkhi, born in 850 AD who was among the first Muslim scholars who was able to conceptualise OCD (al-waswasah), in which the definition is in line with our current understanding of the disorder (Awaad & Ali, 2015). His method in treating patients with OCD was rather cognitive and behavioural in approach (Badri, 2013). ...
Religious obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is relatively under-reported among adolescent and carries poorer outcome. We report a 20-year-old Muslim man who was diagnosed with religious OCD when he was 14 years old. He had recurrent blasphemous intrusive thoughts upon performing religious rituals which had hindered him from practising his religion. Despite being on tablet esticalopram 10 mg and conventional cognitive–behavioural therapy, the result was to no avail. A religious-integrated therapy was introduced by incorporating some of the Islamic values, knowledge, and practice during the exposure and response prevention therapy for five consecutive days along with cognitive restructuring. A considerable amount of symptom and functional relief was achieved. He excelled in his studies and equally important was able to resume practising his religion. Religious-integrated therapy is an untapped area that should be offered as the treatment option in certain cases where religion plays an important role in illness’s phenomenology and patient’s coping.
Ce qu'il faut retenir 1-Définir la psychologie selon la perspective laïque. 2-Connaitre l'apport de l'islamisation des connaissances au développement de la psychologie islamique. 3-Identifier les problèmes et les difficultés liés à la laïcisation de la psychologie. 4-Explorer la relation entre le Coran et la psychologie. 5-Discuter les concepts de la psychologie islamique. 6-Formuler une définition de la psychologie islamique. 7-Analyser les différentes approches à la psychologie islamique.
This research is to present a ninth-century Muslim polymath, Abu Zayd Al-Balkhi,and his theoretical contribution on the formation of the epistemological equilibrium betweenmental disorder and mental health which tends to be separated in the history of Westernpsychology. In his phenomenal treatise, The Sustenance of Body and Soul, Al-Balkhi made abridge between ‘positive’ and ‘negative’ psychology in the common clinical approaches. Thisstudy also reveals the cognitive therapy approach as Al-Balkhi’s authentic finding in the Islamicworld, an approach well known long before modern psychology developed. Particular attentionis paid to Al-Balkhi’s emphasizes in positioning his theory of mental health, especially in apositive approach, in such as a pioneer of the Western psychological one.
This systematic review is conducted with the major aim of highlighting the need for a comprehensive and modern Islamic counselling Model, due to the psychological challenges facing Muslim clients across the world. The main source of data collection in the research is past empirical studies related to the field of counselling as it affects Muslim countries. The study found, from the extant literature reviewed, that there is a high incidence of psychological problems among Muslim populated countries, especially the crises-ridden and turbulent regions such as Syria, Yemen, Palestine and others, as well as among the Muslim minority groups in some countries, such as the US, the UK and other European countries. It was discovered from the literature that the major causes of mental health problems are: lack of the fear of God, wars, poverty, natural disasters, political unrest, discrimination and Islamophobic tendencies. In this regard, the study highlights the need for research and action plans that focus on the well-being of Muslims in the entire global community. It is imperative that Muslims require professional assistance from specially trained counsellors equipped with culturally and Islamically-relevant skills for the mitigation of mental distress and depression. The need for a comprehensive Islamic counselling model that matches and competes with the western-oriented counselling models, is proposed. For precisely this purpose, therefore, the Al-Ghazali counselling model has been recently developed, which is compatible and commensurate with modern scientific therapeutic techniques, and is found to be a highly promising intervention for clients with mental and psychological challenges.
A large proportion of global refugees come from the Arab region due to multiple recent and ongoing conflicts. This chapter is a resource for people wishing to take a culturally informed approach to working with Arab clients, with guidance on adapting mental health care, and draws on the available literature and clinical expertise. We provide an overview of shared characteristics in Arab culture that contribute to different conceptualizations, experiences, and processes relevant to the provision of mental health care for this population. We also summarize attitudes, barriers, and access to, and engagement in, help-seeking among this population, while discussing religious and cultural modes of coping. Finally, we summarize culturally/faith adapted and/or sensitive psychological interventions with this population.
