ISLAMIC PSYCHOTHERAPY ONLINE

Volume 19, July 2010
St. Louis, Missouri, USA

Editor: Mohamed Ziauddin MSW LCSW

In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent and the Most Merciful

FOCUS OF THIS MONTH:
ANGER

ANGER is one of our primary emotions and it is frequently dealt with inappropriately. In Islam, anger is recognized as natural. Islam does not say to totally eradicate anger, because it is not possible and it would be unnatural to do so. What Sharia teaches us is never to be angry for personal motives and if we will ever feel anger or rage, it should be for the pleasure of Allah.

(www.topnews.us)

We all know that almost all the times that when we get angry, it is for our personal motives. Many people learn unhealthy ways of processing anger, from suppressing and repressing angry feelings to exploding in rage with little provocation. This could lead them to hurt somebody else especially the weak and the vulnerable OR get hurt themselves and also possibly get into legal & other problems.

Anger if unchecked can be directed either inwards by harming self or impulsive acts leading to suicide and if anger is directed at others it could lead to injury and in extreme case to homicide.

Below are examples to the extreme:

US military personnel Spc. Brandon Bare 19, of Wilkesboro, N.C, had returned to Fort Lewis from Iraq to recuperate from cuts and internal ear injuries in a grenade attack at Mosul , Iraq . He had reportedly stated that HE HAD TROUBLE CONTROLLING HIS ANGER and did not like his wife going out and partying. He got enrolled in treatment program for Anger Management.

But before he could complete the program he already got into legal problems. His anger went out of control and he murdered his wife Nabila by stabbing her seventy one times. His lawyer stated that there was nothing to show that this killing was planned. “What this looks like…IS AN ACT OF RAGE, or some sort of other unexplainable act, Attorney Capt. Patrick O’Brien said.

As indicated in the past, our Muslim community is not immune from the current individual and social problems faced by our mainstream society.

IT IS TO BE NOTED THAT PROBLEMS WITH ANGER IS "NOT THE ONLY REASON" FOR BELOW HOMICIDES BUT ANGER IS ONE OF THE MANY REASONS RESULTING IN BELOW HOMICIDES.

If you recall there was a Muslim in St. Louis, Missouri who in the past had repeated parent-child conflict with his westernized teenage daughter and as the conflict continued to escalate without any treatment, at one point, out of anger, he stabbed his teenage daughter to death. (Zein Isa, a Palestinian terrorist who lived in St. Louis, was convicted of killing his daughter Palestina in 1989. Investigators say he was furious she had a black boyfriend, went to a school dance and got a job at Wendy's. Palestina's mother held her down as Isa plunged a 9-inch knife into his daughter's chest ...Foxnews.com)




AP/Irving Police Department Amina (left) and Sarah Said, 18 and 17, were found shot to death in their father's taxi.

(foxnews.Amina Said, 18, and her sister Sarah, 17, were found shot multiple times in a cab outside a suburban Dallas hotel. Police found them after one of the girls called 911 from a cell phone and said she was dying. A capital murder warrant has been issued for Yaser Said, 50, (their father) ....)

A photo of Sarah Said, 17, in a tribute to the Said sisters on Facebook.

Muslim Television Channel Founder Charged With Beheading His Wife
(Husband decapitates his wife because she wanted a divorce)
(www.dalje.com)

Muzzammil Hassan established Bridges TV network in the suburbs of Buffalo, New York in 2004, with the hope of showing American Muslims in positive way, Buffalonews reports. However, his idea and reputation were questioned when the police arrested him under suspicion that he decapitated his 37-year-old wife Aasiya. Hassan turned to a police station and reported his wife`s death. He told the officers that his wife was at his office, thus the police went to the TV network to find the headless body. The husband was the prime suspect, because Aasiya filed for divorce and she recently requested a restraining order, thus he was not allowed to come home)

Above Photo: July 7: Chaudhry Rashid waits with other inmates to make his first appearance in Magistrate Court at the Clayton County Courthouse in Jonesboro, Georgia. (yahoo.news.photos)

(FOXNEWS.com Investigators say that after an argument on the night of July 5, he strangled (his daughter) Kanwal with a bungee cord. He could not accept the "disgrace" a divorce or affair would bring on his family, according to police).

On a lighter level, most of us have seen our own family members, relatives, friends, or colleagues losing control over their anger and the subsequent consequences. Anger may also be a symptom in various psychiatric problems.

ISLAMIC PERSPECTIVE:

From an Islamic point of view, anger is a trait of Shaitan’s influence and we all must guard ourselves against being dominated by anger. Allah has given us both positive and negative emotions and anger is a negative emotion that we need to tame and control and never allow it to control us. We have a choice here and we need to make a WISE CHOICE. Anger is like Fire.

Allah created Shaitan from Fire. The properties of fire - it enrages, spreads, engulfs, burns, leaps, and tries to consume everything within its reach. Very few things can stand in its way.

Allah created Man from the dust of the earth and the natural symbolic qualities of dust of the earth are to be settled, simple, humble, down to earth et.c. That’s why when Allah (SUT) told shaitan to prostrate to Adam (ASW). Shaitan refused saying, “I am better than him. You created me from fire, you created Adam (ASW) from Clay. Should fire bow down or prostrate to Clay”. Not surprisingly, Shaitan’s natural properties are arrogance, pride and anger that led him to rebel and refuse Allah’s command.

Allah (ST) says in the Quran:

003.134. “Those who spend (freely) whether in prosperity, or in adversity; WHO RESTRAIN ANGER, and pardon (all) men; for God loves those who do good”.

In a Hadith, Prophet Mohamed (SAW) said:

“Anger is from Shaitan and Shaitan was created from the fire and nothing can extinguish fire except water. Therefore if anyone of you gets angry, perform wadhu”.

As a psychotherapist, I see several advantages from above hadith. Generally when we do wadhu, we cleanse ourselves with water following the prescribed ritual. When one does wadhu, it is a step prior to doing the salaat. In most cases, we tend to psychologically calm ourselves down and prepare ourselves to go and pray before Allah. Therefore since our mind is generally conditioned to tone down to a state of calm and peace psychologically, doing wadhu as a response to cope with anger does WORK fairly well to calm us down.

CLINICAL PERSPECTIVE:

From a Clinician’s perspective, I would recommend it as a Clinical Intervention for practicing Muslims who have problems with anger. However one should be aware that anger like the switch of a stove has different levels – low, medium and high. Above recommendation is for anger in the low to medium levels.

On the lines of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, it would be good to get details on the individual’s bio-psycho-social history, triggers of anger, mechanisms that feed into the anger, identifying the relationship of mechanism to the anger triggers and then formulating the treatment plan. A significant body of research evidence suggests that inappropriate anger responses can be replaced with more appropriate and effective behaviors. Some of the techniques involve problem-solving training, self-control training, cognitive restructuring, stress inoculation and rational-emotive therapy. Most of these techniques are based on a three-step process:

(1)Becoming aware of behaviors that are hurtful to self and others.

(2) Learning skills or techniques to replace hurtful behaviors and

(3) Practicing until the new, more adaptive behaviors become usable in real-life situations.

THE AREA OF PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN MUSLIMS IN ST. LOUIS AND US:

In St. Louis, we now are offering ISLAMIC ORIENTED ANGER MANAGEMENT GROUP THERAPY to adults. Minimum members of the group should be at least five. For details, please contact us at amyusuf786@gmail.com

OUR GROUP OBJECTIVES:

1) To explore the origins of anger and illustrate the dynamics of anger both from Islamic perspective and Cognitive-Behavioral Perspective.

2) To help the persons become aware of situational, physical and cognitive clues that precede angry responses and identify their own typical patterns of response in anger provoking situations.

3) To help persons become aware of how alcohol and other drugs affect the inappropriate expression of anger.

4) To distinguish between appropriate and inappropriate anger responses and help persons see that appropriate responses generally have more positive consequences.

5) To present the use of coping statements and cognitive restructuring as positive means of reducing angry feelings.

6) To encourage persons to take personal responsibility for their own thoughts, feelings and behaviors.

EXPECTATIONS AT THE CONCLUSION OF THE GROUP THERAPY SESSIONS:

By the end of this Islamic-Cognitive-Behavioral program our brothers and sisters are expected to have learned alternative, non-aggressive forms of expressing their anger and demonstrate ability to practice these skills in their day to day lives. Please refer interested candidates who may confirm below signs.

