It is unclear whether the development of “Western” psychology and psychiatry, in the last two hundred years or so, has overall actually been good for our mental health.
In this lecture Delivered by Dr Nesip Merter on 16 February 2022 to our Islamic Psychology Diploma students argues that there has been a lack of attention paid by these disciplines to the psycho-spiritual component of Self, called “Nafs” in Islamic terminology. Dr Merter explores a multi-level, bi-polar structure of this new psyche model and its inherently dynamic nature.
Dr Nesip Mustafa Merter is a medical doctor and received his PhD in Psychiatry in Zurich, Switzerland from Burghölz Psychiatric Hospital. In 1987, he returned to his native country, Turkey, where he established a private practice in Bodrum. Influenced by the Jungian and Existential Analysis schools, he later translated his experiences into the field of Transpersonal Psychology from a perspective of Sufism. His work is on the interrelation between Sufism and Psychology. He draws from the Qur’an, Hadiths and the Islamic scholarly tradition in his work in psychotherapy. He is currently working on a psychological interpretation of the Qur’an. Dr Merter is the author of the popular book published in Turkish, “Nefs Psikolojisi,” and he is the founder and president of the Turkish Transpersonal Psychology & Psychiatry National Association.