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CBT from an Islamic Perspective: Concepts and Treatment Principles

Name: Asma Yousuf

Question: Define the concept of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) from Islamic

perspective. Analyze the fundamental basic principles treatment underpinning CBT.

Introduction
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is a type of psychological intervention strategy used for

the treatment of various mental disorders like depression, anxiety, eating disorders, etc. It is

based on the relationship between thoughts and actions. It combines elements from behaviorist

and cognitive theories to treat dysfunctional thinking and replacing them with positive thoughts

and emotions. However, the scientists who contributed to CBT were not Muslims or particularly

religious, and thus failed to include the spiritual factor. Therefore, for CBT to be more

effectively applied in counselling Muslims, incorporating elements from Islam can be helpful.

Core Concepts of CBT -

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy focuses on the interconnected interaction between thoughts,

feelings, emotions and behaviors. It uses the ‘cognitive model’ to understand a person’s mental

distress. This model was developed by Aaron T. Beck (1976) and consists of the following terms

 Core Beliefs – they are the central beliefs a person holds about themselves, others and the

world. These 3 components together form the “Negative triad” of mental cognition. They

are formed by early experiences in childhood and are seen as the unquestionable truth.

 Dysfunctional Assumptions- They are rigid, conditional ‘rules’ that a person lives his

life by and are formed on the basis of core beliefs. They are not necessarily true and

are often debilitating to one’s mental health.

 Negative Automatic Thoughts (NAT’s) – the maladaptive or irrational thoughts and

feelings which involuntarily arise in certain situations. They are mostly negative and

evoke feelings of helplessness and low self-esteem. contribute to emotional and

psychological problems.
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Treatment principles –

It entails a collaborative relationship between the therapist and client in which they come up with

solutions together. (Wright, J., 2006). Various behavioral, cognitive and emotion-focused

techniques are used to positively affect emotion and behaviour. For e.g., Guided discovery,

exposure therapy, journaling, role playing, etc. However, CBT focuses only on fixing the

present state of mind and does not consider previous distresses. The therapist coaches the patient

to be his own therapist by helping him to –

 Identify problematic thinking patterns – Overgeneralizing, magnifying negatives,

minimizing positives and catastrophizing are some examples of cognitive distortion.

 Testing their genuineness – Cognitive techniques such as Guided Discovery, where the

therapist asks questions in order to probe into a patient’s assumptions, their reasons and

evidence for their beliefs and are used. They are supported by carrying out behavioral

experiments to discredit the negative predictions.

 Replacing them with positive, constructive thoughts – Ineffective thinking patterns are

restructured as thoughts which are not just positive but also evoke fewer or no negative

feelings.

The Islamic Perspective –

Research has shown that modifying CBT strategies to be consistent with a clients’ perception of

reality and values helps to increase effectiveness. (Abu Raiya & Pargament, 2010). Islam

provides Muslims with a code of life to live up to. It is based on the fundamental concept of

“submission” to Allah. Within this perspective, a believer is encouraged to remain hopeful of

Allah’s Mercy and to practice patience with his problems and distresses. The core beliefs are
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built upon the fundamental basics of Islam such as practicing patience, importance of prayer,

power of Dua and recognizing that trials are temporary and limited to this Dunya. It derives its

principles for adaptive strategies from the Quran and Sunnah.

Islam adds to the techniques of CBT by providing a framework to work with. The value system

in CBT focuses on individualistic qualities like independence, self-actualization, self-expression,

and explicit communication styles. Traditional CBT applies these values to the self-statements it

uses in its treatment. However, these values divert from the Islamic narrative of communal and

spiritual values like relationship with Allah, inter-dependence, implicit communication style, etc.

(Williams, 2005). Practicing Muslims may find it hard to relate to concepts such as identifying

the self as a locus of authority instead of Allah. Instead of the self-actualization, Islam considers

submission to Allah as an effective coping strategy. Hence, Islamic themes and concepts like

Quranic thought restructuring, zikr, reliance on prayer etc. should be integrated to counsel a

Muslim client (Husain & Hodge, 2016). In addition, statements which are based on ayahs from

the Quran like “Allah does not burden a soul more than in can bear” (Quran, 2:286)

incorporates a crucial Islamic teaching – that the difficulty will not exceed a person’s ability to

handle the situation. The client is reassured that Allah’s promise will help overcome his

disability. This teaching can rekindle hope in the midst of adverse circumstances. (Husain &

Hodge, 2016). A Muslim with depression, can be reminded that his distress is a test from Allah

with which he wishes to purify him. Surrendering his will to Allah and being hopeful that there is

goodness in everything, will help him to better cope with his illness. As Allah reminds us in the

Quran, “Perhaps you dislike something which is good for you and like something which is bad

for you. Allah knows and you do not know” (Quran, 2:216).
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There is a growing body of research that is recognizing the importance of applying the

Islamic perspective to CBT, in that is positively enhancing outcomes –

 Faster recovery – modifying intervention strategies to adapt to Muslim clients’

beliefs and values acts as motivation for them to change.

 Enhanced treatment compliance – repackaging CBT with Islamic themes and

promoting it as a spiritual practice can cause better adherence to treatment

procedures.

 Lower levels of relapse –benefits from an integrated approach prevent client from

straying.

 Reduced treatment disparities – therapists trained with the Islamic perspective of

CBT can attract Muslim clients

Conclusion

Though the Islamic perspective differs with CBT in its value system, it does not

underplay the importance of the cognitive schema or the cognitive restructuring process. Islam

provides a different set of values for modifying thinking patterns. It focuses on Allah’s authority

as the locus of control and instills the importance of communal support. It supports/affirms the

role of positive cognition in bettering mental health, as this invariably allows the believer to

better his relationship with Allah.

References
Abu Raiya, H. and K.I. Pargament (2010) ‘Religiously Integrated Psychotherapy with Muslim

Clients: From Research to Practice’, Professional Psychology: Research and Practice

41(2): 181–8

Beck, A. T. (1976) Cognitive Therapy and the Emotional Disorders, New York: Penguin.

Fenn, K. & Byrne M. (2013, September 6) The key principles of cognitive behavioural therapy.

Sage Journals, 6(9). https://doi.org/10.1177/1755738012471029

Husain, A. & Hodge, D. R. (2016, May 1) Islamically modified cognitive behavioral therapy:

Enhancing outcomes by increasing the cultural congruence of cognitive behavioral

therapy self-statements. International Social Work, 59(3):393-405.

DOI:10.1177/0020872816629193

Richards, P.S. and A.E. Bergin (2014) Handbook of Psychotherapy and Religious Diversity, 2nd

edn. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Williams, V. (2005) ‘Working with Muslims in Counselling: Identifying Sensitive Issues and

Conflicting Philosophy’, International Journal for the Advancement of Counseling 27(1):

125–30

Wright, J. (2006). Cognitive behavior therapy: basic principles and recent advances. Focus 4,

173–178. Retrieved

from http://focus.psychiatryonline.org/data/Journals/FOCUS/2634/173.pdf.