Advocacy Plan
During my conversations with the Muslim community at OSU, I learned about MY Family Pantry, which is a food pantry located in Columbus, Ohio. MY Family Pantry serves families in need around the area, many being refugees, by supplying them with nutritious food. Many students help with this effort by volunteering at the pantry on Saturday mornings. I think this is a great way to serve the greater community around Columbus. My Family Pantry also offers a program where, for $18/month, you can provide a family with fresh food twice a month and non-perishables once a month. As an act of advocacy, I can use my privilege as a middle-class person to share the mission of MY Family Pantry with others. I can share information about the pantry with family, friends, and on my social media. I would especially highlight the family sponsor program and ask for donations. I chose a picture of fresh produce to represent what I can do to advocate for refugee families, some who are Muslim, around Columbus. This picture represents a basic need, food, that some families do not always have access to. This makes me feel very upset and frustrated because everyone should have access to basic needs, regardless of who they are. With increased donations to food pantries such as the MY Family Pantry, food can be delivered to families in need.
References:
Imran. (2013). Vegetables [Online image]. Retrieved November 25, 2018 from https://pixabay.com/en/vegetables-nature-green-healthy-140917/
MY Family Pantry Team. (2018). Columbus – MY Project USA: MY Family Pantry. Retrieved November 25, 2018 from https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f054babaf2aaaf85-myfamily
Servant Leadership
As an act of servant leadership, I can compile some information about mental health and find resources in the surrounding area. One person I spoke with mentioned wanting to make this information available for other students on campus who are Muslim who might be hesitant to talk about mental health or see a mental health professional. This information could be sent out in an email to student organizations or they could dedicate some meeting time to this topic, if the members of the organization thought they would benefit from this information. I would definitely highlight Counseling and Consultation Service here at OSU and the multiple groups they facilitate that cover a wide range of identities and issues students might have (e.g. life stress, ADHD, substance use, men, women of color). I would also want to include instructions on how to make an appointment at CCS and how to navigate their website. I would want students who are Muslim to know that many resources exist outside of campus life, and I would include some local agencies, including agencies and individual clinicians whose practice is rooted in their faith. There are many websites that can help people locate a mental health professional near them that allow users to pick from a wide range of treatment approaches and counselor demographics/expertise. I think it could also be helpful for a practicing counselor to come to a meeting or skype in and answer any questions the students might have about mental health and how their faith can be incorporated into their care.
Strengths-Based Needs
A major strength for those who follow Islam is their sense of community. While Western culture tends to focus on the individual, Islam places importance in community (Hussain & Ross-Sheriff, 2011 as cited in Husain & Hodge, 2016). I chose an image of two women sitting together and wearing the hijab to represent this strength. After speaking with members of the community, I learned that the hijab can be a way for Muslim women to physically identify and then connect with others who share their faith. This is a benefit of wearing the hijab that I was not aware of. By speaking to those who follow the Islamic faith, I was able to learn about how it can help to provide that sense of community and feeling of belonging. After attending a religious service held on campus, I observed how large the community at OSU is and learned about some of the events they hold. I could tell that there was a large group of people who could be there for each other. I felt a sense of comfort knowing that Islam places importance on community and being there for others, which is very different from the individualistic view that is often preached in the United States. In a therapeutic context, it would be very important to ask the client about their relationship with their family, friends, and larger religious community. The relationships and connections they have with others could be very useful to integrate into sessions and would likely be a source of strength for them.
Reference:
Hassan, M. (2017). Friends, Back to Back [Online image]. Retrieved October 21, 2017 from https://pixabay.com/en/friends-back-to-back-hijab-muslima-2775549/
Systemic Challenges
One important systemic challenge for those who identify as Muslim is the stigma surrounding mental health. This stigma presents itself in two ways: stigma for having a mental illness and stigma for seeking mental health services. A survey done in Iraq showed that half of respondents would experience shame if someone in their family had a mental illness, would not like the idea of working around someone with a mental illness, and believed in simply staying away from people with mental illness. Half of the respondents also believed that people who have a mental illness should not be married or have children, and over half believed that people are responsible for their own mental illness (Sadik, Bradley, Al-Hasoon, & Jenkins, 2010). Beyond the stigma attached to having a mental illness, there is also stigma attached with seeking mental health services. Some of the literature surrounding stigma in Muslim communities has touched on the idea that people will see a general practitioner instead of a mental health professional when faced with mental health issues because less stigma attached to physical health issues (Ciftci, Jones, & Corrigan, 2013; Weatherhead & Daiches, 2010). Receiving services from a mental health professional as a person who is Muslim can lead to shame and a feeling that they have not received the help they need from their religion and are being disloyal (Ciftci et al., 2010). Those who are active in their faith may feel stigmatized for having the symptoms of a mental illness and then feel further stigmatized when seeking services. This stigma, combined with Westernized mental health services that can be incongruent with religious values, can be a barrier keeping people who are Muslim from accessing mental health services (Husain & Hodge, 2016; Weatherhead & Daiches, 2010). I did not know the depth of the stigma that people who are Muslim experience surrounding mental health and mental illness. They are receiving stigma from various sources, and I think this image does a good job of representing this concept. The person in the image is feeling distress, and the fist represents the stigma she experiences. The fist could represent people inside or outside of her religious community being distant or harsh to her because of the emotions she is experiencing. It could be also be a family member who makes her feel ashamed for making an appointment with a professional counselor. The fist could also represent a culturally-incompetent counselor who tries to use strategies that ignore her religious values. I can imagine feeling very overwhelmed and alone if I had to combat all of these beliefs from others while also experiencing my own struggles and I think that this image captures the feeling of being overwhelmed very well.