1) Low frustration tolerance
2) Inability to deal with authority figures
3) Poor verbal control of overt behaviors
4) Poor self-control
5) Engaging in self-defeating behaviors.
6) Anger was one of the main reasons for (a) Major inter-personal conflict resulting in violence & aggression (b) Being ordered by the Court (c) FAILED RELATIONSHIPS (d) Terminated from job (e) Legal problems et.c.

NOTE: Above Social Worker while working in the past in Los Angeles was providing Anger Management Group Therapy to voluntary clients as well as clients who were ordered by the Court as part of their conditions of preventing them to go to jail OR as one of their conditions of probation / parole upon release from jail.

THE END

ISLAMIC PSYCHOTHERAPY ONLINE

Volume 18, June 2010
St. Louis, Missouri, USA

Editor: Mohamed Ziauddin

In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent and the Most Merciful

HOW CAN THE UMMAH BE MORE EFFECTIVE IN LOVING AND HELPING EACH OTHER?

(DISCLAIMER:
Some of below mentioned incidents in no way reflects the general unmatched, unparalleled superior quality of services offered by various agencies within the United States. In fact, the Government and the people of the United States are in my personal opinion one of the most open minded and generous people in the world. Not surprisingly you could find people settled down in the U.S from almost every corner of the world. The U.S has generously accommodated millions of refugees from across the conflict zones of the world and has assisted them to settle down in the U.S. Having said the above, as in every culture and country in the world, there is always a small minority of people who I call the "bad apples" who are prejudiced and if not noticed, would not mind violating their own work related policies to express their hate and/or ignorance).

Once a Muslim brother told me, that he was very depressed and did not know how he could ever pay off his (federal) educational loans. Especially that he has become disabled after getting into an accident and suffering both medical and psychological problems. I arranged him to complete the Application to Discharge his Student Loan and he followed up with his Dr to get a letter of permanent disability and his main financial stressor of the huge loans was wiped out.

WE ARE ONE UMMAH IN PRACTICE WHEN WE HELP EACH OTHER.

One day in a hospital where I worked, a Muslim woman with hijab came and told me that when she went to the appropriate Govt office and tried to apply for Medical insurance, she was denied. She was a new immigrant from overseas and was five months pregnant. I was really surprised of her denial and wondered about it. Even the undocumented aliens illegally entering the country are given Medical insurance if they were pregnant, how could our Muslima, a legal permanent resident be denied the benefit. I have a strong belief that a piece of cloth over the head of a woman should not make such a prejudicial difference in the outcome of delivery of social services and this is “dead wrong”. I then wrote in an official letter head, a letter addressed to the appropriate agency indicating that I was her Social Worker and referring her to apply for Medical insurance and other related benefits. Later, the Muslima came back and told me about the good news of acceptance of her Medical application and also approval of cash aid and food stamps.

I once worked at a Mental Health facility, and there was one Muslim patient who prayed five times a day within the facility and showed extreme distaste of pork. The non-Muslim Clinician in his documentation made a note that the inmate may have “Obsessive-Compulsive disorder” because he was frequently washing his hands. Apparently the Clinician had no idea that Pt had to wash his hands and feet as part of ablution before his prayers five times a day. He just observed Pt washing his hands and feet & gave him a label via a clinical diagnosis. The same clinician did not know that Muslims did not eat pork and when Pt had reacted extremely hard to the topic of eating pork, the Clinician concluded that Pt may be “paranoid” about pork and other related issues. Above Muslim SW educated the Clinician on Islam.

A female Muslim teenager came running inside her home from her front yard, crying and saying to her mother that one of her School female classmates attacked her (right in front of her house) and pulled a part of her hair creating a bald spot on her head and telling her that “Osama is your uncle” and “Osama is hiding in your house”. The mother does not know English and contacted me for help. The same female teenager was physically attacked for the second time by the same female student/ perpetrator. I had talked to the School Vice Principal and learnt that they cannot do anything about it since the incident happened outside the School grounds. I advised the teenager’s mother on appropriate steps to take. Police were called and the perpetrator was given a warning and the teenager was never hassled again in any way by the above perpetrator.

A new Muslim African immigrant female student with very limited knowledge of English was made fun of by few of her African-American female students. In one instance they traumatized her by ganging up close to her and threatening her by pointing a knife at her throat in the female restroom. The victim’s parents don’t speak English and contacted me. I called the School Social Worker and followed up on it. On a follow up phone call, I learnt that the Muslim student’s harassment had subsided and she reported no more harassment since then.

A homeless Muslim woman at a Shelter stated to the staff that she does not eat pork. She was told that she should be happy that she was at least getting something to eat. She was not offered any substitute of either vegetables or any other dish. Upon knowing the above, I arranged for her transfer to a different shelter that was sensitive to her Islamic values and offered substitute food.

A Muslim female who strongly believed in hijab but was scared to identify herself as a Muslim wore a silk hijab that had the picture of an American Flag while going to public places. She stated that she feels safer being visibly patriotic (American) and also a devout Muslim. Should one display an American Flag over their head to be safe? This was not the America that most of us know.

WORST OF ALL, there was a Muslim family that abruptly becomes homeless after loss of job and subsequent eviction. (Note: 83 percent of American families live from pay check to pay check). The father, mother and children were living in a car camping close to the Masjid. When they approached the ISLAMIC CENTER (Masjid) for help, they were given a small amount that hardly lasted for few days. Shockingly, the father was told by the Masjid Management staff that if he again approaches them for help, Police will be called.

BROTHERS AND SISTERS, WHERE IS THE SPIRIT OF UMMAH and the true feeling that WE ARE ONE COMMUNITY. We don’t expect any Masjid to house the family, but at least they should have referred the family to various family shelters that are available. Unfortunately most of the Masjids do not have a list of such Emergency Housing Resources. We recommend that the Social Service Committees of Islamic Centers have a list of such resources of emergency housing and other basic needs and provide to the needy Muslims as appropriate.

People like the above family are an integral part of our UMMAH and let’s not increase their stressors and anxiety by threatening to call the Police.

In short, the Muslim community in the US is not immune to the social problems that exist in the American society today. Unfortunately, there is no real co-ordinated Islamic infrastructure that currently exists to deal with the social problems faced by the Muslims within the US from an Islamic perspective. The Muslim Community in the US needs to get together and build above infrastructure literally from ground up.

Distributing the Zakat funds each Ramzan to the needy is a great step, but in my personal opinion it hardly fulfills even one percent of our needy Muslim population’s need. The resources are already there in the general SOCIAL SERVICES offered by the Federal, State, County and Private Organizations. We don’t need to “re-invent the wheel”. All we need is to blend in with our own Islamic Organizational Social Structural Supports as the Christian and Jewish Social Service Organizations have already done and then team up and co-ordinate with all of them.

The Social Service Committee as mentioned in previous issues could essentially act as a bridge connecting a needy Muslim to the existing resources in an Islamic friendly fashion. This specially applies to the Muslims who do not have access to the various resources for reasons only they know best – Either they have no idea of the resources, or they are shy & not assertive to ask for help and continue to silently suffer, or they do not speak English and are hesitant to reach out. Not surprisingly, hundreds if not thousands of available resources that they could have easily assessed is inadvertently blocked out from such needy individuals.

Such Social Service Committees can be like a ONE-STOP center and CLEARING HOUSE to provide needed information and refer the Muslim to the appropriate resources. If they are brushed aside because of their hijab as in the incident mentioned above, or because of their Muslim name or any other prejudicial reason, you can contact us and we can attempt to follow up.

To us, this is what a true UMMAH is about and it goes way and far beyond just reading the Salaat together in a Masjid or during Idd prayers.

We need to explore all possible ways to literally join our hands together and help the needy Muslims to the best of our ability.

THE END

ISLAMIC PSYCHOTHERAPY ONLINE
Volume 17, May, 2010
St. Louis, Missouri, USA

Editor: Mohamed Ziauddin

In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent and the Most Merciful

EDITORIAL:

ARE WE ONE UMMAH? SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT…….

The word “Ummah” gets recycled & repeated again and again during speeches on Fridays, Idd days and other Islamic special occasions. But to what extent are we really applying it in practice in terms of a strong sense of brotherhood, unity, helping each other especially the most vulnerable ones in our community et.c. ?