The chapter discusses the versatility of Islamic teachings, focusing on terminology, worldview, and mental health. Islamic principles are aligned with specific therapeutic tools (mindfulness, meditation, and visualization) and therapeutic approaches (DBT—Dialectical Behavior Therapy and ACT—Acceptance and Commitment Therapy). Incorporating ACT into therapy with Muslim American clients is highlighted as ACT conceptualizations of intention, values, acceptance, commitment, and integration of behavioral changes are particularly relevant to Islamic perspectives. The benefits of connecting Muslims to Islamic principles and practices as pathways to healing are discussed as well as areas of concern related to the inclusion of religion and spirituality in therapeutic relationships. A sample script of a hypothetical case study/therapy session is included to illustrate how Islamic tenets and practices can be incorporated into therapeutic work with Muslim American clients.
The discourse on mental health is often an interesting and beneficial discussion across time. There are many developing concepts adopted from western thoughts. The concept offered by Islamic Psychology has not been explored yet. One of them is the concept of mental health from the perspective of Abu Zaid al-Balkhi. This study aims to analyze the concept of Islamic mental health, specifically the thought of Abu Zaid al-Balkhi in the book Maṣāliḥu al-Abdān wa al-Anfus. By using a type of qualitative research with a descriptive-analytical method specifically in describing and analyzing mental health concepts, according to Abu Zaid al-Balkhi. Based on this research, it can be seen that mental health or a healthy soul is the stability of the soul’s strength in humans so that it can defeat the turmoil of psychiatric signs. Al-Balkhi classifies psychiatric symptoms into four groups, namely, sadness and anxiety (al-ḥuzn wal jazʻ), obsession (al-waswas), anger (al-gaḍab), and finally, fear and phobia (al-khauf wa al-fazʻ). To achieve happiness, humans should always try and strive for a balance between the body and soul. The attachment of both (body and soul) is in harmony with human construction, namely physical and spiritual. Caring for and maintaining health as a preventive effort is preferred than treating it if already sick. This is what distinguishes the concept of healing the soul of Islam, according to al-Balkhi, with the concept of western secular psychotherapy
A large proportion of global refugees come from the Arab region due to multiple recent and ongoing conflicts. This chapter is a resource for people wishing to take a culturally informed approach to working with Arab clients, with guidance on adapting mental health care, and draws on the available literature and clinical expertise. We provide an overview of shared characteristics in Arab culture that contribute to different conceptualizations, experiences, and processes relevant to the provision of mental health care for this population. We also summarize attitudes, barriers, and access to, and engagement in, help-seeking among this population, while discussing religious and cultural modes of coping. Finally, we summarize culturally/faith adapted and/or sensitive psychological interventions with this population.
Ruhsal hastalıkların geçmişi insanlık tarihi kadar eskidir. Tarihsel süreç içinde değişen toplumsal, kültürel pek çok faktörden etkilenen ruhsal bozukluklar, kavramsal olarak sürekli yeniden yapılandırılarak tanımları ve sınıflandırmaları değişikliğe uğramıştır. Kökleri insanlık tarihi kadar eski bir geçmişe uzanan obsesif kompulsif bozuklukların (OKB) modern kavramlarına evrilmesi 19. yüzyılda gerçekleşmiştir. OKB’nin ruhsal kökeni hakkındaki ilk bilimsel görüşler S. Freud’a aittir. Freud, OKB’deki ruhsal nedenlerin diğer ruhsal bozukluklardan farklı olduğunu gözlemleyerek obsesyonu, ayrı ve özgün bir bozukluk olarak incelemiştir. Zamanla OKB’nin oldukça yaygın bir rahatsızlık olduğu anlaşılmıştır. Amerikan Psikiyatri Birliği (APA) yayımladığı Ruhsal Bozuklukların Tanısal ve İstatiksel El Kitabı’nın son sürümü (DSM-5)’de OKB’yi