Religion and Spirituality in Psychiatry

Psychotherapy from an Islamic Perspective 3072.3. Two Important Questions BeforeUsing Religious TechniquesTwo important questions must first be answeredbefore using religious techniques in therapy. First,“Are religious conflicts important as part of theclient’s problems?” For example, if religious guiltplays an important part in the client’s depressionor anxiety, the therapist should take time to helpthe client resolve her or his religious guilt; but ifthe problem is a specific phobia, religious techniquesmay be less helpful to the patient.The second and more important question is,“How much is a religious technique really meaningfulto the client?” For example, if a Muslimclient has negative attitudes toward religiousscriptures or Islamic daily prayers, trying to usethem in therapy may cause negative feelings andresistance, while the same client may have privateprayers and nonritualistic relationships withGod that may be more effectively used in therapy.Therefore, in addition to taking a religious historyat the first session, it may be necessary tocollect more information about the client’s attitudestoward specific religious techniques beforeusing them.Depression, anxiety, and various interpersonalconflicts are among the most common problemsseen in Muslim clients, so I will briefly explainIslamic concepts useful in each of these problems.Reyshahri (1992) (21) has summarized andclassified thousands of sayings of the ProphetMuhammad and Shia Imams using many Sunniand Shia books as references in his ten-volumeArabic book میزان الحکمة (balance of wisdom).My Hadiths quotations will be from this book.Related verses from the Holy Koran will alsobe provided, along with clinical examples oftechniques.3. ISLAMIC CONCEPTS USEFUL INPSYCHOTHERAPY OF DEPRESSION3.1. Believing in an AfterlifeAccording to cognitive theory, thoughts concerningan important loss cause sadness. (22)Examples of these thoughts are: “I wish mywife was still alive!” or “It is terrible that I havediabetes!” Every time clients attribute muchimportance to an unattainable object, they feelsad. Many Muslim patients cope with these unattainablewishes or inevitable losses by believingin an afterlife where life will be much better.Believing in an afterlife, along with believing inone omnipotent God and the prophetic missionof Prophet Muhammad, is one of the fundamentalbeliefs of Islam. Afterlife issues are recurrentlyrepeated in the Holy Koran, and almostall Muslims believe in some kind of reward andpunishment after death, although the interpretationsmay vary. Some accept the Koranic versesabout afterlife reward or punishment literally,while others may believe that these verses havemore symbolic meanings.According to the Koran and Sunnah, afterliferewards are not only considered for Muslims’good deeds, but also for their good intentionsor wishes and even for sufferings from problemssuch as poverty or death of loved ones,provided that these sufferings are not causedvoluntarily or unduly by Muslims themselves.So there are many circumstances in which thesereligious beliefs can be used to lessen clients’sufferings.3.1.1. PovertyOne example of a situation where believingin an afterlife and stating the Prophet’s sunnahcan be used to decrease the patient’s suffering ispoverty or monetary need. Although poverty isnot regarded as good by itself in Islam (7:495), (19)showing patience when in this state and trying toovercome poverty by honest work are seriouslyencouraged. In addition, great afterlife rewardshave been promised to poor believers who cannotafford things that they wish. One examplefrom Prophet Muhammad Sunnah is: “Somepoor Muslims said to Prophet Muhammad thatsometimes they saw fruits in the bazaar and likedto buy them but hadn’t any money, and askedhim if this would result in afterlife reward forthem. The Prophet said: ‘Isn’t the reward exactlyfor these things?’ ” (7:521). (19) The Holy Koran