Religious beliefs and mental health: case study from a non-Muslim practitioner

In this video, Suzanne Duval tells us, “people’s faith is people’s faith” and that practitioners should create spaces where Muslims feel comfortable to talk about their religiously informed spiritual beliefs, particularly when they feel that these are impacting their mental health.

Suzanne describes her experience of providing support to a Muslim woman who believed that her mental health problems were caused by black magic (or jaadu). She interacted with the Muslim woman on an informal basis in a mental health support setting (befriending service) several years ago. Suzanne acknowledges her own lack of understanding (at that time), around the impact that spiritual beliefs can have on mental health.

Over to you

Do you have experience of encountering spiritual beliefs when providing mental health support for Muslims? If so, please share an example below.

If not (or additionally), tell us if you agree with Suzanne that those providing mental health support in a diverse country should be aware of the spiritual beliefs held by people in the communities they work in.