References:
Ciftci, A., Jones, N., & Corrigan, P. W. (2013). Mental health stigma in the Muslim community. Journal of Muslim Mental Health, 7(1), 17-32.
Husain, A., & Hodge, D. R. (2016). Islamically modified cognitive behavioral therapy: Enhancing outcomes by increasing the cultural congruence of cognitive behavioral therapy self-statements. International Social Work, 59(3), 393-405.
Sadik, S., Bradley, M., Al-Hasoon, S., & Jenkins, R. (2010). Public perceptions of mental health in Iraq. International Journal of Mental Health Systems, 4.
[untitled illustration of a fist over a peson]. Retrieved October 13, 2018 from https://www.launchgood.com/project/institute_of_muslim_mental_health_1#!/
Weatherhead, S., & Daiches, A. (2010). Muslim views on mental health and psychotherapy. Psychology and Psychotherapy, 83, 75-89. doi:10.1348/147608309X467807.
Annotated Bibliography
Cook-Masaud, C., & Wiggins, M. I. (2011). Counseling Muslim women: Navigating cultural and religious challenges. Counseling and Values, 55, 247-256.
This article is a position paper in which the authors suggest guidelines for counselors to follow when working with Muslims, specifically Muslim women. Literature is used in the introduction of the paper to educate the reader on the increasing Muslim population in the U.S., how Islam can be perceived negatively, and barriers that can keep Muslims from coming to counseling. The research all comes from the past 23 years, with a majority of it coming from the past 10 years, which I would consider current. It is also relevant as it makes a case for why increased attention should be given to issues around counseling Muslims. The literature used in the remainder of the article supports the guidelines that the authors put forth for counseling Muslims. The authors used a composite case study to apply the concepts that they believe counselors should focus on when working with a client who is Muslim. This specific case happened to be a woman. They argue that, first, counselors must build a relationship with their client where the client feels comfortable sharing her story. Additionally, the counselor must listen to how the client’s story is influenced by and relates to her culture. Identifying cultural differences is important at this stage. The authors explain that the counselor can help the client become more aware of her new environment by sharing how the dominant culture functions. The counselor must be respectful of how the client views herself in terms of her gender and her family, and the counselor can help her identify strengths that come from these identities. In terms of the client’s religion, the counselor can help her translate some of her beliefs into concrete thoughts and behaviors. This can be done through consultation with religious leaders and reading of the Qur’an. After all of these steps have been taken and the counselor feels culturally competent surrounding the issue that brought the client in, he/she has a duty to advocate for the client if needed. The authors believe that these components can improve the therapeutic process for Muslim clients who are women and wish to be in congruence with their religion and culture. This article provides a framework for ways to be culturally competent when counseling people with diverse identities and emphasizes the importance of counselors not trying to change a client’s viewpoint or culture, even if it is different from their own. I believe this article does a great job at highlighting issues that Muslims, especially Muslim women, face in the U.S. regarding counseling. However, I feel as though a true case study (or multiple) would have been a stronger addition to the article than a composite case study.
Ibrahim, F. A., & Dykeman, C. (2011). Counseling Muslim Americans: Cultural and spiritual assessments. Journal of Counseling and Development, 89, 387-396.
This article is a position paper where the authors emphasize the need for counselors to seek information on their Muslim American clients cultural and spiritual life. The literature cited in the article discusses how there are many different levels at which Muslims living in America relate to and participate in their home and host cultures. This research is relevant to the authors’ argument because it supports the need for counselors to assess how culture and religion play a role in their client’s life. The research is also mainly from the 2000s with a few citations from 1970s-1990s, so it could be more current. The main arguments are that when working with Muslim American clients, counselors should assess the client’s cultural identity (including their race, ethnicity, gender, social class, etc.), their commitment and devotion to their religion, how they feel about gender roles in the therapeutic setting, and their worldview. The authors also believe it is very important to assess the client’s level of acculturation. Using these assessments can be helpful for counselors to engage in appropriate and productive helping strategies with a client who is Muslim American. This article is helpful in that it provides examples of scales that can be used to assess these domains. I believe that this article does a good job with outlining multiple domains that are important to address with a client who is Muslim American. I also believe this framework could work with other clients who are from a non-dominant culture living in a Westernized society. The addition of actual assessments that could be used during counseling shows that the authors are addressing real, observable constructs.
