Week 3 reflection and looking forward to Week 4

In Week 3, you have gained a deeper understanding of how Muslims experience common mental health problems in distinctive ways, through considering practitioner case studies and lived experience accounts.

This allowed you to explore in more detail the impact of Islamic beliefs on mental health and evaluate the inclusion of spiritual factors when considering causes of, and treatment for, mental health problems among Muslims.

As we move on to Week 4 we will consider the landscape of Muslim mental health in relation to the organisations and individuals who seek to provide Islamically-inclusive mental health support. We will hear first-hand from practitioners and managers of services providing mental health support and their experiences of incorporating knowledge of Muslims and Islam in their work.

Through the discussion points, we will ask you to consider how you might adapt your own practice to better support Muslim mental health. You may also get a sense of who to contact for further support and advice around Islam, Muslims, and mental health.

And finally, don’t forget to complete your reflective diary for this week. Reflect on your learning journey so far and any thoughts you have had about your own practice and how this might be different. We include a suggested prompt for your reflections below.

Reflective diary prompt from Asma

Reflect on your own practice in relation to what you have learnt this week about how Muslims can experience common mental health problems in distinctive ways. Is there anything you might do differently based on this knowledge?

Think about where you could go for further information and guidance when supporting a Muslim through one of the mental health problems covered this week.