Let’s analyze one real life example indicated below, to see whether we are indeed one UMMAH just in words or in practice.

Several years ago, a young Muslim woman immigrant from overseas with no family support in the US, suddenly developed serious medical problems and unexpectedly died leaving behind a one year old female child.

Her last words to her friends before her death was that she wanted her child to be raised a Muslim.

Appeals were made on Friday prayers and through informal ways to find any Muslim family that could adopt and raise the child. There was not ONE single individual from our local UMMAH who was willing to adopt the born Muslim infant

Of course in numbers; we are thousands if not millions. Look at the Idd congregations in the major cities for a sample. Just try to take a new initiative for the good of the Muslim Community, with the best of intentions and see for yourself the quick multiple negative judgmental responses you will receive. compared to positive responses of support.

But when it comes to requesting their participation by action & implementation, only then you tend to face the REALITY in the form of either silence or minimal support.

With regard to the above infant, not surprisingly, there was no Muslim family coming forward to adopt the infant, and therefore the infant was adopted by a Christian family and could now be assumed to be possibly attending Church, maybe eating pork and maybe raised as a Christian.

For our dear Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist and Atheist brothers and sisters of Humanity, whom we love, we don't mean any disrespect.

THE FOCUS IS ON RESPECTING THE WISHES OF THE MOTHER OF THE INFANT.

THINK OF IT….That under the very eyes of the local UMMAH, a born Muslim is now a Christian, all because there was not a single MUSLIM who could step up to the plate and adopt this innocent Muslim infant. This same infant may grow up one day to be an adult Christian mother and later a grandmother and she is likely to pass on the same Christian values that she learned from her Christian parents, to her future generation.

Please note that the death of a mother alone (with no known relatives or friends willing to adopt the child) is not the only cause for a child to be considered for adoption. What is more frequent is when the parents are charged with severe abuse or neglect of the child and remain non-compliant with Court’s recommendation for correction OR the parents may have a medical or psychiatric or substance abuse condition so severe that it significantly impairs their ability to care for their child, and they have no known relatives or friends to adopt the child. In such situations, the child could be given up for adoption.

For many Muslim parents, especially those who were born overseas; receiving physical punishment as a means of discipline during their childhood was essentially a normal practice. When such parents re-enact their socially learned child disciplining behavior with their own children in the U.S., at times, they get into legal problems. This initially results in their children being taken away as the ward of the Family Services & Courts and placed in the Foster Care System.

SOMETHING TO REFLECT:

An innocent, extremely vulnerable, helpless, Muslim infant who could not speak for herself given her infancy and who lost her mother resulting in zero family support system, was subsequently considered for adoption, with priority given to any MUSLIM family that would come forward to adopt her.

FINAL OUTCOME: NO MUSLIM AVAILABLE TO ADOPT THE INFANT.

Now you decide for yourself whether we were just spectators and UMMAH in words only OR not.

DEAR BROTHERS AND SISTERS, I AM ASKING YOU WHAT IS THE STRENGTH AND BONDING OF SUCH A UMMAH THAT COULD NOT COME TO THE RESCUE OF ITS VERY OWN MOST VULNERABLE ONE YEAR OLD?

If you work actively in the Social Services field, you will know for sure, that above was not an exception. If anything, it was just one of the many examples. Many more Muslim children had already inadvertently became Non-Muslims, does the Ummah know about it? It is time that we implement in PRACTICE what ideally a truly UMMAH should be.

TO PREVENT SUCH LAPSES IN FUTURE WE APPEAL TO THE ISLAMIC CENTERS AND OTHER MUSLIM ORGANIZATIONS TO GO WAY BEYOND IMPLEMENTING THE IMPORTANT RITUALISTIC AND RELIGIOUS PRACTICES AND REACH OUT TO THE PROBLEMATIC LIVES OF OUR VULNERABLE MUSLIMS. PLEASE ATTEMPT TO, IF POSSIBLE HAVE A SOCIAL SERVICE COMMITTEE THAT ASSISTS WITH SOCIAL SERVICE ISSUES FOR MUSLIMS IN THEIR LOCAL COMMUNITY.

WE APPEAL TO THE AMERICAN UMMAH TO REFER OR FORWARD US A LIST OF INTERESTED COUPLES/FAMILIES THAT ARE OPEN TO ADOPTION OR TO BE A FOSTER PARENT. HAVING SUCH A DATABASE WOULD BE OF TREMENDOUS HELP TO DEPARTMENT OF FAMILY AND CHILDREN SERVICES OF VARIOUS STATES TO MORE EASILY FIND MUSLIM PARENTS WHO ARE WILLING TO ADOPT A MUSLIM INFANT OR BE A FOSTER PARENT FOR THE MUSLIM CHILD.

COMMENTARY:

What you are observing in above example is a general absence of Organizational Islamic Social Structural Supports that could easily be a bridge to connect the needy Muslim (whether it is a Muslim infant waiting to be adopted OR any other needy Muslim that needs Social Service help) with the existing resources. As per the above recommendation of setting up SOCIAL SERVICE COMMITTEES, the staff of such committees could link the “Muslim in Need” with a vast array of Federal, State, County and Private Social Services that are available and endeavoring its best to ensure that the “Muslim in Need” receives such services in an Islamically sensitive and Islamic-friendly manner. Such service is specially helpful to those who have language difficulties and unable to access the community resources.

THE END

ISLAMIC PSYCHOTHERAPY ONLINE
Volume 16, April 2010
St. Louis, Missouri, USA

Editor: Mohamed Ziauddin

In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent and the Most Merciful

FOCUS OF THIS ISSUE:
MENTAL HEALTH IN INDONESIA
(CHRONIC MENTALLY ILL)

Mental patients take their lunch in front of their shelter at the Galuh foundation compound in East Bekasi, outskirt of Jakarta November 5, 2009. The Galuh foundation house has housed more than 288 underprivileged mental patients since it was founded in 1982 by Gendu Mulatip. The foundation give patients a shelter to stay, treat them with prayers and traditional medicine, and feed them vegetarian food. Most of them became mentally ill due to the poor economy, head nurse Suharyono said on Thursday. REUTERS/Beawiharta (INDONESIA HEALTH SOCIETY)

EDITORIAL:

ISLAM is a universal religion that stands for peace, love, care and concern for one another. There is still a lot of room for improvement in terms of caring for one another.


Head nurse Suharyono (L) brings in a man suffering from mental illness shortly after finding him at a street in East Bekasi, outskirt of Jakarta November 5, 2009. REUTERS/Beawiharta (INDONESIA SOCIETY HEALTH)

The chronic and severely mentally ill are a very vulnerable group of people who are unable to function normally like others in the general population to lead a productive and satisfactory quality of life. We believe that the Government, Public and Private Organizations and Muslims in general should strive to do more than what they are currently doing to assist the mentally ill. For those who are unable to help the mentally ill, the least they can do is at least to avoid the unfortunate stigmatization of the mentally ill.



A mental patient named Totok reacts during a relax therapy session at the Galuh foundation compound in East Bekasi, outskirt of Jakarta November 5, 2009. REUTERS/Beawiharta (INDONESIA HEALTH SOCIETY)

We realize the economical, technological limitations and other realities "on the ground" of Muslim Governments that may impair their ability to help the mentally ill. One way to reduce such impairment is to give higher priority to such a vulnerable group and increased co-operation and co-ordination with other entities that are specialized in helping the mentally ill.



Mental patients stand in front of their shelter at the Galuh foundation compound in East Bekasi, outskirt of Jakarta November 5, 2009. REUTERS/Beawiharta (INDONESIA SOCIETY HEALTH)

In Indonesia, there is a need for additional structural changes in the mental health system. Once above is implemented, then the focus could be to expand the number of various treatment interventions provided by a multi-disciplinary team. Part of such intervention would include psychotherapy.

Below is a condensed version of an article that briefly enlightens about Mental Health Care for the severely mentally ill in Indonesia.

Dr. Irmansyah:
Improving Mental Health Care in Indonesia
Director of Mental Health, Indonesia

www.fic.nih.gov

Global Health Matters Newsletter
(Condensed version)

A proponent of human rights for the mentally ill, former Fogarty trainee Dr. Irmansyah was recently appointed Indonesia’s director of mental health. Irmansyah is not afraid to say that - as in many developing countries :

"Psychiatry is a neglected branch of medicine in Indonesia".

