Islamic counselling: An integrated approach in promoting psychological well-being

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to highlight the role of Islamic Counselling in promoting the psychological well-being in the society. Its integrated approach being applied in the counselling session involving the Muslim clients allows the counsellor to play a better role and perform more effective as compared to the conventional counselling. The three main elements in counselling adopted from Carl Rogers which is widely accepted to be practised during the counselling session are empathy, congruence and unconditional acceptance. Accommodation of the psycho-spiritual elements in Islamic Psychology which is Ibadah (Motivation), Amanah (Self-Concept) and Ilm(Intellect) are important in developing the Islamic personality of the counsellors. These elements will be able to strengthen their capability in handling the psychological issues faced by the Muslim clients. The development of a strong Islamic personality in a Muslim counsellor would certainly contribute to the positive character building of the clients which finally enable them to independently achieve their psychological well-being. Finally, this paper concludes the discussion by presenting the newly developed model namely, Integrated Approach of Islamic Counselling Model (IAICM).