anksiyete bozuklukları kategorisi içinden çıkartarak bağımsız bir başlık altında tasnif etmiştir. OKB, takıntılı fikir ve düşünce gibi zihinsel eylemler (obsesyon) ve/veya yineleyici ve zorlantılı davranışlardan (kompulsiyon) meydana gelen ruhsal bir bozukluktur. Hasta çoğu kez bu türlü düşünce ve davranışlarının mantıksız ve saçma olduğunun bilincindedir. Bu nedenle inançlarına, görüşlerine, ahlaki değerlerine ve mantığına ters bulduğu obsesif düşünceleri zihinden uzaklaştırılmaya çalışır. Fakat o çabaladıkça obsesif düşünceler daha da çoğalır, sıklaşır ve kişide büyük bir bunaltı meydana getirir. Hasta hissettiği bunaltıyı hafifletmek veya ondan tamamen kurtulmak için bu kez kompulsiyonlara başvurur. Kompulsiyonları tekrar ettikçe de bunaltısı artar ve kısır bir döngü içine girer. Bireyin yaşam kalitesini ciddi şekilde düşüren OKB’nin pek çok semptom alt grubu bulunmaktadır. Bunlardan birisi ve hatta en bunaltıcı olanı dini obsesyonlardır. Psikoloji literatüründe din ve OKB arasında uzun zamandır bir ilişki olduğu düşünülmüş ve bu ilişkiyi açıklığa kavuşturmayı amaçlayan bazı dikkat çekici çalışmalar yapılmıştır. Bireyin ruhsal sağlık bütünlüğünün korunmasında dinin vazgeçilmez bir unsur olduğunu gösteren pek çok araştırma bulgusu bulunmakla birlikte bazı dini anlayış biçimleri ve dini deneyimler sonucu edinilen kimi tecrübeler OKB ile ilgili kaygıları etkileyebilmektedir. Dindarlığın bu aşaması, OKB’nin bazı alt semptom gruplarıyla yakından ilişkilidir. Psikanaliz yönteminin kurucusu Freud ve takipçilerinin açıklamaları, OKB’nin anlaşılmasına büyük katkı sağlamıştır. Ancak psikanalitik yöntemin kuramsal açıdan dine karşı indirgemeci bir yaklaşım sergilemesi nedeniyle kişinin dine olan bağlılığının daha başlangıçta bir patoloji ya da en azından önemli bir içgörü engeli olarak değerlendirilmesi söz konusudur. Günümüzde bilişsel davranışçı psikoterapiler, OKB üzerinde en etkili psikolojik tedavi yöntemi olarak kabul edilir fakat onların da dini OKB’lerin tedavisinde başarı oranları düşüktür. Dini OKB kaygıları, genellikle somut tekrarlanabilir durumlar yerine manevi konuları içerdiğinden davranışçı yöntemlerin dini OKB tedavisinde uygulanması oldukça zor olabilir. Dolayısıyla geleneksel psikoterapi yaklaşımları, açıkça dine karşı olmasalar bile genellikle dini boyutu ihmal ettiklerinden dini obsesyonları bulunan bireylerin hayatlarındaki ıztırabı dindirmede yetersiz kalmaktadırlar. Ruhsal tedavilerin seküler yaklaşımlarla sınırlı tutulmasından doğan boşluk nedeniyle dindar hastalar, dini duyguları istismar eden kişilerin illegal uygulamalarının tehdidiyle karşı karşıyadırlar. Klinik anlamda dini obsesyonlar daha kaygı verici ve bunaltıcıdır. Dolayısıyla tedavileri de diğerlerinkinden daha zordur. OKB’nin tedavisinde farklı bilim disiplinlerin bir arada kullanıldığı, dini inanç ve değerler etrafında esneyebilecek, seçmeci yaklaşımlar daha etkili tedavi modelleri ortaya çıkartabilir. Böylece dini OKB’nin tedavisindeki başarı oranı tıp, psikoloji ve ilahiyat disiplinlerinin uygun işbirliği sayesinde üst düzeylere taşınabilir. İlahiyat disiplinleri açısından bu işbirliğini destekleyebilecek zengin bir dini kültürel miras bulunmaktadır. Bir örnek olarak Ebû Zeyd el-Belhî (322/934), Mesalihu’l-Ebdan ve’l-Enfüs adlı eserinde, Freud’dan yaklaşık on asır önce, nevrozlar ve psikozlar arasında muhtemelen ilk defa açık bir ayrım yapmış ve nevrotik bozuklukları sınıflandırmıştır. Ayrıca eserinde, bu bozuklukların her birinin tedavisi için rasyonel ve manevi bilişsel terapilerin nasıl kullanılacağını ayrıntılı bir şekilde göstermiştir. Bu çalışmada dini obsesyonlara hem psikolojik bir rahatsızlık hem de teolojik bir problem olarak bütüncül bir yöntemle yaklaşılmasının önemi vurgulanmaktadır. Bu nedenle dini OKB’nin tedavisinde psikiyatrik ve psikolojik yaklaşımların manevi danışmanlık ve rehberlikle işbirliği önerilmektedir. Dindar bir kişide görülen belirtilerin dini yaşantıya ait normal, tabii dini düşünce ve davranışlar mı yoksa dini kılıfa bürünmüş anormal görünümler mi olduğunun ayrıştırılmasındaki güçlük disiplinler arası bu işbirliğini zorunlu kılmaktadır.
