An Introduction to Wellness
in the Islamic Paradigm

A brief practical guide to understanding and practicing wellness utilising the established paradigm of Islamic Psychology

Explore psychology from an Islamic paradigm and discover how Islamic understandings of human nature, the self, and the soul can inform an Islamic psychotherapy.

STEPS

Orient yourself using these simple steps in order to feel, think and practice before diving deeper.

FIRST FEEL

How do I begin to recognise what’s happening inside me?

THEN THNK

Understand the paradigm of Islamic Psychology.

PROCEED TO PRACTICE

Integrate the Paradigm into your life.

DIVE DEEPER

Further your journey into wellness.

Additional Resources

  1. Guided practice (audio recording) by Dr. Rothman
  2. Toward an Islamic Psychology and Psychotherapy: And Islamic Model of the Soul (research article)
  3. What Islam Offers to Modern Self Help: And Islamic Paradigm of Psychology (blog post)
  4. An Islamic Model of the Soul (video)
  5. International Association of Islamic Psychology (website)
  6. Dr Abdallah Rothman’s website
  7. Abu Zayd al-Balkhi’s Sustenance of the Soul (book)
  8. Al-Ghazali on Vigilance and Self-Examination (book)
  9. Al-Ghazali on Disciplining the Soul and Breaking the Two Desires (book)
  10. Treatise for the Seekers of Guidance by al-Muhasibi (book)

NEW BOOKS

Just released, this pair of books are essential reading for those interested in this field.

Developing a Model of Islamic Psychology and Psychotherapy

At a time when there is increasing need to offer psychotherapeutic approaches that accommodate clients’ religious and spiritual beliefs, and acknowledge the potential for healing and growth offered by religious frameworks, this book explores psychology from an Islamic paradigm and demonstrates how Islamic understandings of human nature, the self, and the soul can inform an Islamic psychotherapy.

Drawing on a qualitative, grounded theory analysis of interviews with Islamic scholars and clinicians, this unique volume distils complex religious concepts to reconcile Islamic theology with contemporary notions of psychology. Chapters offer nuanced explanations of relevant Islamic tradition and theological sources, consider how this relates to Western notions of psychotherapy and common misconceptions, and draw uniquely on first-hand data to develop a new theory of Islamic psychology. This, in turn, informs an innovative and empirically driven model of practice that translates Islamic understandings of human psychology into a clinical framework for Islamic psychotherapy.

An outstanding scholarly contribution to the modern and emerging discipline of Islamic psychology, this book makes a pioneering contribution to the integration of the Islamic sciences and clinical mental health practice. It will be a key resource for scholars, researchers, and practicing clinicians with an interest in Islamic psychology and Muslim mental health, as well as religion, spirituality and psychology more broadly.

Islamic Psychology Around the Globe

Islamic Psychology (IP) is an emerging discipline evident from a consistent growth of publications worldwide in the last 40 years. While the body of knowledge and practice is not new and was known as Ilm an-Nafs or science of the self during the Islamic Golden Age, it lost its significance for many centuries primarily because of the secularization of psychology and colonization of the Muslim world. IP has now developed into a professional and academic field, as it tries to understand the human self from an Islamic worldview.

This book examines IP development in 17 countries ranging from Indonesia to Bosnia to the United States. A bird’s eye view of the discipline’s growth, as offered across the chapters in this book, can help the reader understand the history, challenges, and prospects of this developing field and illuminate for the broader field of psychology how the Islamic tradition has been integrated into mental health practices in Muslim communities. The book broadens the reach of modern psychology by exploring spirituality and religion in the Muslim world.