Muslims in the United States: An Exploratory Study of Universal and Mental Health Values

Abstract

The authors surveyed the universal and mental health values of 121 Muslims in the United States and their counseling preferences. The respondents were generally well educated and highly religious. They responded high in the universal values of benevolence and conformity; low in power, hedonism, and stimulation; and high in many humanistic mental health values. A comparison with typical counselor values showed both similarities and differences. A substantial minority indicated a willingness to go to a non‐Muslim counselor but most would want a counselor with an understanding of Islam. Implications for counseling practice and future research are discussed.

Cultural Competence in Counseling the Muslim Patient: Implications for Mental Health

“…Muslim patients report fear that their values will be undermined by secular counseling (Jafari, 1993). In fact, many Muslim patients who do seek mental health care prefer a counselor with an understanding of Islam (Kelly, Aridi, & Bakhtiar, 1996).…”

Stress, Religious Coping and Wellbeing in Acculturating Muslims

“…Many minority groups access mental healthcare at disproportionately low rates, yet Muslims are recognized as under-represented even relative to other ethnic and religious minorities (Cinnirella & Loewenthal, 1999;Kelly, Aridi, & Bakhtiar, 1996). A key barrier identified for Muslims is a lack of perceived 'fit' between their needs and the current services offered by healthcare providers (Abu Raiya & Pargament, 2010;Kelly et al, 1996).…”

“…Many minority groups access mental healthcare at disproportionately low rates, yet Muslims are recognized as under-represented even relative to other ethnic and religious minorities (Cinnirella & Loewenthal, 1999;Kelly, Aridi, & Bakhtiar, 1996). A key barrier identified for Muslims is a lack of perceived 'fit' between their needs and the current services offered by healthcare providers (Abu Raiya & Pargament, 2010;Kelly et al, 1996). Nevertheless, a number of authors argue that Western-based cognitive therapy is in fact a good fit for traditional Islamic thought, drawing many parallels between Islamic teachings and core concepts of cognitive therapy (Azhar et al, 1994;Hodge & Nadir, 2008).…”

20201218

“…Many minority groups access mental healthcare at disproportionately low rates, yet Muslims are recognized as under-represented even relative to other ethnic and religious minorities (Cinnirella & Loewenthal, 1999;Kelly, Aridi, & Bakhtiar, 1996). A key barrier identified for Muslims is a lack of perceived 'fit' between their needs and the current services offered by healthcare providers (Abu Raiya & Pargament, 2010;Kelly et al, 1996). Nevertheless, a number of authors argue that Western-based cognitive therapy is in fact a good fit for traditional Islamic thought, drawing many parallels between Islamic teachings and core concepts of cognitive therapy (Azhar et al, 1994;Hodge & Nadir, 2008).…”