Due to the focus in psychology on Euro-American centric ontologies and epistemologies, many non-European psychologists have been calling for the decolonization of the field. In joining this call, I propose an Islamic anti-patriarchal liberation psychology framework to guide psychological knowledge production and application within contexts in which some or most people identify as Muslim. Using Martín-Baró’s proposal of three essential tasks of liberation psychology as a guide, my framework explains how and why it is necessary to decolonize psychological knowledge production and application in such contexts. The first task requires the privileging of Muslim voices, with Muslims being conceptualized as diverse, racialized peoples. The second task involves challenging the internalization of colonial ways of thinking among Muslims. The final task asks researchers and practitioners to recover Islamic histories of scholarship, Muslims’ sense of community, and queer and feminine ways of being. Together, these tasks can provide an adaptable guide for psychological knowledge production and application for Muslims in a wide variety of contexts.
In den letzten Monaten konnte in Europa eine rege Debatte über die akademischen und praktischen Voraussetzungen für die Einbringung von PsychologInnen und IslamexpertInnen in die konzeptionelle Entwicklung und theoretische Untermauerung einer islamischen Psychologie (IP), islamintegrierten Psychotherapie (IIP) und islamischen psychosozialen Beratung beobachtet werden. Die europäische IP Community befindet sich somit auf einer wichtigen Suche nach Authentizität und soliden theologischen und philosophischen Grundlagen für eine islamische Psychologie (Hasan 2018). In diesem Zusammenhang ist festzustellen, dass die Diskussion um die akademischen und praktischen Bedingungen, insbesondere die um die notwendigen Qualifikationen für islamisch psychologische Theoriearbeit, stark von Gruppeninteressen geprägt ist.
There is a growing awareness amongst Muslim psychologists and Islamic theologians of the importance of developing a deeper conceptual understanding of the relationship between traditional Islamic teachings and contemporary psychology. The Islam and Psychology research group at the Islamic Association of Social and Educational Professions (IASE) in Germany aims to review and extend the available literature on Islam and psychology. The idea of the group was developed in the beginning of 2015 during the months preceding the conference of the IASE held on February 14th, 2015 in Frankfurt, Germany. The conference addressed the challenges of providing psychosocial support for religiously observant Muslims from their own religious perspective. A stronger development of a top-down Islamically-integrated psychotherapy suitable for German speaking countries has appeared to be crucial for further progress in the field. Therefore, a number of psychology students and psychotherapists were offered the opportunity to further develop the idea of this group.
The soul is as a function of our way of being in the world. Human cognition is extended and distributed by our social and material engagement with the world, especially via collective representations whose symbolic character is constitutive of the reality of the world in which we live. What is the soul? What are its dimensions? What are its structural characteristics? Where does the soul reside? What are its neurobiological characteristics? What is the body? What are its depths? What are its parameters in medicine? In health care? What are its dimensions in nursing practice? What are its healing effects? What is the infant soul? How is the work of artists and musicians connected with the soul? How is the soul connected with death? Biblical verses dealing with these issues are studied from a contemporary viewpoint.
