Traditional Islamic Integrated Psychotherapy

The conventional adaptation of psychotherapy developed specifically for Muslim clients known as Traditional Islamically- Integrated Psychotherapy (TUP).

Integrated Psychotherapy of Traditional Islam (TUP) is a model based on conventional Sunni orthodox, pioneered by Keshavarzi and Haque in 2013, and later enhanced by Keshavarzi and Khan in 2018. The principles it embodies are largely based on the opinions of early Islamic scholars and these findings are then supplemented with relevant clinical considerations. The TUP is used at the Khalil center an Islamically modulated OP mental health center located near Chicago, USA where many conditions including trauma, depression, anxiety, OCD, and marital conflict are treated. In this center, research done displays effectiveness of TUP in reducing psychological and functional distress according to Keshavarzi (2022).

To formalize training in TUP, the Khalil Center developed a three-level curriculum: Level I presents its basic concepts, Level II explores clinically applied functions, Level III provides clinical supervision and finally certification. This training has become favourite internationally, sessions of it have been performed in USA, Canada, Türkiye, Pakistan etc.

TUP also offers a wider epistemological context based on Islamic literature perceiving scriptural, rational and experience-based knowledge as parallel ways of knowing. This inclusion paves way for harmonization of the sacred sciences with the psychological sciences which enables formulation of a model that harmonizes knowing from various sources. TUP is still different from behaviorism that does not consider the role of spirituality and character in practice or from the modern psychology that pays to much attention secular morality together with modern Positivity psychology movement.

According to the degree of certainty that is qat’i or dhanni, TUP benefits the comprehensive assessment of knowledge so that it can bring moderative approach to the psychological study and practice. This epistemological framework points to the fact that TUP is an amalgam of Scientific, Islamic and Quranic knowledge which provides a contours of the human temperaments (Keshavarzi & Ali, 2020).