Islamophobia in the consulting room

This presentation aims to focus on psychotherapists’ experience of Islamophobia and its impact on clinical work. It helps to understand how the external socio-political events impact the internal world of clients and provide invaluable insights on understanding the impact of Islamophobia in clinical practice.

There is a tendency to be suspicious of Muslims or of people perceived to be Muslims. Islamophobia in the external world impacts on our psyche. Unconscious and institutionalized Islamophobia has implications for both Islamophobes and Muslims. If not addressed, it can deviate both the therapist and the client away from the therapeutic task.

The talk will facilitate thinking on Islamophobia and how this is experienced in a clinical setting, helping address some of the underlying issues around it. It will cover the findings of a research study on the topic to shed light on therapists’ experiences of working with it and how it can affect their clients. It may, in turn, facilitate awareness of these issues, helping to identify new ways of working with it.

This course will unravel the subtleties and nuances of the experiences of Islamophobia in the consulting room. The personal, social, and political issues impact the psyche and the psychotherapy, which emphasizes the need for engagement with Islamophobia. The thinking can then also be applied in broader contexts to address Islamophobia thoughtfully in therapy and society.

Learning Outcomes:

• Reflecting on the experience of Islamophobia for psychotherapists watching for Muslims v. watching for Islamophobia in practice
• Moving from focus on the experience of psychotherapists to think about the reciprocal effects of it on clients feeling watched v. watching for themselves
• Teasing out unconscious meanings and associations of practices and policies to curb terrorism and its implications on psychotherapy
• Discovering a fresh perspective on unintended consequences of unconscious and institutionalized Islamophobia for psychotherapists becoming terrorist watchers
• Thinking about the effects on clients facing fear of Islamophobia v. internalized Islamophobia
• Moving from political correctness to attain greater integrity in clinical practice
• Implementing creative ways to restore ‘loss of authenticity’ in psychotherapy
• Working towards the integration of the external and the internal to effectively work with Islamophobia in the consulting room