He shared his views publicly in a recent article he authored for The International Journal of Mental Health Systems.

Photo courtesy of Dr. Irmansyah

Former Fogarty trainee Dr. Irmansyah (on left) confers with the director of the Jakarta state mental hospital and her staff. Dr. Irmansyah studied genetics, disaster relief and advanced mental health services and systems during a year-long fellowship at Harvard University.

His particular interest in community mental health services developed during a research project early in his career. “I went to a rural area looking for patients with schizophrenia. Some had been restrained for years. That was not every schizophrenic’s fate, but it wasn’t unusual,” says Irmansyah. “I also interviewed people who had struggled to take care of a family member with schizophrenia. hat encouraged me were families that wanted to let the patient get services, and learn how to take care of them better.”

In his new role as mental health director in the fourth most populated nation in the world, where mental illness is highly stigmatized, Irmansyah faces daunting challenges. Indonesia has less than 500 psychiatrists to serve 230 million people, and there are minimal community services.

The health ministry plans to create a new department, the Center for Mental Health. This office will have increased authority, elevating the status of mental health in Indonesia, as well as Irmansyah’s position and ability to affect policy.

Photo by Saichu Anwar, courtesy of Photoshare

As Indonesia’s new director of mental health, Dr. Irmansyah advocates for the mentally ill in a country with minimal community services and less than 500 psychiatrists for a population of 230 million.

Irmansyah led a team that studied the genetics of siblings with schizophrenia. The researchers developed family-based interventions and supported a nascent Indonesian Mental Health Association for people with mental illness and their families. When Irmansyah returned to the University of Indonesia in Jakarta after his fellowship, he was elected chair of the psychiatry department. That position, as well as his work in disaster relief in Aceh after the 2004 tsunami, brought him to the attention of the Ministry of Health.

His Harvard mentor, Dr. Byron Good, says Irmansyah has a deep commitment to building a community-based mental health system able to provide evidence-based psychiatric care. “His appreciation for both basic science and implementation research, his strategic vision and his desire to give a voice to Indonesians suffering from mental illness and their families, makes him a wonderful selection to serve as director of mental health. The Fogarty International Center can be proud of the role it played in his evolution as a leader in Indonesian psychiatry.”

Human rights of persons with mental illness in Indonesia: more than legislation is needed. Irmansyah I, Prasetyo YA, Minas H. International Journal of Mental Health Systems 19 June 2009, 3:14.

THE END

ISLAMIC PSYCHOTHERAPY ONLINE

Volume 15, March 2010
St. Louis, Missouri, USA

Editor: Mohamed Ziauddin

In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent and the Most Merciful

SPOTLIGHT FOR THIS MONTH:

ISLAMIC FREEBIES

EDITORIAL:

Being a practicing Muslim has its own advantages and freebies for each person some of which is now confirmed by Science. In other words, Islam was meant to be a simple religion for the good of Mankind. Don't be fooled by the deviated extremists who are essentially the enemies of Islam and are hellbent on dividing humanity by feeding on hate and bloodshed and thereby violating the peaceful tenets of Islam. By simply following what is recommended by Allah and the teachings of our beloved Prophet Mohamed (SAW), there are numerous benefits to be obtained.

(1) HEALTH & HYGIENE:

The US Center for Disease Control spent millions of dollars to research, which would be the single most important factor that could prevent the spread of infection and diseases. They concluded that it was washing hands, which our Prophet Mohammed (SAW) had strongly recommended more than fourteen centuries ago.

(2) SOCIAL CHARITY:

Prophet Mohammed (SAW) strongly encouraged giving of charity and added that if one did not have money, goods or services to offer as charity, then one should at least “smile” as it is also a form of charity. The freebie in this is that when you smile, it costs nothing but benefits you - “the one who smiled”.

Researchers have found that smiling can benefit your mood. Studies have indicated that moving the muscles that make you smile may trigger chemicals in your brain that actually make you feel better. In a Newsweek article dated 12/10/07, “smiling” has been listed as one of the six simple steps to look younger without surgery.

(3) VOLUNTEERING TO HELP:

Prophet Mohammed (SAW) strongly encouraged us to reach out and help others. In so doing, it is a Sawaab and (the good deeds) gets credited to your spiritual account and will be spiritually cashed out during Uiam Qiamah for determination of your permanent destiny in either the Paradise or Hellfire. Some Muslims are glad to offer help but do so only when requested. Our Prophet in most situations initiated and volunteered to reach out and offer help and we need to do the same in the most feasible and practical way possible.

THE NET RESULT OF SUCH “VOLUNTEERING TO HELP” INITIATIVE:

Your spiritual bank would have accumulated ten fold or more of such good deeds credited to your spiritual account most of which would basically be freebies. Above surplus is compared to a situation where you do not initiate help but instead wait for them (the potential receivers) to approach you and request help from you. In the latter, you have already lost the opportunity to earn good deeds from those who were reluctant to approach you to seek help.

RECENT RESEARCH RECOMMENDS THAT, IF YOU ARE IN A POSITION TO HELP SOMEONE, YOU MAY HAVE TO GO OUT OF YOUR WAY TO OFFER YOUR SERVICES VOLUNTARILY. Two research studies show that potential helpers (say, teaching assistants) OVERESTIMATED HOW OFTEN PEOPLE WILL APPROACH THEM, BECAUSE THEY UNDERESTIMATED HOW MUCH ASKING FOR ASSISTANCE CHALLENGES PEOPLE’S SELF-ESTEEM.

(4) MARRYING AT AN EARLIER AGE:

In Islam, Muslims are encouraged to marry at an early age (that is feasible and practical). This applies to both males and females.

It is not just women who have biological clock, it is men too. Women have unfairly borne the brunt of the blame for birth defects. “The biggest (genetic) threat to society may not be infertility but fertile old men”, says University of Wisconsin in Madison geneticist James F. Crow.

Research indicates that male fertility decreases decade by decade, especially after age 35, and aging sperm can be a significant and sometimes the ONLY cause of severe health and developmental problems in offspring, including autism, schizophrenia and cancer. The older the father, the higher the risk. “The birth defects caused by male aging are significant conditions that can cause a burden to families and society,” says Ethylin Wang Jabs, Professor of Pediatric Genetics at Johns Hopkins University and leader of a recent study showing the link between aging paternity and certain facial deformities in offspring.

Several studies have shown that the older the man, the more fragmented the DNA in his ejaculated sperm, resulting in greater risk for infertility, miscarriage or birth defects. Investigations out of Israel, Europe and the US have shown that non-verbal (performance) intelligence may decline exclusively due to greater paternal age; and that men 40 and older are nearly six times more likely to have offspring with autism than men under age 30. Other research shows that the risk of breast and prostrate cancer in offspring increases with paternal age. Fisch has found that when both parents are over 35, paternal aging may be responsible for as many as half of all cases of Down syndrome, formerly thought to be inherited from the mother.

PROTECTING THE FAMILY JEWELS:

Anything that hurts a man’s health hurts his sperm. The GOOD NEWS FOR MEN: preserving your reproductive potential will also keep you healthy.

TIPS:

(1) Protect your heart

(2) Stay active:

“If you are trying to have a child in your 30’s, 40’s, or 50’s, getting into the best shape of your life will give you the highest testosterone level possible”, says Fisch.

(3) Watch your weight:

Potbellies (spare tires) and excessive waist size also generate heat that can reach the testicles decreasing the testosterone in sperm. In general, the bigger the belly, the lower the testosterone.

(4) Take antioxidants such as Vitamins C or E, since they may help battle free radicals that play a part in breakdown of sperm DNA.

(5) As our loving Prophet prohibited intoxicants, don’t abuse drugs, alcohol and smoke. For the simple reason, that they accelerate DNA breakdown in sperm and put the heart and other organs at risk.

(6) AVOID HOT BATHS, JACUZZIS AND HOT TUBS: ALL CAN REDUCE SPERM COUNTS FOR THREE TO SIX MONTHS.

(7) KEEP LAPTOPS ON THE DESK:
“BALANCING LAPTOPS ON THE LAP RAISES THE SCROTUM’S TEMPERATURE”, SAYS S.U.N.Y Stony Brook Urologist.

(8) SEE AN UROLOGIST:
Sperm content and testosterone levels can both be evaluated and treated. You can also ask your doctor to refer you to a lab that tests DNA fragmentation in sperm.

