Abstract
The mental health of Muslims living in the United States (MLUS) is at-risk, due to rising discrimination and low mental health care utilization. Muslims may resist seeking care for various reasons, including stigma, negative attitudes toward therapy, and low knowledge of mental health and resources. Many Muslims also tend to avoid facing emotional difficulties by relying only on religious/spiritual coping strategies (i.e., spiritual bypass). However, Islamic teachings encourage maintaining wellbeing and treating illness. This mixed methods study investigated whether a culturally informed and Islamically integrated psychoeducational workshop, titled An Islamic Lens on Mental Health (ILM), can increase the likelihood that Muslims will seek professional help when needed. ILM was delivered to seven Muslim communities in Florida (N = 145) and involved group discussions and education on mental health in Muslims, Islamic teachings, and history. Attendees completed surveys before, after, and ~50 days after ILM to assess its impact on factors we hypothesized would predict low help-seeking behaviors. These included: perceived knowledge about mental health and resources, recognizing a mental health need, self-stigma, attitudes toward seeking therapy, help-seeking intentions, spiritual bypass, and a sense of ownership over mental health and Islamic Psychology. Analyses of covariance (ANCOVAs) demonstrated significant or meaningful post-ILM and follow-up improvements in all of these investigated factors, after controlling for covariates. Further, attendees who reported increases in help-seeking intentions and the recognition of mental health needs were significantly more likely to report increases in help-seeking behaviors ~50 days after ILM. Content analysis was performed on attendees’ qualitative feedback to evaluate the program’s effectiveness. These findings are discussed alongside observations made during ILM’s delivery and conversations with stakeholders to help guide future interventions targeting mental health help-seeking in Muslim communities.