Acceptance and Commitment Therapy with Ecological Systems Theory: Addressing Muslim Mental Health Issues and Wellbeing

Muslims across the word underutilize mental health services for addressing their wellbeing and biopsychosocial, spiritual, and contextual issues. By 2030, the global Muslim population is expected to reach 2.2 billion people. This indicates that Muslim mental health is gaining importance and would require contextually (i.e., spiritually, culturally, empirically) more effective services. Practitioners used Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Ecological Systems Theory (EST) to promote wellbeing and address psychopathology for diverse groups. However, rigorous and comprehensive literature from 1986 to 2019 did not produce research addressing how ACT could be consumed to serve Muslims. Researchers in Muslim mental health have suggested benefitting from EST yet only few have mentioned using ACT. ACT is one of the most effective therapies based on randomized control trials to enhance wellbeing and address psychopathology. The main purposes of this paper are to (a) explain how ACT is one of the most appropriate counseling approaches to be utilized with Muslims because ACT and Islam have many commonalities and (b) propose ACT with EST perspective to enable a much more contextual perspective of ACT so that mental health professionals could promote wellbeing and address psychopathology at all ecological levels for all, starting with Muslims. With the arrival of third and fourth wave of counseling approaches, the use of positive psychology in research and practice has increased dramatically. ACT, Islam, and EST also highly stress a positive approach perspective thus considering of ACT and EST together might promise more effective research and practice in positive and abnormal psychology

Cultural and religious perspective of loss and bereavement in Anatolia

Coping with death is a grueling job to be done however it is not impossible. All cultures have developed ways to cope with death. Interfering with these practices may interfere with the necessary grieving processes. Understanding different cultures' and religions response to death can help counselors recognize the grieving process in patients of other cultures. It is also important to realize that, while each individual grief process is unique, there is a form of grief that is disabling, interfering with function and quality of life. A great majority of the people in Anatolia have remained under the influence of tradition as well as religion. In the foundation of main behavior models which forms our traditional life, ensuring them to possess specialty and formation however there lays numerous customs, beliefs and ethic operations. So that such kind of variations affects the death and the bereavement customs. As in the case of the three important event of the life, a great number of beliefs, customs, tradition, ceremonies, and behaviors have been also grouped around death. Such beliefs, customs, transactions, ceremonies and pattern behaviors which accumulated around the death and surrounded individuals with the death are collected under three groups. Sets of traditions formed as pre-death, during death and after death. So this study was carried out so as to determine the approach of Anatolian traditions to the death and bereavement. This qualitative research was conducted by means of semi-structured interviews in which   three questions prepared by the researchers and were asked to four volunteer male participants whose mean age was seventy-five years old. The study concludes that the traditions of Anatolia give importance to sharing and supporting the family of deceased, which overlaps the literature of bereavement process psychology

Fear of Compassion: Description, Causes and Prevention

All the procedures performed for the individual's mental health are aimed at increasing positive feelings and thoughts and reducing negative feelings and thoughts. But some individuals escape from positive emotions and thoughts and fear them. The sense of compassion may be one of the emotions that some people are afraid of, and try to remove from themselves for different reasons. Fear of compassion is caused by both the lack of compassion and the fear of the presence of compassion. This fear both affects the health of the individual negatively and may cause deterioration of social relations. Fear of compassion is also associated with health problems such as depression, stress, empathy, alexithymia, eating disorder, fear of happiness, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and panic disorder. Any treatment for these problems is closely linked to the identification of fear of compassion to be successful. The origin of fear of compassion is sometimes seen as an important cause of childhood traumas and sometimes the lack of a warm relationship with parents in childhood. The aim of this article is to define the concept of fear of compassion, to explain related concepts, to introduce related measurement tools and to raise awareness of help in this way

Posttraumatski rast kod majki novorođenčadi primljene u neonatalnu jedinicu intenzivnog liječenja