“Islam the religion is a system of beliefs and practices initially revealed by Allah to Muhammad, enshrined in the Arabic Koran, supplemented by tradition, and modified through the ages in response to changes in time and place… Islam the culture is a compound of varied elements [and] was mainly formulated by conquered peoples, Arabicized and Islamized, rather than by Arabians. It holds the distinction of having been, from the mid-eighth century to the end of the twelfth century, unmatched in its brilliancy and unsurpassed in its literary, scientific, and philosophical output” (Hitti, Islam, a way of life. Regnery Gateway: Washington, DC, 1987). Islam is considered to be a complete code of life by its followers, one that covers every domain of human life including economic, social, political, ethical, religious, and cultural values. It proposes instructions, etiquettes, and standards, addressing fine details for daily living that range from topics such as relationships and rights to proper hygiene, clean eating, and physical and spiritual detoxification. This helps explain the integral role of religion in the lives of Muslims and why religion is frequently referenced as it promises guidance for those who are in pursuit of happiness and success and who wish to live a well-balanced life. The Quran and Hadith, the recorded sayings of Prophet Muhammad, are the two main sources from which Muslims obtain Islamic guidance. In this chapter, the authors will discuss the significance of mental health in Islam, offering an Islamic outlook on its comprehensive construct, a walk through the historical understanding and classifications of mental and psychological illnesses, including developments from major Muslim scholars and their treatises, and finally a brief exploration of pioneering methods used for treatment and care.
https://www.academia.edu/38214693/Mental_Health_in_the_Islamic_Golden_Era_The_Historical_Roots_of_Modern_Psychiatry
The expressions of the symptoms of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder vary according to the socio- psychological context of patients. In religiously observant populations, OCD symptoms can interact with religious beliefs and practices, known as OCD scrupulosity. The literature is replete with discussions of OCD scrupulosity for Jews and Christian, but minimal research is available on its interaction with Islamic belief in Muslim populations. This paper details some of the most common manifestations of OCD scrupulosity known as waswasa in Muslim populations, thematically categorized based upon the attention afforded to its typical expressions in classical Islamic legal manuals. These broader thematic clusters of symptoms can be divided into four sections, (i) ritual purity and prayer, (ii) marriage and divorce, (iii) blasphemy and apostasy, and (iv) intrusive thoughts of sin. Additionally, assessment methods and identification of OCD symptomology as indicators of clinical psychopathology are discussed. Accompanying this, is an overview of the potential religious dispensations afforded to OCD patients in Islamic ritual law as disability accommodations. The role and conceptualization of waswasa according to normative Islamic belief is presented based upon the Qur’an, prophetic traditions and Islamic scholarly writings. To follow, an Islamically integrated approach to cognitive psychotherapy and exposure response prevention therapy (ERP) is offered, drawing from traditional Islamic faith based healing. Interventions are rooted in a published model of treatment known as Traditional Islamically Integrated Psychotherapy (TIIP). The model proposes a need to counterbalance the OCD patient’s negative attribution bias and accompanying compulsive behaviors that are indicators of excessive fear with a more self-compassionate cognitive orientation. Interventions include a cognitive restructuring component using cognitive techniques of: challenging the evidence, correction of faulty Islamic beliefs through psychoeducation, acceptance of intrusive thoughts and their inconsequentiality, ‘acting as if’ and Islamic positive cognitive reframing. Exposure response prevention is suggested to accompany cognitive interventions in order to extinguish the associated anxiety with intrusive thoughts that propels behavioral compulsions. Finally, recommendations are made to standardize and empirically validate Islamically integrated approaches to OCD scrupulosity.
This chapter outlines Islamic perspectives on psychological and spiritual well-being and its accompanying treatment implications. Pathology is described on a continuum of health and pathology that includes both manifest psychological and internal spiritual dysfunction. Disorder is not relegated solely to the normative clinical determinants of social, occupational or familial dysfunction, but also includes afterlife considerations. Thus, pathology is seen as the manifestation of any internal or external barriers to maintaining the minimal requirements of optimal functioning as Islamically defined by the presence of character virtues, absence of character defects and compliance with Islamic external conduct. Within this Islamic schema of health and disorder, modern behavioral science is afforded an important role and there exists significant convergence between the two fields of Islamic spirituality and behavioral science. The manifestations of this convergence can be seen in two particular domains, i) External conduct (fiqh al-ẓāhir) - mental status considerations for determining the applicability of Islamic legal and ritual requirements of adherents and ii) Inner conduct (fiqh al-bāṭin) – spiritual transformation, where both spiritual exercises and normative psychological treatment strategies can be employed toward the aim of attaining psycho-spiritual health within the context of this Islamic health schema. Both external and internal conduct is discussed within a mental health treatment context, outlining key Islamic concepts and notions to help inform a healthy incorporation of Islamic spirituality within this treatment setting.
