Therapeutically Trained Muslim Faith Leaders’ Experiences of Islamically Informed Therapeutic Support in the Muslim Community

Abstract

Therapeutically Trained Muslim Faith Leaders (TTMFL) utilise a unique set of skills, knowledge and experience to provide a holistic approach to the Muslim community when managing mental health difficulties. Despite literature showing that they are trusted sources of mental health support, research exploring this enhanced role is minimal. With growing levels of Islamophobia and the racial and religious inequalities among minority ethnic communities accessing healthcare, it is important to consider TTMFL experiences of delivering Islamically informed therapeutic support in the Muslim community, focusing on factors that support or hinder implementation in the community and National Health Services. In this qualitative study, ten TTMFL trained in different secular modalities and working in various settings participated in semi-structured interviews. Five themes revealed from the thematic analysis reflected their experiences of delivering faith-adapted therapeutic support for Muslims: Different Worldviews; Grassroots Faith-Based Therapy Service; Enabling Therapy Aligned with Muslim Client’s Faith Needs; Challenges in Embedding Faith-Adapted Support in Communities and Collaboration as a Lever for Implementation. The findings reflect the complexities in the duality of their role, conceptualising and implementing relevant Islamic adaptations at a systemic and individual level to reduce the gap between statutory and community services and to work effectively to meet the spiritual needs of the Muslim clients. The themes are examined in relation to research and theory, emphasising implications for policymakers, the community, the clinical psychology profession and therapeutic practice through advocacy, support and guidance for accessing faith and culturally tailored psychological services.