Program Overview
This public program is designed for a broad audience including students, professionals, or scholars from any field or background. Anyone interested in the field of Islamic psychology is welcomed. The program is comprised of theory-based lectures with class discussion, an experiential, practice-based Islamic meditation/muraqaba component lead by an expert in Islamic spirituality, and an original final project that the student will do that will contribute to advancing the field of Islamic psychology. The following is a brief overview of the program and other relevant information.
This module provides necessary intellectual infrastructure for the program as a whole. It begins with a general overview of the emerging field of Islamic psychology including how it is defined and conceptualized, examples of current scholarship and the landscape today. How religion, spirituality, and other issues of diversity are dealt with in psychology will also be examined.
This course introduces students to Islam by exploring the structure and landscape of Islamic sciences and schools of thought, Muslim contributions to science such as philosophy of science, and Muslim contributions to what we today call psychology including human ontology, theories of personality, and other related topics.
This module examines Islam’s version of psychology, namely Islamic spirituality, also known by other names such as the science of Ihsan, the science of the self and more. Specific topics to be explored include various approaches or schools of thought to this science, virtue and character development, spiritual diseases of the heart, love, and other virtues and spiritual stations.
This module explores Islamic psychology and mental health, various approaches to Islamically integrated psychotherapy, relevant clinical topics such as trauma and addiction, as well as psychometrics and measuring religiosity.
The field of Islamic healing is vast and includes prophetic medicine (al-Tibb al-Nabawi), Sufism (tasawwuf), spiritual modalities such as dhikr, duaa, ruqya, other modalities and concepts like muraqaba and muhasaba, and what is today called mind-body or complementary and alternative medicine. This module explores this area of Islamic healing as well as ways to bring Islamic philosophy, frameworks, and practices into clinical encounters, regardless of the patient’s faith background.
This module will cover important IP topics including professional ethics, I/O psychology, peace psychology, and the phenomenology of religious experiences. Delivered by renowned guest lecturers on these topics.
In this module students will present their original research topics as final presentations and papers and will have an opportunity for feedback on potential publication.
Program Faculty
FAQ
PLEASE NOTE: REGISTRATION IS NOT CURRENTLY OPEN. THE BELOW FAQ IS FOR GENERAL INFORMATION PURPOSES ONLY.
How is the program administered? The program is fully online and lead by renowned experts in their fields.
Who is this course designed for? This is a public course designed for anyone wanting to know more about the field of Islamic psychology including students, clinicians, scholars, professionals, and more. This is not a course that focuses on the mental health needs of Muslims, as important of a topic as that may be. Rather, the program focuses on the development of frameworks of psychology that are rooted in the Islamic theological and philosophical traditions and positioned within a modern psychology context.
Is this course accredited? There is currently no regulatory body that accredits Islamic psychology courses or programs. This is a public course and attendees will receive a certificate of completion issued by the Alkaram Institute at the end. This course does not prepare or train attendees for clinical practice. However, for attendees who are already licensed clinicians, it will inform your practice by giving you frameworks in which you can Islamically ground your work. For attendees who are currently enrolled in a graduate program elsewhere and are interested in doing their MA thesis or doctoral dissertation on an IP topic, consider applying to our Islamic Psychology Research Fellowship program. For more information, see our website.
Are there assignments or exams for the course? There will be a good amount of assigned reading, a final project, and various assignements throughout the year.
For other questions not answered here, please reach out to info@alkaraminstitute.or
