Research team
Ghena Ismail, Craig Shealy, and Ziad Nahas
Collaborating organisations
Department of Psychology, American University of Beirut; Department of Psychology, James Madison University; Department of Psychiatry, University of Minnesota
On the basis of qualitative thematic analysis, this study explored psychotherapy through a
Sufi Islamic lens. Through purposive sampling of Muslim scholars/practitioners with Sufi
affiliations or sympathies, we conducted one-to-one interviews, the content of which
revealed an emphasis on meditation among other therapies against a dialectic of
transcendence and acceptance. This dialectical framework offers a lens through which
current Islamically integrated interventions may be viewed. It, also, has a dialogic
potential with mainstream movements within psychology that are informed by varied
spiritual traditions.
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