Muslim Women, Domestic Violence, and Psychotherapy reconciles newly emerging Islamic practical theology with the findings and theories of contemporary social sciences. It is an inquiry about the lived experience of the Islamic tradition and its application in Islamic counseling with Muslim women subject to domestic violence. By incorporating a holistic examination of the worldview, personhood, and understanding of social and religious obligations of Muslim women in counseling, this book shows how practitioners can empower clients facing trauma and abuse to explore feasible solutions and decrease worry, anxiety, and other negative emotions.
Table of Contents:
Abstract. Acknowledgments.
Introduction
1. Defining Islamic Psychotherapy in the Context of the Islamic Tradition
2. Literature Review: Definitions/Discussions of Key Concepts
3. Divine Testing and Suffering
4. Satanic Interference and Evil Eye
5. Spiritual Diseases
6. Honour and Shame
7. Future Recommendations
8. Conclusion. Bibliography.
Background: The aspects of cultural identity and its impact on obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) have been understudied. There are different opinions, ranging from the idea that culture does not affect the symptoms of this condition to the idea that cultures with high religiosity may have more severity of OCD. Also, the concept of OCD has considerably varied across history and cultures, from being considered an issue related to lack of control of blasphemous ideas, and a part of anxious issues, to the description of complex neurobiological systems in its causation.
Objective: The aim of this review was to address OCD as a well-characterized disorder with a proposed neurobiological basis which may or may not have variations depending on cultural diversity. The question that was asked in this review is whether or not there are cultural differences in the manifestations of the OCD symptomatology and which factors of cultural diversity have a major influence on such manifestations along with the differences among some cultures regarding OCD issues, where the difference among countries has also been highlighted.
Methods: A review of the literature was conducted that includes the following words: obsessivecompulsive disorder, culture, cultural identity and religion in a period of 10 years.
Conclusion: Cultural variations do not seem to differ from symptomatic clusters of OCD, which may be indicating that a series of adaptive behaviors is evolutionarily evolving to be constantly altered, perhaps by well-determined pathophysiological mechanisms. Some aspects that have been related to some dimensions of OCD symptomatology are religion and religiosity, affecting the content of obsessions and the severity of manifestations. Properly evaluating the education background, access to health services, food, and the genetic structure of populations, using investigational instruments sensitive to these cultural elements, will increase our understanding of the importance of culture on OCD and its treatment.
Researchers from around the world have conducted numerous studies in the last few decades exploring the unique cultural and religious nuances of the application of clinical psychology to Muslim clients as a response to the traditional Eurocentric narratives of psychology. This paper is a review of the last 10 years of research within this domain. A thematic analysis was conducted to identify research topical trends in the literature related to the subject. The following five themes emerged: 1) Unification of western psychological models with Islamic beliefs and practices; 2) Research on historical accounts of Islamic Psychology and its rebirth in the modern era; 3) Development of theoretical models and frameworks within Islamic Psychology; 4) Development of interventions and techniques within Islamic psychology; and 5) Development of assessment tools and scales normed for use with Muslims. Recommendations are also provided to help direct future research efforts to expand underdeveloped areas in this field.
There are a substantial number of immigrant youth living in the United States (USA), and there has been a recent media coverage documenting a rise in illegal entry by immigrants into the United States. Both legal and clandestine entries into the United States present various trauma risk factors for youth whose families seek the promise of a fruitful future in America. This chapter examines the various types of traumatic experiences immigrant youth may encounter, prevalent treatment approaches, and practical, community-based applications of treatment programs utilized by the Early Life Stress and Pediatric Anxiety Program at Stanford University. By investigating trauma before, during, and after migration, clinicians can achieve a greater depth of understanding on how to develop new treatment approaches and how to adapt existing psychotherapeutic models. Through an exploration of the psychosocial stressors immigrant youth face, various risk and resiliency factors during different phases of the migration process, potential comorbidities, and existing treatment models, we arrive at specific treatments and cultural adaptation recommendations.