“WE NOW KNOW THAT MEN AND WOMEN ALIKE COULD BE INCREASING THE RISK OF INFERTILITY OR BIRTH DEFECTS BY WAITING TOO LONG TO HAVE CHILDREN”.

In other words, by looking for perfection in your life before you conceive, there’s a very real chance you will have LESS THEN PERFECT KIDS”.

So Brothers and Sisters, most of above problems pertaining to male fertility could have been easily avoided if you just follow the recommendations of our loving Prophet Mohammed (SAW) by marrying while young. Of course, above decision should not be interpreted at the exclusion of several other extremely important factors that needs to be taken into serious consideration (such as financial stability to support spouse and future children, having a stable income and housing et.c). Making above decision to marry is probably one of the most important decisions you would ever make in your life and it needs to be carefully and cautiously made taking all-important aspects into consideration, including the above recommendation of our loving Prophet Mohamed (SAW) to marry at an earlier age based on feasibility and taking into account other practical considerations.

A SIDE NOTE ON COUPLES LIVING TOGETHER AS A MARRIED COUPLE VS UNMARRIED COUPLE:

Writer who is also an individual, marital and family psychotherapist, had clients that were an elderly couple who were married for several decades and the wife stated that she has still "not understood" him (her husband).

On the other hand, the writer also seen a middle age couple who lived together without marriage for several years. Finally when they decided that they have "understood each other" enough and are ready for the legal commitment of marriage, they MARRIED and the marital union collapsed within two short months thereafter.

EDITOR’S HAND-PICKED RECOMMENDED READINGS & VIDEO VIEWINGS:

(a) BOOK: “ISLAM – OUR CHOICE: PORTRAITS OF MODERN AMERICAN MUSLIM WOMEN”. Edited by Debra L. Dirks & Stephanie Parlove.

AN INCREASING NUMBER OF AMERICAN WOMEN ARE EMBRACING ISLAM, ALREADY OVER ONE MILLION CONVERTS. These are modern American women born and brought up in America to non-Muslim parents. They have journeyed down the path of Islam without giving up their American heritage and FOUND LIBERATION and self-actualization by becoming Muslims. This book presents the personal accounts of six American Muslim women who have been kind enough to share their first-person stories of the winding roads they traveled en-route to embracing Islam.

(b) ISLAMIC VIDEO: Women’s Video Pack. 3.

Great videos, which shatter the stereotypes, we have about Women’s rights and responsibilities in Islam.

(1) VIDEO: HIJAB: AN ACT OF FAITH: HIJAB IS ONE OF THE MOST VISIBLE MISUNDERSTOOD SYMBOLS OF ISLAM

This documentary program explains Islam’s concept of modesty and why Muslim women cover. A series of articulate and committed Muslim women with varied backgrounds share their experiences and insights about their choice to wear hijab. The program also tackles many stereotypes relating to hijab and highlights the duty of Muslim men to observe modesty. Participants include the President of Islamic Society of North America – Sr. Ingrid Mattson, Katherine Bullock, Zubeda Vahed, Dr. Sheema Khan, Malika Quick and many others. This video is an important video for Muslims and non-Muslims alike.

(2) VIDEO: WOMEN’S RIGHTS AND ROLES IN ISLAM: THE GREAT DEBATE:

In a jam-packed auditorium at the University of Milwaukee in Madison organized by Muslim Students Association on Nov 7, 1992. Sister Aminah Assilmi responds to a series of nationally syndicated anti-Islamic articles “Women of the Veil” by Deborah Scroggins.

(3) VIDEO: THE PROPHET’S EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN:

Sister Aminah Assilmi relates how dynamic Muslim women played an integral role in establishing the first Islamic Society. She also explains how the Prophet encouraged and empowered women to actively participate in the community’s development. Allah’s peace and blessings be with the Prophet Mohamed (SAW). The program includes a question and answer session. Sr. Aminah is an author, broadcaster and community activist. She is also the President of the INTERNATIONAL UNION OF MUSLIM WOMEN.

Acknowledgments:
(a) Psychology Today – Sept/October 2007.
(b) www.soundvision.com
(NOTE: If you are interested to order any of the above, feel free to contact the website www.soundvision.com) and order it from them.


THE END

ISLAMIC PSYCHOTHERAPY ONLINE
Volume 14, February 2010
St. Louis, Missouri, USA

Editor: Mohamed Ziauddin

SPOTLIGHT FOR THIS MONTH:

DEALING WITH DIFFICULT PEOPLE:

EDITORIAL: I have yet to meet one single individual who stated that he never dealt with any difficult person in his life. We found the analysis and solutions from below article from Dr. K. Clark (Rational Emotive Therapy) to be very helpful to deal with difficult people.

DEALING WITH DIFFICULT PEOPLE:

Demanding that someone change, and telling ourselves that if he does not change, it’s awful, I can't stand it, he should be damned, causes us to be emotionally upset. INSTEAD WE SHOULD CHANGE IT TO DESIRING, WANTING AND PREFERRING THAT SOMEONE CHANGES, SUCH A SOFTER EXPECTATION LEADS TO MORE CALMNESS.

Difficult people tend to be an obstacle to our goals, threaten our self-esteem and self-acceptance, act in arrogant and annoying ways and use undesirable methods to control situations and us. The following are the steps to deal with difficult people: Manage your emotional reaction to them first. It is more comfortable to relate to others without feeling a lot of anxiety, anger, intense frustration, or having our self-esteem and self-acceptance threatened. Further we can think more clearly and behave more effectively when dealing with difficult people if we are not severely emotionally upset with them.

Did you know that our emotions and behavior result mainly from our beliefs and self-talk, rather than from the actual events and people in our lives. It is really not difficult people, who cause our distress, but rather our beliefs and self-talk about them and their actions.

We are responsible for creating our own emotions.

DON’T FORGET, IF DIFFICULT PEOPLE UPSET US, WE HAVE GIVEN THEM PERMISSION TO DO SO.

Coming back to OUR OWN BELIEFS AND SELF-TALK, what do we tell ourselves that disturbs us so much when we are around troublemakers and other difficult people ?

Let’s look at irrational beliefs which cause us to become unduly upset with a difficult person or a difficult acting person.

We all experience frustration in dealing with others. Frustration with others is not getting what you want from them. Low Frustration Tolerance (LFT) results from them. LFT results from believing:

“Others absolutely must give me what I want and behave as I want, and if they don’t, it’s awful and I-can’t-stand-it’.

You should work on increasing your LFT, something over which you have considerable control. Changing the other person is something over which you usually have little or no control.
To detect your beliefs which cause low frustration tolerance, ask yourself:

1) What exactly am I saying to myself about this person?

2)What am I yelling myself about his or her actions?

3)What am I insisting or demanding that this person do or stop doing?”

Difficult people often give confusing, contradictory messages.

WHEN YOU FEEL EXTREMELY FRUSTRATED OR UPSET WITH OTHERS, USE COPING SELF-TALK STATEMENTS TO HELP INCREASE YOUR ABILITY TO TOLERATE THE FRUSTRATION.

The following are examples of coping statements:

1)“I dislike this person’s behavior but I can stand it”.
2) “Sometimes relationships are frustrating, but I can stand the frustration”.
3) “Life is tough, but I can take it”.
4) “I don’t like it, that's OK, I can stand it anyway”.

OTHER IRRATIONAL BELIEFS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO OUR LOW FRUSTRATION TOLERANCE (LFT) ARE OUR BELIEFS INVOLVING “MUSTS, SHOULDS, CONDEMNATION AND DAMNATION I-CAN'T-STAND IT, ALWAYS, NEVER”).

THREE MAJOR MUSTS: IRRATIONAL SELF-TALK

1) I MUST….
2) YOU (HE OR SHE) MUST…..
3) THE WORLD AND THE CONDITIONS UNDER WHICH I LIVE MUST….

FIVE HOT CONNECTING LINKS:

CONNECTING OUR MAJOR MUSTS TO OUR EMOTIONS:

1)AWFULIZING: This situation is more than 100% awful, it is horrible, terrible and awful.

2)I-CAN'T-STAND-THIS:
I can’t stand any discomfort, anxiety, anger, or depression. I can’t survive or be happy at all if I have to endure these feelings. I absolutely refuse to accept feeling uncomfortable. This irrational self-talk causes LFT- Low Frustration Tolerance.

