Mental Health: An Islamic Perspective

Core Learning Objectives:  

1.  Students will develop a familiarity with basic concepts of mental illness in order to communicate and work effectively with multidisciplinary teams of mental health professionals.      

2.  Students will learn when and how to utilize professional services and to make referrals, especially for individuals with high risk factors.

3.  Students will become familiar with the wide spectrum of mental illnesses as well as the range of treatment provided by mental health professionals.      

4.  Students will be trained to approach individuals, with particular attention to the development of healthy boundaries and potential transference/counter-transference in relationships with the individuals they serve.         

5.  Students will develop an awareness of cultural factors that shape the presentation and treatment of mental health issues in different Muslim populations.         

Readings:

Required journal articles can be downloaded from the course website. 

Required Texts:

1. Al-Junun: Mental Illness in the Islamic World by Ihsan Al-Issa.

2. Counseling Muslims: Handbook of Mental Health Issues and Interventions by Sameera Ahmed and Mona Amer.

3. Psychodynamic Psychiatry in Clinical Practice (4th Edition) by Glen O. Gabbard.

Recommended Reading:

1. Counseling And Psychotherapy With Arabs And Muslims: A Culturally Sensitive Approach (Multicultural Foundations of Psychology and Counseling) by Marwan Dwairy and Paul B. Pedersen
2. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Basics and Beyond by Judith Beck

Course Plan:

Each week the instructor will post the lecture, discussion questions, and a case study. Students are expected to review the lecture and assigned readings in their entirety.  Each week, students will be responsible for posting two written responses by Wednesday morning at 9am:

(1)  Reaction Paper:  Each student is responsible to write a one-page reaction paper based on both the lecture and reading material for that week.  This reaction paper (no more than 500 words) will be in the form of a response to the discussion questions posed by the instructor, but it can also include student’s questions and requests for further clarification of the material in lecture and/or the readings. Reaction papers should NOT summarize the readings and lecture but integrate them.  The reaction papers are intended for the instructor; students are not responsible for reading one another’s reaction papers.

(2) Case Discussion:  Each week students are expected to participate in a virtual class discussion of the case of the week.  Students are expected to read the case and write a short response of what they would do if they were presented with this case in the field.  Students are expected to read all of the responses in the thread and to indicate whether they agree or disagree with the approaches of their peers in the previous posts.  These threads are intended to help students develop practical, hands-on skills as well as to generate healthy discussion and constructive feedback.

Grades: 

In addition to the weekly assignments, there will be both a Midterm and Final Paper assigned. Students will have given a list of possible topics and will select one.  Grades will be based on the following:

Weekly Reaction Papers:  15%

Weekly Case Discussions: 10%

Midterm Paper:  25%  (Due 11/20/12)

Final Paper:  50%  (Due 12/10/12)

Late Midterm and Final papers will not be accepted!

Attendance Policy for Weekly Classes (Including Posts) : 

Participation in class is required and will be judged primarily by the weekly posts. (Note the website records the time/author for each post.) If you know you will be unable to attend a class session please inform Dr. Hamid in advance. Missing two sessions will result in an automatic lowering of your final grade by 10%. Missing three or more sessions will result in automatic failure of the course.

Class Schedule:

Fridays- the power point lecture, readings, and discussion questions of the week will be posted by the instructor. Students are expected to review the lecture, complete all of the readings before Wednesday.

Wednesdays- Students must post reaction papers and case discussions before 9am. 

Thursday- Instructor will post a response to the case discussion thread as well as individual student questions by Thursday evening.

Final Paper Due 12/10/12

For details on each lecture, click here