Husain, A., & Hodge, D. R. (2016). Islamically modified cognitive behavioral therapy: Enhancing outcomes by increasing the cultural congruence of cognitive behavioral therapy self-statements. International Social Work, 59(3), 393-405.
This article is a position paper that argues for the use of modified cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) when working with client’s who are Muslim. The literature used in the article describes Islamophobia and why people who are Muslim might seek therapy. However, the authors also use literature to describe how the values emphasized in traditional CBT might clash with the Islamic value of interdependence and faith. The literature included in the paper helps to create the argument for changing aspects of CBT when working with clients who are Muslim. The authors cite studies where modified techniques were used, but some of the examples are from the 1990s, so these could have been more current. The article outlines how a culturally competent counselor can modify CBT to be more effective for their religious clients. They must first understand what the therapeutic concept is trying to say, identify whether or not this value is shared by the client, then reframe the concept into terms that relate to the client’s religion, specifically Islam. The authors support this argument by citing outcomes where clients had increased motivation and compliance with the modified counseling. Also, clients had fewer incidences of relapse when they were engaged with this type of counseling. The authors conclude that modifying CBT to be more in line with a client’s Islamic values can make counseling more inviting for Muslims, and that it can create better treatment outcomes. This article is relevant in that it addresses how some therapeutic concepts are based heavily in Western values, and how it is the duty of culturally competent counselors to critique and modify their interventions to attain the best outcome for the client. I like that this article chose a specific domain of therapy to work in, CBT. However, I think the argument could have been made stronger if the authors went into more detail about the studies they were citing in which their idea actually worked. The last few sections of the paper were not as empirically supported as the background information. However, the overall argument is strong.
Hamjah, S. H., Akhir, N. S. M., Ismail, Z., Ismail, A., & Arib, N. M. (2017). The application of ibadah(worship) in counseling: Its importance and implications to Muslim clients. Journal of Religion & Health, 56, 1302-1310.
This study aimed to investigate the significance of the use of the Islamic principleibadahin counseling and how this would affect the counseling overall. The literature used in the introduction of the article describes the various interpretations of ibadahand how the therapeutic process can be enhanced by incorporating religion. The research describes ibadahas believing that the purpose of one’s life is to be a follower of Allah, and to live one’s life in this way. The research is mostly from the 2000s. They did, however, use an excerpt from Jung that is a bit older, but it lays a theoretical foundation for the purpose of the study. The participants included 30 trained counselors, and they answered a survey that included questions on applying ibadahinto the counseling process. The researchers found that counselors agreed that using ibadahin counseling was important. Also, half of the participants believed that they saw changes in their client after implementing principles of ibadahduring counseling. Counselors believed that their clients also experienced improved emotional wellness. The researchers concluded that incorporating ibadah into counseling is important and has positive results for clients who are Muslim. This study is relevant because it provides support for incorporating religion into counseling. The authors could have done better in accounting for clients who may not feel strongly connected to their religion and may be experiencing issues related to it. Also, I am skeptical of the researchers’ decision to only survey counselors and then use the results to say that a certain principle should be used in counseling. I think that the researchers need to survey clients because counselors cannot accurately report on their client’s treatment outcomes unless they did their own research in this area. I think that the methodology would have been stronger if clients were surveyed on their opinions on using ibadahin counseling.
Ahammed, S. (2010). Applying Qur’anic metaphors in counseling. International Journal for theAdvancement of Counseling, 32(4), 248-255.
This article is a position paper that arguing for the use of metaphors from the Quran in counseling with clients who are Muslim. Much of the literature explains Milton Erickson’s use of metaphors in therapy, however it is slightly older research being from the 1980s. More research is used to describe how metaphors can help clients look at situations in a different way and improve the counselor-client relationship. Also, research is used to support using metaphors to connect with a client on a cultural level. The author argues that since Muslims can have a tendency to think figuratively and the Qur’an is filled with metaphors, they can be a helpful tool to be used in counseling. Applying these metaphors in the therapeutic process can help the client relate their issues to their faith and lets the client know that the counselor respects their faith. The author concludes that incorporating metaphors from the Qur’an into therapy with a Muslim client has the potential to be very valuable, but they must be used with care and respect by the counselor. This article is relevant to counseling religious clients because it goes over the many benefits metaphors can have when they come from religious texts. I enjoyed the use of the case study in this article as it showed how the use of these metaphors can be creative. The author also acknowledges that using metaphors in therapy must be used carefully.