Mental Health Toolkit

Resources for Muslim Mental Healthcare Advocates

A growing number of American Muslims encounter prejudice in their daily lives. Not surprisingly, they also increasingly make self-reports of emotional stress. While day-to-day pressures continue to affect American Muslims’ ability to thrive, good recommendations are available to face these challenges. This toolkit includes resources for individuals and mental health professionals to effectively address the unique mental health challenges that Muslims face. These challenges are not exclusive to adults. This toolkit also includes specific resources for addressing the needs of American Muslim children who face the added challenge of bullying from peers and adults, alike.

Mental Health Toolkit

Resources for Muslim Mental Healthcare Advocates

This webinar summarizes the recommendations from our report, Religious-Based Bullying: Insights on Research and Evidence-Based Best Practices from the National Interfaith Anti-Bullying Summit. The webinar was sponsored by ISPU, Islamic Networks Group (ING), American Muslim Health Professionals (AMHP), and Sikh Kid 2 Kid.

This handout provides eight strategies for educators on how to best address religious-based bullying of Muslim kids.

Religious-Based Bullying: Insights on Research and Evidence-Based Best Practices from the National Interfaith Anti-Bullying Summit
February 5, 2021,
By Nadia Ansary
Given the prevalence rates and negative mental health outcomes associated with religious-based bullying, it must be considered a public health issue in need of prevention and intervention attention. This brief provides insights from the first-ever National Interfaith Anti-Bullying Summit held in Washington, DC, on December...
2019 Survey of MSA West Student Members: Perseverance in the Face of Adversity
July 2, 2019,
By Colin Christopher
Muslim Student Associations are often an integral space for American Muslims’ social, spiritual, and political development. To better understand the perspectives of Muslim students in California, ISPU and MSA West partnered to administer a survey during the annual MSA West Conference at the University of...
State of American Muslim Youth: Research & Recommendations
February 11, 2015,
By Sameera Ahmed
American Muslim youth are a heterogeneous group, with varying backgrounds, experiences, and needs. Families, schools, and communities can benefit from research on American Muslim youth to improve current approaches in youth programming and development. This report identifies the nuances and complexities of American Muslim youth’s...
Young Adult American-Born Muslims and Mental Health: An Exploration of Attitudes, Challenges, and Needs
December 31, 2014,
By Ben Herzig
Despite the growing number of American Muslims in the United States, their frequent encounters with prejudice and their increased self-reports of emotional stress, little research has been carried out to understand attitudes toward mental health by Muslim Americans, specifically those born and raised in the...
Addressing Foster Care and Mental Health
October 1, 2005,
By Patrick Fowler
On any given day, there are more than 542,000 children residing in foster care in the United States—a number that has risen every year since the 1980s.1 These children experience combinations of a number of risks to healthy development and adjustment, such as parental neglect,...

Dealing with Bias + Bigotry

On January 24th, 2017, ISPU and ISNA co-hosted a webinar featuring ISPU Scholars Dr. Ben Herzig and Dr. Hamada Hamid along with mental health practitioner Kameelah Mu’Min Rashad that focused on “Post-Election American Muslim Self-Care.” Panelists discussed how Muslims can best practice self care, how parents can support their children when confronted with bigotry, and the effect that intersections of religion, race, gender, and pre-existing conditions can have on Muslims’ mental health.

Muslims Disproportionately Feel Negative Effect of Political Climate

This infographic highlights the stress placed on the American Muslim community as a result of the current political climate. It is important for individuals and mental health professionals to understand these external stresses as they seek to develop solutions to promote emotional well-being.

	Ben Herzig in The Islamic Monthly \| January 8, 2017
	American Muslims in the Age of Trump: The View from the Therapy Couch

	Interview with Ben Herzig in Vox \| March 8, 2017
	“Bigotry complicates everything”: a psychologist on how prejudice harms Muslim patients’ mental health

Suicide Attempts of Muslims Compared With Other Religious Groups in the US

A 2021 article in JAMA Psychiatry found that American Muslim adults have twice the rate of suicide attempts compared to other surveyed faith groups. The study this publication was based on included data from ISPU’s 2019 American Muslim Poll. Multiple ISPU scholars, including Dr. Rania Awaad, director of the Stanford Muslim Mental Health & Islamic Psychology Lab, and Dr. Hamada Hamid, co-founder of the Muslim Mental Health Institute, were involved in conducting and publishing the study, as well as ISPU Director of Research Dalia Mogahed.

A September 2021 webinar co-hosted by Maristan, Institute for Social Policy and Understanding (ISPU),and Institute of Muslim Mental Health (IMMH) featured study co-authors discussing this data and the impact it has on community conversations.

Dive Into the Data

The following graphs show mental health-related findings from our 2016–2019 American Muslim Polls.

DEMOGRAPHICS

ANXIETY + RESILIENCE

INTERNALIZED ISLAMOPHOBIA

RACISM

BULLYING + DISCRIMINATION

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

Addressing Mental Health Issues among American Muslims in the Military
June 2, 2010,
By Wahiba Abu-Ras
The tragic shootings at the Fort Hood Army Base in Texas raised the public’s attention toward Muslims serving in the United States Armed Forces. There was much public conjecture about the motives and mental state of Major Nidal Hasan. While mental health services in the military...
Community Brief | American Muslims and Aging
December 5, 2016,
By Kristine Ajrouch
Demographic shifts in the U.S. as well as globally have made aging an issue of high interest, yet little is known about the realities of Muslim experiences. And despite Islam’s strong and clear emphasis on caring for older adults, American Muslim communities have not developed...
Counseling Muslims: Handbook of Mental Health Issues and Interventions
September 6, 2011,
By Sameera Ahmed
The issues and interventions discussed in this book, by authoritative contributors, are diverse and multifaceted. Topics that have been ignored in previous literature are introduced, such as sex therapy, substance abuse counseling, university counseling, and community-based prevention. Chapters integrate tables, lists, and suggested phrasing for...
Spirituality in Mental Health Care: It’s past Time to Make Room
July 25, 2012,
By Ben Herzig
National surveys have consistently found that the vast majority of Americans identify as religious and/or spiritual in one way or another. But is there any room for spirituality or religious practice in psychiatric treatment? Is there a place at all for faith in an era...
Suicide Attempts of Muslims Compared With Other Religious Groups in the US
July 21, 2021,
By Rania Awaad
On July 21, 2021, an article in JAMA Psychiatry found that American Muslims have twice the rate of suicide attempts compared to other surveyed faith groups. From an August 10, 2021 NPR article about the study: “Nearly 8% of Muslims in the survey reported a...