Morbid fears and phobias have been mentioned in religious, philosophical and medical manuscripts since ancient times. Despite early insights by the Greeks, phobias did not appear as a separate clinical phenomenon in Western medicine until the 17th century and has evolved substantially since. However, robust investigations attempting to decipher the clinical nature of phobias emerged in pre-modern times during the oft-overlooked Islamic Golden Era (9th-12th centuries); which overlapped with Europe's medieval period. An innovative attempt was made by the 9th century Muslim scholar, Abu Zayd al-Balkhi, in his medical manuscript "Sustenance of the Body and Soul," to define phobias as a separate diagnostic entity. Al-Balkhi was one of the earliest to cluster psychological and physical symptoms of phobias under one category, "al-Fazaá", and outline a specific management plan. We analyze al-Balkhi's description of phobias, according to the modern understanding of psychiatric classifications and symptomatology as described in the DSM-5.
Statistical graphics and data visualization have long histories, but their modern forms began only in the early 1800s. Between roughly 1850 and 1900 ($\pm10$), an explosive growth occurred in both the general use of graphic methods and the range of topics to which they were applied. Innovations were prodigious and some of the most exquisite graphics ever produced appeared, resulting in what may be called the ``Golden Age of Statistical Graphics.'' In this article I trace the origins of this period in terms of the infrastructure required to produce this explosive growth: recognition of the importance of systematic data collection by the state; the rise of statistical theory and statistical thinking; enabling developments of technology; and inventions of novel methods to portray statistical data. To illustrate, I describe some specific contributions that give rise to the appellation ``Golden Age.'' Comment: Published in at http://dx.doi.org/10.1214/08-STS268 the Statistical Science (http://www.imstat.org/sts/) by the Institute of Mathematical Statistics (http://www.imstat.org)
Studies concerning the presence of schizophrenia in the distant past are controversial. Some authors maintain that schizophrenia-like illnesses existed in antiquity, while others argue that this is quite doubtful. Imprecise definition of schizophrenia, imposition of the current concept of schizophrenia onto the past, difficulties in interpreting ancient texts describing schizophrenia-like conditions, and cultural variables involved in the clinical definition of schizophrenia underlie these controversies. This article reviews the methodological issues that arise in such retrospective studies of schizophrenia.
Until the 1850s, obsessive-compulsive phenomena were considered to be a variant of the old notion of insanity. Around this time they became a separate disease: first, as a member of the old class of the neuroses; then, briefly, as a variant of the newly formed notion of psychosis; and finally, as a neurosis proper (in the post-1880s sense). These changes reflected theoretical shifts in the definition of the grand psychiatric categories. After 1860, organic causal hypotheses for OCD included dysfunctions of the autonomic nervous system and cortical blood supply. Psychological hypotheses suggested the OCD might result from volitional, intellectual, or emotional impairment, the last of which predominated after 1890. Issues relating OCD to personality types and hereditability were dealt with in terms of the degeneration theory. By the late 1880s, OCD achieved full clinical and nosological definition.
Early Muslims wrote extensively about human nature and called it Ilm-al Nafsiat or self-knowledge. In many cases, their works seem to be the original ideas for many modern day psychological theories and practices. What is interesting however is that a lot of what the early scholars wrote was blended with Islamic philosophy and religious ideas. This paper covers major contributions of prominent early Muslim scholars to psychology and outlines the challenges faced by today''s Muslims in adapting to the Western theories. It also offers a few recommendations on the indigenization of psychology for Muslim societies interested in seeking the Islamic perspective on human behaviors.
Psychologists and cultural historians typically have argued that early modern theologians such as Martin Luther, John Bunyan, and Ignatius Loyola exhibited behavior that the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM IV) classifies as a subtype of obsessive-compulsive disorder termed "religious scrupulosity." This essay argues that, although early modern theologians do manifest scrupulosity, such religiosity was a culturally acceptable, even recommended component of spiritual progress, a necessary means of receiving an unmerited bestowal of God's grace. The larger aim of the essay is to point out some of the limitations of current DSM criteria when attempting retrospectively to diagnose historical figures with mental pathology.