This descriptive and cross-sectional study investigated social support and posttraumatic growth in 210 mothers whose newborns were hospitalized at neonatal intensive care unit. The study population consisted of all mothers living in the Niğde provincial center whose babies were admitted to the Level 1 Neonatal Intensive Care Unit between December 2007 and November 2008. The Posttraumatic Growth Inventory, the Impact of Event Scale and the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support were administered in the mothers’ homes. Posttraumatic growth was reported in 75.70% (n=210) mothers. The impact of event and perceived social support were highly (97.40%) predictive of posttraumatic growth. Traumatic events are frequently experienced within the healthcare system. Current research fi ndings are therefore extremely valuable for preventing the negative impact of traumatic events on individuals and for transforming the experience into an opportunity for growth.Ova deskriptivna poprečna studija ispitivala je društvenu potporu i posttraumatski rast u 210 majki čija je novorođenčad hospitalizirana u neonatalnoj jedinici intenzivnog liječenja. Ispitivana populacija obuhvatila je sve majke koje žive u pokrajini Niğde, a čija je novorođenčad primljena na 1. razinu neonatalne jedinice intenzivnog liječenja u razdoblju od prosinca 2007. do studenoga 2008. godine. Majkama su kući dostavljeni upitnici Posttraumatic Growth Inventory, Impact of Event Scale i Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support. Posttraumatski rast je opisalo 75,70% od 210 majki. Utjecaj događaja i doživljena društvena potpora u visokoj su mjeri (97,40%) pretkazivali posttraumatski rast. Kako se traumatski događaji često doživljavaju unutar zdravstvenog sustava, nalazi dobiveni ovim istraživanjem veoma su vrijedni za sprječavanje negativnog utjecaja traumatskih događaja na pojedinca te za pretvaranje takvog iskustva u priliku za rast

Investigation of the perception about earthquake based on elementary school students’ opinionsDepreme ilişkin algının deprem yaşayan ilköğretim öğrencilerinin görüşlerine dayalı olarak incelenmesi

Earthquakes, which disturb the routine of life, influence psychology of adults and children negatively as the other disasters. In addition to that earthquakes can cause the psychological distress in children such as cognitive, emotional and behavioral problems as well as lack of confidence and despair against future. In order to scope of interventions after earthquake, it can be significant to reveal how the elementary school students experienced and perceived the earthquake after that disaster. For this purpose, the students’ perceptions of the earthquake and psycho-social impacts of that among students have been studied according to the opinions of those. The research is done based on descriptive survey model within the qualitative research model including semi-structured interview method. The subject group of the research is 23 volunteers consisting of 12 girls and 11 boys all of whom experienced the Van earthquake attending secondary school at Van city center. Moving onto the results, students stated that they were outside; they were running their homes to find out the status of their families during the earthquake and just after that. ÖzetYaşamın doğal akışını bozan diğer afetler gibi depremler de, hem yetişkinlerin ve hem de çocukların psikolojisi üzerinde birçok olumuz etkiler bırakır. Depremler, çocuklarda birçok bilişsel, duyuşsal ve davranışsal problemin yanı sıra, güven duygusunun yitimi ve geleceğe karşı umutsuzluk gibi psikolojik sorunlara neden olabilir.  Deprem yaşayan ilköğretim öğrencilerinin depremi nasıl deneyimlediklerinin ve anlamlandırdıklarının bilinmesi deprem sonrası uygulanabilecek müdahaleler kapsamında önemlidir. Bu amaçla bu araştırmada öğrencilerin depreme ilişkin algıları ve depremin öğrenciler üzerindeki psiko-sosyal etkileri, Van depremini yaşayan ilköğretim öğrencilerinin görüşlerine dayalı olarak belirlenmesine çalışılmıştır. Araştırma, nitel araştırma kapsamında tarama modelinde gerçekleştirilmiş olup yarı yapılandırılmış görüşme tekniği kullanılmıştır. Araştırmanın çalışma grubu, Van İl Merkezinde bulunan ilköğretim okullarının ikinci kademesinde okuyan, Van Depremi’ni yaşayan ve araştırmaya gönüllü katılan 12 kadın; 11 erkek olmak üzere toplam 23 öğrenciden ibarettir. Araştırmada öğrenciler, deprem olduğu sırada ve sonrasında dışarıda olduklarını, kaçtıklarını, eve ailelerinin durumunu öğrenmek için hemen eve geldiklerini belirtmişlerdir

