Management of Depression and Anxiety from An Islamic Perspective: An Integrated Psychological Approach to Mental Health

Abstract

The current study highlights the integration of didactic therapy and cognitive restructuring according to religious beliefs and Islamic practices while coping with depression and anxiety in adolescents (N = 80) between the ages of 12 to 18 years. It was hypothesized that participants in the experimental group who received integration of didactic therapy and cognitive restructuring in an Islamic milieu would have significantly lower scores on the scales of depression and anxiety than participants in the control group. This study was executed as a pretest-posttest experimental group design with random assignment of participants. The translated Urdu versions of depression and anxiety scales were used as assessment tools. The distinctive feature of this psychological intervention was to provide didactic therapy and cognitive restructuring in the Islamic milieu to the experimental group consisting of six sessions of 90 minutes duration in a classroom setting in comparison to the control group. Results of the study (p < 0.001) supported the adoption of didactic therapy integrated with cognitive restructuring in the Islamic context for managing depression and anxiety in vulnerable adolescents. Overall, results of the current study are encouraging which provide evidence for the efficacy of integration of didactic therapy and cognitive restructuring according to the religious beliefs and Islamic practices while coping with depression and anxiety in adolescents.