Ninety patients suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and diagnosed according to International Classification of Diseases (10th edition [ICD-10]) criteria attending the outpatient clinic of the Institute of Psychiatry in Cairo in 1991-1992 were assessed by the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS) for symptomatology and severity of symptoms. Sixty-nine percent of the patients were males, and 32% were females. The mean age of the sample was 23.7 years, with a mean duration of OCD of 3.2 years. Twenty percent of patients had a positive family history for OCD. Forty percent of patients presented with a mixture of obsessions and compulsions, whereas 29% presented with obsessions and 31% with compulsions. The most commonly occurring obsessions were religious and contamination obsessions (60%) and somatic obsessions (49%), and the most commonly occurring compulsions were repeating rituals (68%), cleaning and washing compulsions (63%), and checking compulsions (58%). Seventy-one percent of patients were rated severe on the Y-BOCS, and all of them had impaired insight; 9% were insightless. The age of patients was found to correlate positively with the total compulsive score and the total Yale BOCS score, but it correlated negatively with the total obsessive score. One third of patients had a comorbid depressive disorder. Regarding premorbid personality disorders, 14% had obsessive personality disorder, 34% had paranoid, anxious, or emotionally labile personality disorder, and 52% had no premorbid personality disorder. The role of religious upbringing has been evident in the phenomenology of OCD in Egypt, which is similar to the outcomes of studies in Jerusalem and different from results in India and Britain.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Schizophrenia is a serious mental illness with a remarkably short recorded history. Unlike depression and mania, which are recognizable in ancient texts, schizophrenia-like disorder appeared rather suddenly in the psychiatric literature of the early nineteenth century. This could mean that the illness is a recent disease that was largely unknown in earlier times. But perhaps schizophrenia existed, embedded and disguised within more general concepts of madness and within the arcane languages and cultures of remote times. Both possibilities present major challenges to historical and psychiatric scholarship. These challenges are explored in this paper by presenting two "new" cases of schizophrenia, one from the eighteenth and one from the fourteenth century. The cases suggest that the illness may have existed as early as the medieval period. However, establishing the population prevalence of schizophrenia in earlier times--and therefore resolving the permanence-recency debate--may not be a feasible enterprise.
The Arab world covers a vast geographic area, comprising many different countries in Asia and Africa. The contemporary world owes much of its progress in all fields of human intellectual activity, including med- icine, to Arabic culture, especially the advancements made during the Golden Age of Arabic-Islamic science (8th to 13th centuries C.E.). The glorious historic background of the Arabic world permits us to identify the debt that humanity owes to the Golden Age of Arabic science and to evaluate the research contribu- tions made by Arab countries to biomedical sciences in our own day.
As S Tibi's article states Al-Razi was indeed an exceptional physician (April 2006 JRSM1). He was a polymath, an observant clinician and a prolific writer. In one of his most noted publications he described patients with acute urethritis similar to the gonorrhoea that we see today. He was the first physician to detail full and definitive manifestations of gonorrhoea.2 He wrote of urethral discharge and its treatment by irrigation; he was familiar with urethral stricture, and emphasized the importance of catheterization if there was a threat of retention of urine.
Ancient physicians (Hippocrates, Galen and Celsus) wrote about urethral discharge, but the overall clinical picture they presented was very different from gonorrhoea as we know it. Al-Razi was instrumental in convincing medical historians to conclude that gonorrhoea originated in the Middle Ages—a landmark in the history of venereology.
Is suffering associated with melancholia and "madness" necessary for artistic creativity and eminence? Or do creativity and leadership have something to do with the temperaments associated with affective disease? We integrate concepts dating back to Greek psychological medicine and philosophy--especially work attributed to Aristotle--with modern data-based examination of the role of cyclothymic and related temperaments in the interface between mixity, the bipolar spectrum and normality. We place our query within the general framework of evolutionary biology and human nature. In doing so, we propose that affective disease--including mania and associated psychotic states--exist because they serve as the genetic reservoir for adaptive temperaments and the genes for genius. Affective disorder can therefore be regarded as the price of exceptional greatness. Thus, creative and eminent individuals, by virtue of their being exceptional, occupy a somewhat unstable terrain between temperament and affective disease.
Arabic Medicine in the Eleventh Century as Represented in the Works of Ibn Jazalah Hamdard Foundation
- J S Graziani
El concepto del alma en la antigua Grecia
- J N Bremmer
Bimaristans and mental health in two different areas of the Medieval Islamic world
- Gorini
How Islam changed medicine: Arab physicians and scholars laid the basis for medical practice in Europe
- Majeed
Su¨leymaniye Umumı̂ Ku¨tu¨phanesi
- A S Balkhī
- F Sezgin
1222. al-Asbab wa-al-‘alamat. Reel 66. Arabic Medical Manuscript Collection
- N U Al-Samarqandi