An investigation of the Dunning-Kruger effect among highschool students in term of moral maturity level and life positionAhlaki olgunluk ve yaşam pozisyonları açısından ortaöğretim öğrencilerinde Dunning-Kruger etkisinin incelenmesi

Main Purpose of this study is to examine the exaggerated courage, which has given by ignorance that affecting our society and some other societies, based on relation between Dunning-Kruger Effect of high school students with Moral Maturity Level, Life Position and with some other variables. This study was conducted with 377 students those were selected from different class level. In order to get data from students “Students Personal Information Inquiry”-which is for getting information about students and taking their assessments about themselves-, “Moral Maturity Scale”, “Life Position Scale” and “Logical Reasoning Test” were applied. As a result of findings, there is not any correlation between gender and Dunning- Kruger Effect. However, there is a correlation between Dunning- Kruger Effect and the types of high schools and class level of students. While there is a significant relation between Moral Maturity level of students and Life Position of students, but Dunning- Kruger Effect doesn’t have any relation with Moral Maturity level of students not also with Life Position of students. On the other hand, there is a difference between groups self-assessments rate. In the process of pre-test estimates, the individuals in the first quartile group generally estimated themselves lower than their actual position. Lastly, the individuals in the bottom quartile have a huge difference between their estimation and their actual situation. After test the participants were asked to make post-test predictions. As a result of these predictions, it was seen that about themselves participants in the first quartile made minimum changes in their pre-test estimations. While the individuals in the last quartile made the biggest changes in their first estimation they didn’t get nearer to their actual performance. The difference between actual performance and perceived performance is still too high.Extended English summary is in the end of Full Text PDF (TURKISH) file. ÖzetDunning-Kruger Etkisinin ortaöğretim öğrencilerinin Ahlaki Olgunluk Düzeyi ve Yaşam Pozisyonları ile ilişkisinin bazı değişkenler açısından incelenmesini esas alan bu çalışma ile toplumumuzda ve birçok toplumda etkili olan cehaletin vermiş olduğu abartılı cesaretin gözler önüne serilmesi amaçlanmaktadır. Bu çalışma, gönüllülük esasına dayalı olaraktan farklı sınıf kademelerinde bulunan 377 öğrenciyle yapılmıştır. Öğrencilere, katılımcıların kendilerini değerlendirmelerini ve kendileri ile ilgili demografik bilgileri vermelerini sağlayan Kişisel Bilgi Formu, Ahlaki Olgunluk Ölçeği, Yaşam Pozisyonları Ölçeği ve Mantıksal Çıkarım Testi uygulanmıştır. Dunning-Kruger Etkisi ile Cinsiyet arasında anlamlı bir ilişkiye rastlanmaz iken Dunning-Kruger Etkisi ile okul tür ve sınıf düzeyi arasında anlamlı bir ilişkiye rastlanmıştır. Ahlaki Olgunluk Ölçeği ile Yaşam Pozisyonları arsında anlamlı bir ilişki görüldüğü halde, Dunning-Kruger Etkisinin ile Ahlaki Olgunluk Ölçeği ve Yaşam Pozisyonları arasında herhangi bir ilişki görülmemiştir. Test sonuçlarına göre oluşan grupların kendilerini değerlendirme konusunda da farklar gösterdiği görülmüştür. Test öncesi tahminlere göre ilk çeyrekteki grupta yer alan bireyler genel olarak kendilerini olduklarından daha düşük seviyede görmekte oldukları anlaşılmıştır. Buna karşın, son grupta yer alan katılımcıların gerçek durumla tahmin ettikleri durum arasında çok büyük bir farkın olduğu grup olduğu görülmüştür. Test sonrası tahminlerde ise, ilk grupta yer alan katılımcıların kendileri ile ilgili en az hatalı tahminleri yapan grup olduğu, dördüncü grubun en büyük değişimleri yapmasına rağmen yine de gerçek performanslarının çok ötesinde tahminler yaptığı görülmüştür