3)CONDEMNATION & DAMNATION:
Wishing punishment and ruin on yourself for others, results in anger directed towards yourself or others.

4)I AM WORTHLESS:
I am no good at all. Low self acceptance, low self esteem and depression can result from this irrational self-talk and thinking.

5)ALWAYS AND NEVER:
It will always be this way and it will never change.

IN SHORT, WHEN YOU ARE UPSET, IDENTIFY THE “MUST” “SHOULD” SELF TALK IN YOU AND WORK TOWARDS REPLACING IT WITH ALTERNATIVE SELF TALK.

RATIONAL ALTERNATIVE BELIEFS:

1) What I believe and tell myself about events and situations mainly causes my feelings.

2) “I prefer to be liked and approved by most people who are significant to me. Knowing that everyone does not like or approve of me is not awful, I-can-stand-it, and I CAN STILL FEEL WORTHWHILE. It is NOT reasonable to expect everyone to approve of me. I have little control over how other people think and feel.

3)“I am an imperfect, fallible person who has both strengths and weakness. I will work towards improving myself. There are things I do well. I can learn from my mistakes and from the failures and hard knocks of my life”.

4) "I had prefer that others and the world be fair and reasonable but life often is not fair. When possible, I will press others to behave fairly".

5)"I had prefer that things go the way that I want them to go. Sometimes things go my way and sometimes they don’t. When things don’t go my way, it’s inconvenient or bad but not awful. I don’t like it, but I can stand it. I cannot always control events around me; I can mainly control my beliefs and self about those events and thereby control my feelings to a large extent. I CAN PRAY AND ASK FOR HELP".

6)Many potentially dangerous situations may not actually occur. I can be cautious and control dangerous events to some extent. I can handle and adjust to the bad things I cannot change.

7)Dealing with responsibilities, hassles and chores is a part of life. Attending to problems in their early stages is inconvenient but hardly awful. I-can-stand dealing with problems as they occur.

8)I would like for others to guide and support me, but it’s more realistic to rely upon myself. I can learn to be more independent.

9)My current feelings and behaviors are controlled more by my current beliefs and self-talk than by distant events occurring many years ago. Some parts of my past are unpleasant, but I can learn to live with them. And I have learned from these experiences. I can learn ways to be less upset about unpleasant parts of my past.

10) I am concerned and saddened when bad things happen to others, and I will work towards helping them, if I am able. However the misfortune and unhappiness of others cannot directly cause me to feel extreme anxiety, depression or unhappiness.

11) I don’t like problems without perfect solutions, but I can live with them. I can influence, but not entirely control, my world which is complicated and often frustrating.

WORK ON REPLACING YOUR IRRATIONAL BELIEFS AND ADOPTING RATIONAL ALTERNATIVE BELIEFS SO THAT DIFFICULT PEOPLE ‘WONT DRIVE YOU CRAZY”. CONTINUE DISPUTING AND CHALLENGING YOUR IRRATIONAL BELIEFS UNTIL YOU CAN STAND THE BEHAVIOR OF DIFFICULT ACTING PEOPLE.

WHEN RELATING TO A DIFFICULT PERSON, TURN YOUR DEMAND FOR BEHAVIOR CHANGES INTO A PREFERENCE, THAT HE OR SHE CHANGE HIS OR HER BEHAVIOR, BUT THAT IT’S NOT ESSENTIAL FOR YOUR HAPPINESS OR SURVIVAL.

METHODS OF COPING WITH DIFFICULT PEOPLE:

Don’t quit a job, attempt to handle a bad situation, or end a troubled relationship while you are significantly emotionally distressed. After managing your low frustration tolerance and anger, decide on a realistic goal regarding your relationship with your difficult person. Next, determine a plan for the best course of action. After careful consideration, you may then decide that it is best to end your relationship with a person. However, if you allow ONLY YOUR EMOTIONS to control your behavior, you may find your only goal is releasing anger, expressing rage or seeking revenge.

IT’S BEST TO CHANGE YOUR ANGER TO ANNOYANCE. Then if you do express annoyance, try to express it WITH THE RIGHT PERSON, THE RIGHT DEGREE, AT THE RIGHT TIME, FOR THE RIGHT PURPOSE, AND IN THE RIGHT WAY. NOT DOING SO, MAY DAMAGE A RELATIONSHIP THAT YOU WANT TO CONTINUE IN THE FUTURE.

If you express intense anger or rage, you may defeat yourself as well as the difficult person troubling you. Also, expressing anger at most people merely convinces, them of the correctness of their foolish, obnoxious behavior (Ellis, 1991 audio).

SUGGESTIONS FOR COPING WITH DIFFICULT PEOPLE:

1)Acknowledge that it’s not unpleasant people, but rather our beliefs about them and their behavior, which primarily cause our distress.

2)To cope with difficult people, first manage your emotional reaction to them.

3)Focus on changing your feelings of anger to less intense feelings of annoyance, displeasure or disappointment.

4)Express your annoyance and displeasure but not intense anger. You don’t have to become angry first before expressing your annoyance.

5)BE ASSERTIVE, RATHER THAN PASSIVE OR AGGRESSIVE, IN STATING WHAT YOU WANT.

6)Negotiate with your difficult person and be willing to compromise.

7)Walk out of the room and separate until both of you have calmed down. As you leave, say something like, “We need a break from this discussion”.

8)ACCEPT YOUR DIFFICULT PERSON, BUT NOT HIS BEHAVIOR. People are fallible and your difficult person is no exception.

9)Forgive the person for his foolish and unreasonable behavior.

10)Try to see the other person’s point of view. Ask enough questions until you can accurately repeat and summarize his or her viewpoint. Be able to paraphrase his or her position so that he or she agrees that you have accurately stated it. Accurately stating another persons position does not mean that you accept it. Merely that you understand it.

FEELING THEY ARE UNDERSTOOD, OTHERS WILL OFTEN BECOME A LITTLE MORE REASONABLE.

11)If needed, leave the situation and become involved in a pleasant activity.

12)ACCEPT WHAT YOU CAN’T CHANGE.

THE END

ISLAMIC PSYCHOTHERAPY ONLINE

(Revised Version)

Volume 13, January 2010

St. Louis, Missouri

Editor: Hajji Mohamed Ziauddin

IN THE NAME OF ALLAH, THE MOST BENEFICENT AND THE MOST MERCIFUL

SPOTLIGHT OF THE WEEK:

ANALYSIS OF THE SUICIDE BOMBER:

A CLINICAL-PSYCHO-SOCIAL PERSPECTIVE

ISLAMIC INHIBITORS AND MORAL SPEEDBRAKERS

Generally speaking, killing another human being requires both a psychological and physical act. Such a lovely religion as Islam already has in place ISLAMIC INHIBITORS through its gems of HolyQuran and Hadith that repeatedly emphasize the virtues of practicing Compassion, Empathy, Forgiveness, Peace, Universal Brotherhood, Love et.c.

Feelings of guilt and fear of being prosecuted if the destructive plan fails and the individual is caught are additional inhibitors. It behooves us to note that for a suicide bomber, his primary, secondary and tertiary motivators to cause destruction are far greater and easily overcomes above Islamic inhibitors. How does one explain such behavior from a practicing Muslim who literally throws all above ISLAMIC INHIBITORS ASIDE and rushes to kill self and others including innocents around him? If this is NOT A PERVERTED AND DISTORTED MOTIVATOR AGAINST THE PEACE LOVING PRINCIPLES OF ISLAM, THEN WHAT ELSE IS?

HISTORICAL SNAPSHOT OF PSYCHOLOGY’S NEGATIVITY TOWARDS RELIGION – Eg. Christianity.

According to Psychologist Dan Carpenter in his article: “Ethical Considerations in Working with Religious Clients”, he stated:

“The culture of Christianity has been influenced by a history of dissatisfaction with psychology. Part of the responsibility for this turbulent past rests with therapists who condemned religiosity as pathological. Worthington (1986) wrote "Conservative Christians prefer like-minded counselors and distrust secular counselors" (p. 425). Citing research by Beutler, Pollack and Jobe (1978), Worthington added "When clients agreed with the initial values of their therapists, they were more attracted to their therapists and were more trusting of them than were clients who did not" (p. 425).

