Couple Therapy with Muslims: Challenges and Opportunities

Counseling Muslim Couples From a Bowen Family Systems Perspective

“…Marriage always involves the coming together of individuals who are different in many ways. Muslim marital partners may follow tradition and agree on many values and expectations, but they may have different interpretations of tradition and/or one or both may be actively rejecting tradition (Daneshpour, 2009a) Muslim Couples in Family Systems Therapy It takes courage for Muslim couples to seek out professional assistance regarding any marital conflict. There may be a sense of failure in not keeping the tenets of their faith regarding the marriage relationship.…”

Counseling Muslim Couples From a Bowen Family Systems Perspective

“…Marriage always involves the coming together of individuals who are different in many ways. Muslim marital partners may follow tradition and agree on many values and expectations, but they may have different interpretations of tradition and/or one or both may be actively rejecting tradition (Daneshpour, 2009a) Muslim Couples in Family Systems Therapy It takes courage for Muslim couples to seek out professional assistance regarding any marital conflict. There may be a sense of failure in not keeping the tenets of their faith regarding the marriage relationship.…”

A Systematic Review of Mental Health in the Arab Region

“…Commonly, parents and grandparents take care of younger children, and later, when the children become older adults, they take care of their parents and grandparents. The wisdom of elders is respected, and their opinions are highly valued (Daneshpour, 2009). This tradition of intergenerational care is evident in the diverse legislation, policies and initiatives focused on family and intergenerational care found across the Arab region.…”

“…As a result, the family comprises a large portion of one’s personal identity and self. Intergenerational dynamics and extended family are typically part of daily life, with nuclear and extended family members often holding equal importance (Daneshpour, 2009; Rastogi & Thomas, 2009). Since family is the central focus of cultural norms, individual goals can still be met, but they generally assume lower priority if they conflict with familial obligations.…”

The Religious and Spiritual Dimensions of Bowen Family Therapy

“…From this perspective, addressing the two concepts together, which hold such a significant place in the life of the individual, and looking at family systems in terms of spirituality are important. When looking at the literature, the number of studies addressing spirituality in family systems stands out as being quite limited (Acar & Voltan-Acar, 2013;Asamarai et al, 2006;Berensen, 1990;Butler & Harper 1994;Daneshpour, 2017;Jensen & Min, 2003. This situation is also valid for the Bowen Family Systems approach, as it is one that addresses family systems.…”

“…This concept of God, beyond both the traditionally religious view of God outside the ego as well as the psychological view of God as the ego has vital importance for understanding healthy human and family relations (Berensen, 1990). Because of the style of approach in evaluating concern and anxiety in the family, its handling of the level of family differentiation, the various intervention techniques offered in this direction, and the intertwined history and interconnected family dynamics, Bowen Family Systems Theory is a significant model that can be used for working with spiritual and religious families (Daneshpour, 2017).…”

Counseling Muslim Couples From a Bowen Family Systems Perspective

“…Marriage always involves the coming together of individuals who are different in many ways. Muslim marital partners may follow tradition and agree on many values and expectations, but they may have different interpretations of tradition and/or one or both may be actively rejecting tradition (Daneshpour, 2009a) Muslim Couples in Family Systems Therapy It takes courage for Muslim couples to seek out professional assistance regarding any marital conflict. There may be a sense of failure in not keeping the tenets of their faith regarding the marriage relationship.…”

A Systematic Review of Mental Health in the Arab Region

“…Commonly, parents and grandparents take care of younger children, and later, when the children become older adults, they take care of their parents and grandparents. The wisdom of elders is respected, and their opinions are highly valued (Daneshpour, 2009). This tradition of intergenerational care is evident in the diverse legislation, policies and initiatives focused on family and intergenerational care found across the Arab region.…”

“…As a result, the family comprises a large portion of one’s personal identity and self. Intergenerational dynamics and extended family are typically part of daily life, with nuclear and extended family members often holding equal importance (Daneshpour, 2009; Rastogi & Thomas, 2009). Since family is the central focus of cultural norms, individual goals can still be met, but they generally assume lower priority if they conflict with familial obligations.…”

The Religious and Spiritual Dimensions of Bowen Family Therapy

“…From this perspective, addressing the two concepts together, which hold such a significant place in the life of the individual, and looking at family systems in terms of spirituality are important. When looking at the literature, the number of studies addressing spirituality in family systems stands out as being quite limited (Acar & Voltan-Acar, 2013;Asamarai et al, 2006;Berensen, 1990;Butler & Harper 1994;Daneshpour, 2017;Jensen & Min, 2003. This situation is also valid for the Bowen Family Systems approach, as it is one that addresses family systems.…”

“…This concept of God, beyond both the traditionally religious view of God outside the ego as well as the psychological view of God as the ego has vital importance for understanding healthy human and family relations (Berensen, 1990). Because of the style of approach in evaluating concern and anxiety in the family, its handling of the level of family differentiation, the various intervention techniques offered in this direction, and the intertwined history and interconnected family dynamics, Bowen Family Systems Theory is a significant model that can be used for working with spiritual and religious families (Daneshpour, 2017).…”

Counseling Muslim Couples From a Bowen Family Systems Perspective

“…Marriage always involves the coming together of individuals who are different in many ways. Muslim marital partners may follow tradition and agree on many values and expectations, but they may have different interpretations of tradition and/or one or both may be actively rejecting tradition (Daneshpour, 2009a) Muslim Couples in Family Systems Therapy It takes courage for Muslim couples to seek out professional assistance regarding any marital conflict. There may be a sense of failure in not keeping the tenets of their faith regarding the marriage relationship.…”

A Systematic Review of Mental Health in the Arab Region

“…Commonly, parents and grandparents take care of younger children, and later, when the children become older adults, they take care of their parents and grandparents. The wisdom of elders is respected, and their opinions are highly valued (Daneshpour, 2009). This tradition of intergenerational care is evident in the diverse legislation, policies and initiatives focused on family and intergenerational care found across the Arab region.…”

“…As a result, the family comprises a large portion of one’s personal identity and self. Intergenerational dynamics and extended family are typically part of daily life, with nuclear and extended family members often holding equal importance (Daneshpour, 2009; Rastogi & Thomas, 2009). Since family is the central focus of cultural norms, individual goals can still be met, but they generally assume lower priority if they conflict with familial obligations.…”

The Religious and Spiritual Dimensions of Bowen Family Therapy

“…From this perspective, addressing the two concepts together, which hold such a significant place in the life of the individual, and looking at family systems in terms of spirituality are important. When looking at the literature, the number of studies addressing spirituality in family systems stands out as being quite limited (Acar & Voltan-Acar, 2013;Asamarai et al, 2006;Berensen, 1990;Butler & Harper 1994;Daneshpour, 2017;Jensen & Min, 2003. This situation is also valid for the Bowen Family Systems approach, as it is one that addresses family systems.…”

“…This concept of God, beyond both the traditionally religious view of God outside the ego as well as the psychological view of God as the ego has vital importance for understanding healthy human and family relations (Berensen, 1990). Because of the style of approach in evaluating concern and anxiety in the family, its handling of the level of family differentiation, the various intervention techniques offered in this direction, and the intertwined history and interconnected family dynamics, Bowen Family Systems Theory is a significant model that can be used for working with spiritual and religious families (Daneshpour, 2017).…”