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy with Ecological Systems Theory: Addressing Muslim Mental Health Issues and Wellbeing

Muslims across the word underutilize mental health services for addressing their wellbeing and biopsychosocial, spiritual, and contextual issues. By 2030, the global Muslim population is expected to reach 2.2 billion people. This indicates that Muslim mental health is gaining importance and would require contextually (i.e., spiritually, culturally, empirically) more effective services. Practitioners used Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Ecological Systems Theory (EST) to promote wellbeing and address psychopathology for diverse groups. However, rigorous and comprehensive literature from 1986 to 2019 did not produce research addressing how ACT could be consumed to serve Muslims. Researchers in Muslim mental health have suggested benefitting from EST yet only few have mentioned using ACT. ACT is one of the most effective therapies based on randomized control trials to enhance wellbeing and address psychopathology. The main purposes of this paper are to (a) explain how ACT is one of the most appropriate counseling approaches to be utilized with Muslims because ACT and Islam have many commonalities and (b) propose ACT with EST perspective to enable a much more contextual perspective of ACT so that mental health professionals could promote wellbeing and address psychopathology at all ecological levels for all, starting with Muslims. With the arrival of third and fourth wave of counseling approaches, the use of positive psychology in research and practice has increased dramatically. ACT, Islam, and EST also highly stress a positive approach perspective thus considering of ACT and EST together might promise more effective research and practice in positive and abnormal psychology

Mental health issues and seeking of formal mental health services among Muslims in the Southeastern U.S.: preliminary investigation of a contextual theoretical framework based on the theory of planned behavior/theory of reasoned action and the social ecological model

The Muslim community in the Southeastern U.S., being a small part of the larger Muslim population in the U.S., faces many psychosocial issues and underutilizes mental health services. Muslims’ underutilization of mental health services to address their psychosocial issues affect both Muslims and non-Muslims alike. Given today’s highly interconnected world, the issues of one individual or community often impact others in ways not experienced at other times in history. However, there is lack of research on Muslims and especially for those in the Southeastern U.S. regarding their approach toward mental health issues and seeking formal mental health services. Researchers stress the necessity to understand Muslims’ approach toward mental health issues and seeking the services by utilizing well-grounded theories to create and/or shape contextual theoretical frameworks (models). However, few researchers have utilized clear theoretical frameworks to ground their studies, which creates an unsystematic approach to research and clinical practice for this vulnerable population. In their study with 88 counselors in the U.S. Cashwell et al. (2013) found that although the participants rated the integration of religious/spiritual aspects into counseling as very important, they integrated these aspects less frequently into their counseling practice than how ratings of importance would suggest. Young and Cashwell (2011) stressed attending to client’s spiritual/religious perspective by stating, “meeting the client where [they] are, without judgment and with compassion, is the foundational building block” (p. 22) to address issues in counseling. The purpose of this study was to understand how Muslims in the Southeastern U.S. approach mental health issues and seeking formal mental health services. A second purpose was to partially test (examine) the proposed contextual theoretical framework based on Theory of Planned Behavior/Theory of Reasoned Action (TPB/TRA) and Brofenbrenner’s Social Ecological Model (SEM) to answer the eight research questions. In total 209 participants’ responses were used for statistical analyses. The results indicated that the participants had slightly higher than the moderate/favorable level on the five constructs: cultural beliefs about mental health issues/problems and their causes and treatments (CBMHP-cultural beliefs), knowledge about formal mental health services (KFMHS-knowledge), and perceived behavioral control toward seeking formal mental health services (PBC) constructs; and a moderately favorable level on attitudes toward seeking formal mental health services (ATFMHS-attitudes) construct; and slightly under the moderate level (meaning participants had a little stronger stigma than moderate level) for perceived social stigma toward seeking formal mental health services (PSTSFMHS-stigma) construct. Meaning that, the participants did not strongly favor or disfavor the five constructs. In addition, the participants strongly aligned with a medical/scientific explanation of mental health issues and their causes and treatments based on responses to the measure of CBMHP-cultural beliefs. The paths (relationships/analyses) among the five main constructs were positively or negatively significant except for one. In an open ended question, the largest group of the participants defined mental health providers from a medical/psychopathology perspective while the others fell under three other categories. In addition, majority of the participants did not feel safe and attributed it to the current climate of exosystem and macrosystem systems they live in. In sum, nearly all researchers in the Muslim mental health literature have stressed the importance of understanding contextual factors for more culturally, spiritually, and structurally appropriate interventions and services. Therefore, it was first necessary to assess and understand how Muslims in the Southeastern U.S. approach to mental health issues and seeking formal mental health services through a well-grounded theoretical framework. In this way, mental health providers and researchers will be able to understand Muslims within a more culturally and structurally contextual perspective and address the mental health issues of this population more effectively by utilizing the results of this study