Contemporary insensitivity toward religious belief was preceded in the field by early comments on the part of several prominent members of the psychological community.Warnock captured the essence of the "anti-religious" spectrum of psychology:

Through the years, religion has been viewed by psychologists and those in related professions in many ways: by Freud as an illusion, an obsession and a fulfillment of infantile wishes; by Jung as an Archetype; by Fromm as human love; by Erikson as an epigenetic virtue; by James as an intensely personal experience, by Sargant as a matter of classical conditioning; by Skinner as a matter of operant conditioning; by Allport as a matter of personal becoming; [and] by Maslow as a quest for man's higher nature...(Warnock, 1989, p. 263)

Fritz Perls viewed theology as projection, the attribution of characteristics to the universe, and he admired those ministers who shifted from belief in a personalized God to embrace "...the basic creative energy of the universe." (Walker, p. 188-89)

Perhaps one of the most famous quotes capturing the anti-religion bias in psychology was made by Albert Ellis (1962) who said "...And because any deity-positing religion almost by necessity involves endowing those members who violate the laws of its gods with a distinct concept of blameworthiness or sinfulness, I am inclined to reverse Voltaire's famous dictum and to say that, from a mental health standpoint, if there were a God it would be necessary to uninvent Him"(p. 142)

Reasons for an often-negative view of religion from psychologists vary from an unthinking acceptance of the "traditional" depreciating views espoused above, which portray religious belief as detrimental to mental health, to more personal issues such as past experience of the therapist.

Why is it that "compared with the public at large, secular psychotherapists are less likely to affiliate or participate in organized religion and are more likely to express their spiritual interests in nontraditional ways"? (Genia, 1994, p. 395). Lovinger (1984) posited that training in the sciences (such as psychology, psychiatry and nursing) "is at odds with the religious orientation and background of many Americans" (p. 1). He also stated that the humanist orientation and liberal political outlook of training institutions tends to complement a worldview which is essentially nonreligious, if not anti-religious (p. 2).”

From the above views of Dr. Dan Carpenter, how could we translate it to the historical perspective of psychologists towards the religion of Islam? To analyze further, with the mainstream media’s general negative attitude towards Islam and the real life suicidal, homicidal and destructive actions of a minority of misguided Muslim suicide bombers, how is Islam being perceived in the world of Psychologists and Psychotherapists? In what ways can practicing Muslim Psychologists and Psychotherapists contribute their valuable input in this behavioral field and make the much needed positive difference?

ISLAMIC COGNITIVE BEHAVIORAL THERAPY:

The writer strongly believes that the emphasis on SEEKING KNOWLEDGE both in the Holy Quran and Hadith was meant to be the building blocks to be built over the foundation of above two gems tailored to the contemporary period of human existence. For example the average Muslim’s perception of the Quranic verse “MANKIND IS BUT ONE COMMUNITY” in the 7 ^th century would be totally different than the perception of the same verse today, when we have phone, internet, fax, satellite TV et.c.

Although during the first phase of Islamic period the emphasis on SEEKING KNOWLEDGE was given lot of attention, unfortunately its emphasis significantly reduced in the subsequent centuries and sadly continues to this day. If Muslims are one-fifth of the world’s population, what percent of the worlds Nobel laureates, leading scientists and researchers are Muslims? Lack of emphasis of seeking such contemporary knowledge was a blow to the Ummah’s ability to effectively deal with its contemporary conflicts on psychological, social, political level.

This easily led to some misguided Islamic leaders being able to win over certain vulnerable Muslims who were initially innocent, sincere and deeply religious but inadvertently fell into their trap by believing the distorted interpretation of Islam. Such misguided leaders fully exploited the weakness of the vulnerable Muslims and ultimately forced them through their own voluntary actions to DESTROY THEIR OWN LIVES.

Islamic Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is a vast ocean of specialized knowledge integrating the gems of Holy Quran, Hadith and Contemporary Psychology. Below focus on the aspect of “EMOTION” is but one spec in the cosmos of such knowledge. Due to the limited space assigned for each of these weekly issues, even this single aspect of “EMOTIONS” really does not do justice to this issue and is just a snapshot at best.

A PRACTICING MUSLIM SEES THE WORLD AROUND HIM THROUGH THE TWO SYMBOLIC EYES OF HOLY QURAN AND HADITH. As long as the information obtained through the various senses – visual (reading Islamic literature et.c) and auditory (hearing Islamic speeches et.c) and subsequent cognition of it are interpreted in the appropriate way, then there are multiple benefits through which both the individual Muslim and the global UMMAH can enjoy their quality of life from practicing Islam. Further the individual would receive the rewards both in this world and in the world hereafter.

HOWEVER, IF THE INFORMATION OBTAINED THROUGH THE VARIOUS SENSES are misinterpreted in an inappropriate, twisted and deviant way then there is bound to be COGNITIVE DISTORTION, which would ultimately lead to multiple problems not only to the individual (as the suicide bomber who self-destructs himself) but also on others too (innocent victims including women and children around the suicide bomber).

EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE:

In her book, “HELP FOR EMOTIONS”, Dr. Lynn Clark Ph.D indicates that our emotions are to a great extent controlled by our beliefs, the way we think about the problems we encounter and our silent self-talk.

Interpreting the above from an Islamic perspective, when a small but dangerous group of leaders misinterpret the peaceful gems of Islam to the most vulnerable group of desperate people, the consequences could be DEADLY, to say the least. Such leaders through their misguidance; influence to a significant extent the beliefs and in the process the aspect of “self-talk” of the suicide bombers.

Emotional intelligence is the ability to understand and manage one’s emotions (Goleman, 1995). Dr. Lynn Clark states that emotional intelligence consists of five abilities:

1. Being aware of our emotions.
2. Managing our emotions.
3. Motivating ourselves to achieve our goals.
4. Recognizing emotions in others.
5. Managing relationships with others.

Above Editor believes that very likely the emotional intelligence of a suicide bomber is low. (Similar is the case with his social intelligence, which consists of understanding one’s emotions and behavior, understanding other’s emotions and behavior, and managing relationships).

From a clinical perspective, since emotional intelligence is learned rather than inherited, it can be improved. This is an important aspect to be considered in the treatment milieu while working with not only potential suicidal bombers but also in developing a plan to minimize if not eliminate the growth of a new generation of misguided suicide bombers.

(1) SUICIDE BOMBERS’S AWARENESS OF HIS EMOTIONS:

A suicide bomber is not conscious of his silent self-talk statements and automatic thoughts accompanying his emotions and moods. For a suicide bomber, self-talk statements include distorted teachings and twisted interpretations from the Holy Quran and Hadith . Such distorted beliefs are unfortunately further reinforced by genuine Islamic practice, in terms of continuing to do prayers and Zikr. If the gems (prayers and Zikr ) are covered by poison (distorted beliefs glorifying death, destruction and mayhem), no doubt the gem loses its originality and genuine purpose (of working towards peace both within one’s self and towards the outer environment). The suicide bomber has no clue about above distortion and wrongly assumes that he is a martyr of Islam. UNFORTUNATELY THOSE AROUND HIM WHO ALSO HAVE SIMILAR DISTORTED VIEWS, CONTINUE TO ENCOURAGE AND REINFORCE HIS DISTORTED BELIEFS.

Among the four core emotions of contentment, anxiety, anger and depression, the suicide bomber is high on anxiety and anger.

(2) SUICIDE BOMBER’S MANAGING HIS EMOTIONS:

A suicide bomber is very poor in this area. Managing one’s emotions is directly contingent upon being aware of one’s emotions. Due to the distortion in his automatic thoughts and silent self-talk statements alluded to in above paragraph; he is unable to manage his emotions. If anything, he tends tomaladapt in this issue by becoming increasingly detached to his historical worldly likes and dislikes, materialistic anchors, family obligations etc and moves towards being obsessed with taking revenge and thereby falsely assuming that he is becoming a martyr.

This tends to increase and remain for prolonged periods. Not surprisingly he tends to have a flat affect to environmental stimuli around him. IN SUCH A PROCESS HE ALSO TENDS TO DEVALUE HIMSELF and sees himself as a means (to use his body as a vehicle to harm the enemy by destruction to self and others) to an end (and supposedly be rewarded by going directly to Paradise). The distortion lies in his perception of destruction & mayhem being a “noble cause”.

