ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a discussion of the role of the Traditional Islamically Integrated Psychotherapy (TIIP) practitioner and where they are situated within the professional psychotherapeutic encounter. The authors provide some guidelines as to the therapeutic competencies required by a TIIP practitioner that are demonstrated by: (1) the possession of therapeutic skill, knowledge of theory, and case conceptualization, (2) familiarity with basic Islamic spiritual interventions and the Islamic tradition, and (3) internal qualities such as sincerity and investment in the well-being of the patient that serve as core ingredients for change within an Islamic spiritually oriented approach. The broader role and scope of the psychotherapist is contrasted with an Islamic spiritual scholar (Ṣūfī) by situating the TIIP practitioner within the context of Imām al-Ghazālī’s conceptualization of the two potential types of transformative relationships necessary for psycho-spiritual awareness. It is proposed that the TIIP practitioner’s central role is to alleviate psychological distress and dysfunction through the adaptation of mainstream psychological interventions within an Islamic framework, as well as the utilization of inherently Islamic spiritual remedies leading to a holistic conceptualization of the human psyche. Though subclinical character and spiritual development may also be within the purview of the TIIP practitioner, these are seen as secondary aspects of potential treatment. Thus, the TIIP practitioner is situated between a “clinician” and a “spiritual” healer. Overall, the TIIP practitioner possesses the competence and capacity to provide psychospiritual relief by integrating behavioral science into an Islamic conceptual framework.
