Faruk Syed, Asadullah Muhammad, Tsang A Ka Tat
Faculty of Social Work, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Department of Justice Studies, University of Regina, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada.
J Community Psychol. 2025 Sep;53(7):e70036. doi: 10.1002/jcop.70036.
This study aimed to explore the experiences of Muslim mental health service users and providers in Ontario, Canada. With a focus on understanding mental health service barriers and facilitators, the research also sought to identify service user and provider recommendations and highlight the capacity for addressing gaps within service utilization and delivery by adopting religious tailoring with the Muslim community. This was carried out through a CBPAR approach to conduct diverse focus groups with Muslim service users and service providers across Ontario, Canada. The results indicate mistrust towards Eurocentric models, cultural stigma, and insufficient provision of religiously and culturally congruent care significantly hinder engagement. Nevertheless, religious tailoring-incorporating elements such as Imams, faith-based counseling, and community-based interventions-emerges as an effective strategy to overcome these challenges. The study powerfully emphasizes the success of integrating mental health services within mosques and Muslim-led organizations, equipping Imams with skills in psychospiritual counseling, and weaving Islamic coping mechanisms into therapeutic practices. The study concludes with 11 practical recommendations based upon service user and provider suggestions that can empower policymakers, practitioners, and Muslim communities to enhance mental health accessibility and encourage meaningful engagement.
本研究旨在探讨加拿大安大略省穆斯林心理健康服务使用者和提供者的经历。该研究聚焦于理解心理健康服务的障碍和促进因素，还试图确定服务使用者和提供者的建议，并强调通过对穆斯林社区采用宗教定制来解决服务利用和提供方面差距的能力。这是通过一种社区参与式行动研究（CBPAR）方法来进行的，该方法在加拿大安大略省与穆斯林服务使用者和服务提供者开展了不同的焦点小组讨论。结果表明，对以欧洲为中心的模式的不信任、文化污名以及缺乏宗教和文化契合的护理显著阻碍了参与。然而，宗教定制——纳入伊玛目、基于信仰的咨询和基于社区的干预等要素——成为克服这些挑战的有效策略。该研究有力地强调了在清真寺和穆斯林主导的组织中整合心理健康服务、使伊玛目具备心理精神咨询技能以及将伊斯兰应对机制融入治疗实践的成功。该研究根据服务使用者和提供者的建议得出了11条实用建议，这些建议可以使政策制定者、从业者和穆斯林社区有能力提高心理健康服务的可及性，并鼓励有意义的参与。
