Muslim Experiences of Mental Health - Muslim practitioner perspective

In this video, Suhayl Patel brings the perspective of a Muslim mental health practitioner who works in a mainstream mental health service.

Suhayl is BAME Programme Manager at Beacon Counselling Trust (BCT), a counselling charity that provides support for mild to moderate mental health problems in the Northwest of England. A core area of BCT’s work is providing free treatment and support to those affected by problematic gambling, including partners, family, and friends.

He is responsible for the development of culturally appropriate support and resources at BCT, with a focus on reducing stigma around gambling related harm and facilitating treatment referrals from ethnic minority communities.

Suhayl describes his understanding of mental health, and his views on whether Muslims experience mental health in distinctive ways. Suhayl has also contributed his lived experience of mental health problems and addiction to gambling, to Week 3 of the course.

Suhayl draws our attention to stigma, low levels of mental health literacy, and religious coping through increased religious practice without seeking mental health support, as features of distinctively Muslim experiences of mental health. The impacts of mental health stigma and religious practices and beliefs are covered in more detail in Week 2 of the course. Suhayl explains why it is important for practitioners who provide mental health support in Muslim communities to have a better awareness of Muslim experiences of mental health.

In the next step, Dr Yusuf outlines the bio-psycho-social (BPS) model as a holistic approach to identifying and treating the causes of mental health problems and suggests that a bio-psycho-socio-spiritual model (BPSS) may be more appropriate for Muslims.

Over to you

Suhayl explains why he thinks Muslims experience mental health problems in distinctive ways, reasons include: stigma, low levels of mental health literacy, and religious coping. Do you agree with Suhayl, is there anything you would add?