The Effect of Counselling on Anxiety Level from the Perspective of Ecological Systems Theory: A Quasi-experimental Pre-test - Post-test Control Group Study

In this study, we aimed to examine how counseling service provided to college students, through a contextual clinical counseling model, affects the anxiety level of college students at a university in the east of Turkey. We followed a quasi-experimental with pretest-posttest and with control group design method. The experimental group comprised 205 and the control group comprised 75 college students. Seven supervisors with PhD degree in counseling and counselor education provided weekly supervision to 120 counselors-in-training who provided individual counseling services to the participants. Each client in the experimental group received in average six sessions, each for 45-55 minutes. We have used an adapted version of Beck Anxiety Inventory for Turkey to examine the clients’ anxiety levels. Throughout the counseling process, we have collaborated with the psychiatry department at the university when it was necessary. Additionally, in order to conduct the complex quasi-experimental study in a smooth process, we developed and utilized the contextual clinical counseling model, as such models are utilized in some of the best counseling departments in the USA. The model facilitated to conduct the complex and dynamic research and providing the services with limited resources. That means optimized the resources through the model and got significant results. As a result, receiving counseling service seems significantly decreasing anxiety level for this sample. The current study meets some important gaps in mental health. We disccussed the findings from an ecological systems theory perspective and suggested some implications in mental health

A Proposed Framework Based on Literature Review of Online Contextual Mental Health Services to Enhance Wellbeing and Address Psychopathology During COVID-19

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) became a pandemic and is causing unprecedented biopsychosocial, spiritual and economic issues across the world while mostly affecting unprivileged populations. Turkey has gradually implemented new regulations, which slowly affected the entire country and increased the need for mental health services disproportionally. We conducted a comprehensive literature review on mental health in Turkey during COVID-19. There was no well-grounded peer-reviewed manuscripts or projects utilized a framework. Therefore, we wrote this manuscript to provide a conceptual framework grounded in ecological systems theory, acceptance and commitment therapy, and community-based participatory action research to introduce contextually evidence-based online mental health services: hotline, psychiatric interview, counseling, and Read-Reflect-Share group bibliotherapy. The framework aims to (1) address biopsychosocial spiritual and economic issues, (2) enhance wellbeing, and (3) empower the mental health profession in research and practice. Our preliminary findings and clinical experience indicated that the proposed framework and interventions derived from the framework enhanced wellbeing and decreased psychopathological symptoms in experimental group compared to control groups. Based on the preliminary analysis, most of the online, phone based, or face-to-face mental health services introduced in this manuscript were highly recommended by the participants to be provided to general public during and after COVID-19. Mental health professionals and authorities can use the proposed framework and interventions to develop interventions and research in order to alleviate pandemic-based biopsychosocial spiritual and economic issues and enhance wellbeing