COGNITIVE THERAPY OF RELIGIOUS DEPRESSED PATIENTS: COMMON CONCEPTS BETWEEN CHRISTIANITY AND ISLAM.

NUR MAISARAH BT. ABU BAKARNUR NADHIRAH BINTI MUSTAFFANORASHIKIN Bt MOHAMAD SAPUANNUR IZZATI KAMAL ROSLAN SITI HUSNA IZZATI BT OTHMAN

COGNITIVE THERAPY

To replace them with

more rational and healthy

ones

It teaches patients how to stop thinking

negatively

How our thoughts create

our mood

OverviewSome studies has shown that adding religious techniques, cognitions and

behavior concepts to the usual psychotherapy of religious anxious and

depressed patients have faster recovery.

As psychotherapists and counselors, they commonly encounter religious clients.

Thus it is essential for them to understand different religious concepts

and to use it effectively in their therapy.

In this article, common religious concepts between Islam and Christianity use in cognitive

therapy are discussed.

Islam and Christianity are chosen as they are the two

most well-known religious in the world, each having more than

one billion followers

Besides that, Islam is the second most prevalent religion in Europe and the fastest growing religion in

the world

Why Islam and Christianity?

The author has classified useful religious concepts against depression into three categories:

Concepts mostly useful in difficulties and troubles

Other positive concepts

Concepts about sins

Useful religious concepts against depression.

Concepts mostly useful in difficulties and troubles

Sufferings and Difficulties of the Saints and Religious Figures.• Prophets and saints life and sufferings is used as reference

point.• Islam: Prophet Muhammad and his companions suffered

much (tortures, imposed immigration, hunger, thirst, poverty, and wars).

• Christianity: Crucifixion story of Jesus• How to decrease sorrow?? >compare religious depressed

patients’ problems with their holy people’s difficulties.Kindness, Mercifulness, and Help of God.

• Many verses and stories in both Islam and Christianity are able to strengthen the subjective probability that the problem will eventually end.

• Facilitate clients to believe that Allah will help them.• Eg: Story of Prophet Muhammad and verse from Qur’an “or

who is the one who answers the distressed when they call upon him, and removes the evil?” (Surah An-Naml:62)

• Verse from Bible: “God is faithful; he won’t let you be tempted beyond what you can bear..”

Preferring God’s Will to One’s Own Will.• Even though sometimes trouble is unavoidable some people try

to soothe themselves by connecting their will to God’s will and by attending belief that those unpleasant event will improve in the future.

• When the only Prophet Muhammad’s son, Ibrahim, died, he was sad and said, “the eye weeps and the heart is sad, but I do not say anything that angers God.”’

• Verse from Bible: “Abba, Father.. Everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will but what you will.”God’s Trial or Discipline.

• Some religious patients assume their problems as a punishment from God due to their own sins. But, sometimes it causes guilt feelings towards God.

• However, religious people always believe that God is always good and wants good fortune for good people. Thus, this belief makes them cope with the problems by assuming a good intention from God hidden behind it.

• Pious people also may assume their difficulties as God’s discipline, trial, or examination, that may be in the favor of the people. Therefore, it prevent and alleviate the negative and guilt feelings.

• “An we will most certainly try you with somewhat of fear and hunger and loss of poverty and lives and fruits; and give good news to the patient” (Surah Al-Baqarah: 155)

Blessing of the Troubled.• In both religion, special attention given to troubled people. • Troubles lead people to pray more and feel closer to God. • It also cause the sins are forgiven and elevate the spiritual

rank. • Stories of Prophet Muhammad, how he shows concern for

poor, patient, or oppressed people. It shows God’s concern for troubled people.

• “And we want to be gracious to those who were being oppressed in the earth and to make them leaders (in faith) and make them heirs” (surah Al-Qashash: 5)

• Bible: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kngdom of heaven..”

Temporariness of Human Difficulties• Believe in eternal afterlife (hereafter) may soothes and

relieve people because all problems won’t last forever and will disappear in the future.

• “The life of this world is nothing but a diversion and play. Indeed, the next residence is the real life, if they but knew” (Surah Al-Ankabut: 64)

• Bible: “And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered in a little while, will himself restore you..”

Useful religious concepts against depression.

Concepts mostly useful in

difficulties and troubles

Concepts about sins:

Positive Religious Concept against

excessive Guilt Feeling

Excessive guilt feeling over the sins. It aggravates worthlessness and

hopelessness. In the end, it will aggravate the guilt

feeling itself.

Mercifulness and Forgiveness of God

God’s mercifulness and kindness exceeds His anger and punishment.

