Integrating the Islamic cognitive behavioural therapy (I-CBT) and its effectiveness in treating depression

The study was aimed to develop a manualised treatment integrating the Islamic concept of hope, meaning and sense of gratitude into cognitive behaviour therapy (I-CBT) in treating depression among Muslims. Development of the therapeutic module was based on the Enriched Intervention Manual of Operations, and Cully and Teten’s Brief Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, which was validated by three experts in the field of clinical and Islamic psychology. The study also examined Muslims’ expression of depressive symptoms in relation to emotional and somatic complaints. Based on a mixed method research design, six Muslim participants from a military base in South-West Nigeria were selected through purposive sampling methods. The inclusion criteria for the study was English proficiency and a score of seventeen and above in the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). Each participant passed through a 6-week session protocol, and the BDI was used to obtain the depression scores before and after the intervention. Also, the data from face to face interviews, daily records, sentence completion exercises, field notes and others, were analyzed through the Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. The research findings indicated some decreased depression symptoms among the participants. Moreover, results also revealed that sense of gratitude and meaning served more as buffering effects in the participant’s experience of decreased depressive symptoms. Hence, it could be deduced that the Islamic CBT as a manualized treatment is effective in reducing mild depression among Muslims. In conclusion, the findings of the present study calls for greater attention on why Muslim clinicians and counselors should explore their patients’ religious values in helping to cope with emotional and life difficulties.