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• There are roughly 3,450,000 Muslims in theUnited States, with the Muslim populationmaking up 1% of the U.S. population. Many ofthem are practicing Islam.1

• The definition of Islam is someone whosurrenders to God. A Muslim is someone whoworships only Allah (God in Arabic) and closelyfollows the teachings of Islam that are capturedin the Quranic text.

• In the current political climate, there is a starkrise in racially-motivated hate crimes and‘othering’ of Muslims that may affect theirmental health. However, few seek counselinghelp for fear/experience with no culturaladaptation of their religious beliefs.

• Haque et al. (2016)2 suggest that Islamicbeliefs line up with psychological models likecognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) incounseling and some Imams get training incounseling.

1. Lipka, M. (originally published in 2015, corrected in 2017). Muslims and Islam: Key findings in the U.S. and around the world, Pew Research Center Retrieved from https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/08/09/muslims-and-islam-key-findings-in-the-u-s-and-around-the-world/.

2. Haque, A., Khan, F., Keshavarzi, H., & Rothman, A. E. (2016). Integrating Islamic traditions in modern psychology: Research trends in last ten years. Journal of Muslim Mental Health, 10(1).

Exploration of Muslims, Racial Identity, and Mental HealthTamerlie Roc1 and S. Tiffany Donaldson, PhD1,2

1Department of Psychology and Honors College, 2Developmental and Brain Sciences, University of Massachusetts Boston; Boston, MA 02125

Fig 1. Diagram showing the many intersecting components of the thesis. Counseling efforts directed at these aspects of clients that overlap were of interest.

Early Stages of Thesis

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The purpose of this thesis was to:

1. Examine the work being done tointegrate cultural and racial sensitivityinto psychological treatment of mentalhealth for Muslims;

2. Evaluate strides being made by Islamicreligious leaders to address mentalhealth challenges of their congregants;

3. Determine what overlap there is in Islamand mental care and well-being;

4. Reflect on how my own personal journeyto Islamic religion and faith as a Blackwomen intersect with existing mentalhealth practices in traditional and Imamcounseling settings.

Fig 2. Developing a research question stemmed from visualizing the intersectionality of my personal attributesand needs as a Black Muslim woman adhering to Islam, conducting literature searches, and evaluating findings on whether support from Imams outweighs resources available to Muslims via traditional Counselors.

Thesis Process

I would like to thank Drs. Donaldson and Corpuz for their assistance anddirection in helping me with the research and the writing process. I appreciate myfellow Honors Seminar students, especially Shinelle Kirk, who helped andencouraged me to continue writing my thesis. I would also like to thank my friendswho have also encouraged me while writing my thesis.

Finally, I am especially grateful for my mom who is my biggest supporter; she makes sure I know that I can accomplish anything I put my mind to.

Discussing Mental Health

Muslim Community

Fig 3. The thesis process involved talking with Imams (left panel) reflecting on Muslim community for Black women, worship and prayer. Exploring these elements in the literature and my personal journey (autoethnography) helped me to evaluate available resources for addressing mental health challenges of Black Muslim women.

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Worship Prayer

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• I was intrigued by a close friend fasting for the month of Ramadan as I recognized her tenacity to do so in a majority Christian country. It made me want to learn about Islam.

• I grew up in a Christian household in Haiti, but eventually converted to Islam at age 19. This was not an easy decision as I was afraid that I would be ostracized by my community.

• As a Psychology student, I know how important counseling is, but I also know some counselors do not incorporate religion in their practice or have a background in Islamic and/or Black culture.

• Hearing this disconnect, I wanted to learn more so I had conversations with my Imam who is trained in psychology. I felt comfortable talking to him because of his training, but I knew not many Muslims had this option.

• That led me to this journey on this thesis, to do research to learn about thinking of Islam related to psychological training and about inclusive training of psychologists.

• Counselors and Muslims should understand there is a growing acceptance of religion/spirituality in psychological counseling (training and practice).

• That in this, Imams can receive training that acknowledges their faith, and trained Counselors can learn practices that are culturally inclusive and encourage embracing their clients’ religious practices.

• Black Muslims can receive psychoeducation that, in fact, professional counseling and endorsement of Islam are not mutually exclusive but can co-exist.

• Future research should evaluate the inclusion of Islamic ideology in psychology counseling as well as the psychological support offered by trained Imams.