Providing Culturally Conscious Mental Health Treatment for African American Muslim Women Living With Spousal Abuse

Abstract

African American Muslim women seeking outpatient mental health counseling for spousal abuse face a variety of inter- and intrapersonal barriers that may prevent them from accessing services. Many of these barriers stem from the lack of cultural awareness in the mental health field of the differences between various Muslim populations. This article addresses how racial and religious identities may influence the counseling process for African American Muslim women who are in abusive relationships. To address how counselors can support African American Muslim women averting spousal abuse, we present a revised version of the transtheoretical model incorporating racial and religious identity factors.

Keywords:

• Mental health
• Muslim American
• spousal abuse
• transtheoretical model

Notes

1. Clients may bring with them firsthand knowledge of the racism that has underlain medical care for centuries, which include stories of Black men dying from untreated syphilis during the Tuskegee experiment and enslaved Black women enduring over 30 anaesthetized surgeries at the hands of Dr. J. Marion Sims, often known as the “father of gynecology” (Sartin, 2004).

2. This discussion and analysis assumes that the client's spouse is a Muslim man.

3. To acquire this knowledge, see “Islam 101: Understanding the Religion and Therapy Implications” (Ali, Liu, & Humedian, 2004).

4. For more information on safety planning, see National Coalition Against Domestic Violence at http://ncadv.org