Mini Workshop 4 - Developing a Culturally Informed and Spiritually Integrated Psychoeducational Workshop to Address Mental Health Help-seeking in Muslim Communities

Muslims living in the United States (MLUS) are reporting exceedingly high rates of depression, anxiety, and suicide attempts but are not seeking treatment, in what is being dubbed a “Muslim mental health crisis.” A major contributor to this issue is high stigma around discussing mental health and seeking care, and a lack of available therapists that can address the unique needs of Muslims. Further, many Muslims prefer religious/spiritual forms of coping, often using these resources to avoid engagement with mental health difficulties (i.e., spiritual bypass). However, many Islamic teachings promote and destigmatize mental health, and the 9th century Muslims have an important but forgotten history in advancing evidence-based mental health care. This is not widely known among current Muslims or the field at-large, exacerbating the disconnect between Muslims and mental health. In this mini-workshop, I will discuss some of the literature explaining why Muslims are resisting treatment despite their risk. I will then describe an approach to tackling low Muslim help-seeking through a discussion-based psychoeducational workshop titled “An Islamic Lens on Mental Health” (ILM). ILM uses Islamic teachings to counter stigma and spiritual bypass, and grounds evidence-based treatments in an historical and empirical Islamic context, to increase openness to mental health conversations and care. I will discuss my process of developing and delivering ILM among mosque-going communities in Florida, including connecting and networking with organizations and stakeholders, requesting consultations from Muslim mental health researchers, and developing a database of Muslim providers licensed in Florida, so that attendees may readily adopt this approach in other contexts. Quantitative and qualitative results from ILM (on stigma, help-seeking attitudes/behaviors, knowledge about resources, and feedback on the workshop), as well as logistical and other difficulties (and lessons learned) in delivering a mental health workshop to such a resistant group, will also be shared. As ILM was intended to be for the community, materials/content will be shared with those interested in adopting or adapting them in the context of clinical care or community education with Muslims.