(3) SUICIDE BOMBER’S MOTIVATION TO ACHIEVE ATTAINABLE GOALS:

Due to his misguidance by unscrupulous extremist elements, his obsession tends to zero in on one single attainable (and graphically destructive) goal – to punish his enemies in the worst possible way by bombing self and others around him. His anger is so intense; that he cares less if there happens to be innocent men, women and children around. SOMEHOW HE HARBORS A DISTORTED BELIEF THAT ALLAH WILL FORGIVE HIM FOR KILLING THE INNOCENTS AROUND HIM AND AWARD HIM DIRECT ACCESS TO PARADISE.

(4) SUICIDE BOMBER’S ABILITY TO RECOGNIZE EMOTIONS IN OTHERS:

A suicide bomber's ability in this area gets significantly reduced. Before destructing himself, he mentally prepares to disconnect himself from the world. It begins with his immediate family, relatives and friends. He also tends to withdraw from others while continuing to obsess over his one and only single goal.

(5) SUICIDE BOMBER’S ABILITY TO MANAGE RELATIONSHIPS WITH OTHERS:

Even in this area, his ability gets significantly reduced. The only social reinforcements that he receives are from his misguided leaders and a small circle of secretive friends of the same group. To them he opens up socially. Unfortunately, they become the fuel and continued reinforcement (in terms of repeatedly reinforcing to him the distorted view of Islam) which helps motivate him to ultimately accomplish his destructive actions.

SUICIDE BOMBERS IRRATIONAL BELIEFS:

• He has complete support from the Ummah and is doing the highest sacrifice possible for the Ummah.
• He will be remembered by the Ummah as a true martyr.
• Taking heroic burden upon himself by sacrificing his worldly desires of being with family et.c.
• Dying for the cause of Islam.

(ED NOTE: Why don’t Imams and Religious Scholars assertively express their view on this issue? If the majority feels above is wrong then why don’t they assertively say so? What about the Ummah in general? Why don’t the majority of the Ummah assertively speak up on this issue?)

Absence of contemporary knowledge (in this context), absence of learning alternative coping skills with the stressors that the suicide bomber is facing – occupation, revenge attacks based on tribe or conflict between religious sects et.c. Absence of peace loving spiritual support groups to calm and fan down the heated anger, frustration and sense of desperation and helplessness. Absence of Muslim professionals from Behavioral Medicine including Psychotherapists to offer such a desperate group ways to learn alternative peaceful strategies.

SUICIDE BOMBERS ARE LIKE A CANCEROUS CELL, WHICH IS GROWING IN NUMBER AND BY THEIR VIOLENT ATTACKS ESPECIALLY AGAINST INNOCENT MEN, WOMEN AND CHILDREN ARE DAMAGING THE WHOLE BODY OF THE GLOBAL UMMAH.

WHY IS IT EMPHASIZED IN ISLAM THAT: “THE INK OF A SCHOLARS PEN IS MORE PRECIOUS THAN THE BLOOD OF THE MARTYR”?

It is a no brainer, that DEVELOPING PEACEFUL ALTERNATIVES TOWARDS CONFLICT RESOLUTION involving the UMMAH, comes not by suicide bombers or an aggressive State’s acts of death and destruction, but by contributions of Imams/Islamic Scholars and Specialists from the Psychology related disciplines. The priority and importance given to the ‘INK OF A SCHOLARS PEN” could be better understood from above.

Did our loving Prophet Mohamed (SAW) foresee blood shed because of Ummah’s exclusive focus on history and becoming disconnected from the contemporary realities?

Does Islam value the power of intellectuals more than soldiers who engage in military combat involving blood shed?

What are the Islamic intellectuals doing at the present time, when such a minority of suicide bombers continues to create mayhem and destruction all in the name of ISLAM?

SUICIDE BOMBER’S DYSFUNCTIONAL & DISTORTED THINKING & SELF TALK:

Despite what we see as graphic violence and destruction in the act of the suicide bomber, in his mind, it is the ULTIMATE LOVE for Allah and the supreme sacrifice of his personal materialistic life for the cause of ISLAM. As a Muslim Psychotherapist, the above Editor argues that above spiritual thinking is not based on facts but by a DISTORTED AND DYSFUNCTIONAL THINKING PATTERN.

Obviously the next question arises as to THE ORIGINAL SOURCE of such information that got disseminated and percolated down to the suicide bomber and his destructive invisible “team”. The above Editor argues that certain extremist elements within the Islamic community have perverted the peaceful and noble teachings of the Holy Quran and Hadith to bring in the component of self-destruction and destruction of innocents around them for what ever cause it may be. Most of the IMAMS of the global UMMAH are a peaceful group of religious leaders and are against their followers to resort to suicide bombing. Most of the Imams liberally utilize the gems from Holy Quran and Hadith to guide their community towards the peaceful path. Several examples of such gems advocating patience and perseverance, non-violence, peace, love and universal brotherhood were mentioned in the past three prior weekly issues. But there are definitely a minority of Muslim religious leaders who have twisted and misinterpreted the gems of Holy Quran and encouraged violence, destruction and mayhem among their very desperate, vulnerable and helpless followers.

The Ummah through the WORLD MUSLIM LEAGUE should seriously address this growing cancerous issue of suicide bombing and while there is no magic wand to immediately end above anti-Islamic practice, focus must be given to find peaceful alternatives to deal with conflict with a goal and long term time frame to work hard on eliminating such destructive violence of suicide bombing.

Regardless of involvement of above Ummah’s world body, all Muslims including Islamic organizations both at the grass roots level and national level should address this hot issue and find alternative ways of responding to conflict and oppression.

THE THREE KEY PLAYERS TO FACILITATE THE END TO ABOVE HORRIBLE DESTRUCTIVE PRACTICE ARE:

(a) IMAMS AND ISLAMIC LEADERS:

Imams and Islamic leaders are encouraged to not just guide and assist in the proper interpretation of the Holy Quran but also to be in SYNC with contemporary times and work towards integrating the gems of Holy Quran with Alternative peaceful strategies based on contemporary knowledge. They are requested to regularly address this issue in their Friday prayers and have the COURAGE to speak out against it. Many Imams shy away from outright condemning such barbaric acts. They are encouraged to highlight various gems from Holy Quran and Hadith emphasizing the importance of patience, perseverance and working towards peace with all including neighbors, non-Muslims and the world at large. For those Imams in the western world, they need to be given all the more support to be more active in INTERFAITH ACTIVITIES.

(b) MUSLIM PSYCHOTHERAPISTS

(From various disciplines – Psychiatry, Psychology, Social Work etc) & COMMUNICATION EXPERTS:

They are encouraged to do more research in the application of the Islamic gems of Holy Quran and Hadith towards resolving current problems including conflict.

THE PRACTICE OF SOME MUSLIMS SHYING AWAY FROM ISLAM AND BEING SECULAR IS NOT WORKING, WE ARE ALREADY SEEING IT.

Muslim professionals from the HEALING ARTS should be assertive enough to identify specific aspects on how the misguided leaders are misinterpreting Islamic gems and exploiting our young Muslims to become human fodder of pieces of bones and flesh, while the so-called martyrs could have TRULY CONTRIBUTED IN A MUCH MORE EFFECTIVE WAY FOR THE CAUSE OF ISLAM BY VOLUNTEERING AND WORKING ON HUNDREDS OF PROJECTS THAT COULD HAVE OTHERWISE HELPED THE MUSLIMS IMMENSELY.

Due to such misguided leaders and deaths of the suicide bombers, UMMAH has lost millions of hours of manpower that could have been positively contributed not only for the welfare and benefit of suicide bomber’s immediate family but the local Muslim community at large.

(c) GOVERNMENT ENTITIES:

They also play an extremely important role to help in ending these horrible destructive suicidal, homicidal and destructive acts. They can in so many ways including providing logistic support assist both the IMAMS and the MUSLIM PROFESSIONALS FROM THE HEALING ARTS to eventually eliminate such destructive practice. Ultimately it is not just an individual but also the whole world that wants LASTING PEACE and Inshallah let us all work towards it.

NOTE:

One of the purpose of writing above article is not only to blend in concepts from the gems of Islam with Psychology but also to encourage the Ummah to begin a serious discussion on this issue especially eliciting feedback from the reluctant but respectable Imams and Muslims from the Healing Arts profession. All opinions are welcome including angrily worded hate e-mails.