EVIDENCE: Holy Bible;•“The lord is compassionate and gracious; slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever. He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities” [psalms 103:8-10]

EVIDENCE: Holy Quran;• Every surah except al-taubah start with the

phrase “In the name of Allah, the compassionate, the merciful,”

Religious evidence that God may love even the

sinners

EVIDENCE: Holy Bible;• “Jesus answered them, ‘It is not the healthy who

need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but the sinners to repentance.” [Luke 5:31-32]

EVIDENCE: Holy Quran;• “Surely Allah loves turn much to Him in

repentance and He loves those who cleanse themselves,” [2:222]

God loves even the sinners. Thus, prophet is sent to save them from troubles and from

the hell.

Almost all sins are forgivable

Almost all sins are forgivable except the sin of losing faith or belief in God.

EVIDENCE: Holy Bible;•“Truly I tell you, people will be forgiven all their sins and blasphemies they utter. But whoever blasphemes against the holy spirit will never be forgiven, but guilty of an eternal sin.” [Mark 3:28-29]

EVIDENCE: Holy Quran;•“And do not despair of Allah’s mercy. Surely none despairs of Allah’s mercy except the unbelieving people.” [12:87]

Good deeds and Repentance wipes out

the bad deeds

One’s sin can be removed by good deeds, confession, repentance and even by mental

actions.

EVIDENCE: Holy Bible;•“Repent. Then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out,” [Acts 3:19]

EVIDENCE: Holy Quran;•“Surely good deeds remove evil’s deeds.” [11:114]

There is no one who does not sin

Even good and great people have done sins.

EVIDENCE: Holy Bible;• “Stories of saint peter disowning

Jesus Christ [John 13:38]

EVIDENCE: Holy Quran;• “Stories of prophet Musa

accidentally killing a man” [28:16]

Useful religious concepts against depression.

Concepts mostly useful in

difficulties and troubles

Other positive concepts

Concepts about sins:

Positive Religious Concept against

excessive Guilt Feeling

Gratitude and thanking God

can be emphasized by remembering God’s numerous gifts and blessing toward the patients themselves.

can be used to reduce the negative emotion and lead the depressed patients from worst pathological conditions or psychiatric disorder.

E.g: (67:23), (16:78)

Faith’s value

patients always assume themselves as worthlessness

The faith that they have in God are the most important gift because it is the proof that they are not a useless person.

E.g: (10:2), (5:9)

Praying and asking from God

they believe that God will answer and hear their request. Hence, it may increase their confidence and giving them hope.

Quoted from Rasulullah saw:”It is not because God did not hear the request, but God will repay him by expedites what he prays for, or reserves it in the afterlife for him, or will remove an equivalent trouble from him.”

E.g: (40:60)

Immortality of the soul

When a person died, it will relate with their action and behavior in this world either a good deeds or inversely.

can consult and tell the patients so that they have faith that the beloved deceased person have a good faith in God and a good person

E.g: (4:69)

‘if’ clause

We must always remember that the clause is not absolute so that we can show the patients about many other good characteristics so that they can expect God’s love and attention in accordance.

E.g: (14:7), (17:7)

Case example 1

• Ahmad, 33-year-old single man is suffering of depressive and anxiety symptoms mainly related to thoughts regarding being guilty and tortured after

death.• Avoidance is used by this patient to cope with these negative thoughts but it

leads to more complicated problems. • The author diagnosed this patient as having double depression (major

depressive disorder superimposed on dysthymic disorder).• He was undergoing several religious cognitive therapies and his condition improved gradually. The therapist worked on his negative thoughts of being tortured after death and feeling of anxious and sadness. He thought of being

tortured after death because of the evil that he had done to others.• The therapist and the patient together discussed several religious belief and

concepts about this matter. The concept of God’s kindness and mercifulness, forgiveness of God were emphasized in this therapy. They cognitively

reappraised that God will forgive everyone’s evil the patient is repented with his sins. So, thinking in negative way about the future like death is a negative

fortune telling and its a thinking error.• The patients reported significant but not complete relieved and feeling much better after the therapy and this shows the effectiveness of religious cognitive

therapy in religious patient.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, there are many common religious concepts observed in Christianity and Islam.

Meanwhile, some people use some of these religious concepts to produce negative thoughts and feelings that may play important roles

in aggravating their depression or other psychological disorders.For instance, extreme religious guilt feelings or negative thoughts

regarding their afterlife or hereafter, their prayers, or their relationship with God are excessively been over thinking by the

patients.However, there are religious concepts that can be applied effectively

to induce positive thoughts and lead to more positive feelings in patients such as to take account of religious concepts regarding

gratitude, forgiveness, God’s mercifulness and kindness, and positive thoughts and behaviours of religious figures.

.

CONCLUSION

Psychotherapists can more effectively help their religious patients by emphasized and knowing more about

these concepts and by skilfully using their knowledge of religious beliefs in psychotherapeutic sessions.

Some limited studies in this regard show that this cognitive therapy through religion approach may be a

treatment of choice for some patients, given their preferences and its equal or greater efficacy compared to

secular therapies.

THANK YOU