Exploring the Clinical Experiences of Muslim Psychologists in the UK When Working With Religion in Therapy

Objectives: The research on working with religion in therapy in the UK has gained momentum over the last few decades however continues to be significantly less than its American counter-parts. Studies on religions, other than Christianity, in therapy are also significantly small. The following thesis looks at the experiences of Muslim Psychologists when working with religion in therapy and how the religious beliefs of Muslim psychologists impact upon their therapeutic approach with religious clients.

Design: Qualitative research methods were chosen and used from a critical realist philosophical framework.

Method: The Grounded Theory method was chosen to analyse the interviews of six Muslim psychologists’ experience of religion in therapy.

Results: The analysis showed a model of Congruence in working with religion from the psychologists' perspectives. Congruence of religion in therapy was influenced by five high-order categories; Religious Journeys in Therapy, Therapeutic Approaches, Therapeutic Relationship, Therapists’ Identity, and Context of Therapy, and a further nineteen low-order categories. Each category is clearly explained by using participant extracts and the links between each category is explored.

Conclusion: Overall, the Muslim psychologists interviewed believe faith is an important aspect of their identity which has an impact on therapy and can be integrated into therapy when necessary. They appear more comfortable to work with issues of religion in therapy in a secular setting in comparison to studies involving peers from different faiths. A critical evaluation of the study follows looking at strengths and weaknesses, limitations, validity and a personal reflection by the author is given. Recommendations for future research are made.