Counseling Approaches

The Rahma Center Counseling and Family Consultation Program offers a wide variety of counseling approaches. Whether your needs are psychological or spiritual, individual or relationships we hope to provide relief (Rahma) through our wide variety of approaches and professionals.

Psychotherapy

During psychotherapy, you learn about your condition and your moods, feelings, thoughts and behaviors. Psychotherapy helps you learn how to take control of your life and respond to challenging situations with healthy coping skills.

There are many types of psychotherapy, each with its own approach. The type of psychotherapy that’s right for you depends on your individual situation. Psychotherapy is also known as talk therapy, counseling, psychosocial therapy or, simply, therapy

Psychotherapy can be helpful in treating most mental health problems, including:

• Anxiety disorders, such as obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), phobias, panic disorder or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
• Mood disorders, such as depression or bipolar disorder
• Addictions, such as alcoholism, drug dependence or compulsive gambling
• Eating disorders, such as anorexia or bulimia
• Personality disorders, such as borderline personality disorder or dependent personality disorder
• Schizophrenia or other disorders that cause detachment from reality (psychotic disorders)

Not everyone who benefits from psychotherapy is diagnosed with a mental illness. Psychotherapy can help with life’s stresses and conflicts that can affect anyone. For example, it may help you:

• Resolve conflicts with your partner or someone else in your life
• Relieve anxiety or stress due to work or other situations
• Cope with major life changes, such as divorce, the death of a loved one or the loss of a job
• Learn to manage unhealthy reactions, such as road rage or passive-aggressive behavior
• Come to terms with an ongoing or serious physical health problem, such as diabetes, cancer or long-term (chronic) pain
• Recover from physical or sexual abuse or witnessing violence
• Cope with sexual problems, whether they’re due to a physical or psychological cause
• Sleep better, if you have trouble getting to sleep or staying asleep (insomnia)

Spiritual Counseling

Why Do We Need Spiritual Counselors?

Spiritual counseling is a type of counseling that focuses on a person’s spiritual side. There are multiple reasons why a person may consider spiritual counseling. First, they may seek out spiritual counseling to explore or solidify their own personal spiritual beliefs. Some people might also seek out the guidance of spiritual counselors when they need help solving other problems in their lives, based on their spiritual beliefs.

Individuals who feel as though they are missing their spirituality or those who feel lost in their own spiritual beliefs may feel lost in life in general. Some may even feel as though a part of their souls are fractured or even missing.

Spiritual counselors can help individuals with most matters related to spirituality and faith, unlike many other mental health counselors that are bound by the limitations of science.

Some clients may need help exploring or even discovering their spiritual or religious beliefs. They may feel conflicted or confused and start to doubt their own beliefs that were ingrained in them for years, or they may simply need guidance in order to figure out what their beliefs are.

Psycho-Spiritual / Pastoral Counseling

Pastoral counseling is a branch of counseling in which psychologically trained religious figures provide therapy services. Pastoral counselors integrate modern psychological thought and method with traditional religious training to address psychospiritual issues in addition to the traditional spectrum of counseling services.

Beyond providing psychotherapy, pastoral counselors utilize resources such as prayer, scripture study (e.g. Qur’an & Hadith), and participation in the congregation community to help guide people on their journey toward God, spiritual and character transformation, and greater connection to others.

A pastoral counselor is different than a clinical counselor or therapist. While they may provide similar services, pastoral counselors integrate spirituality, faith and theology with psychotherapy to help people seeking assistance with personal, family, marital and faith issues. Certified Pastoral Counselors have experience and training in religious institutions, hold a postgraduate degree from an accredited university, are credentialed by a local religious community, and have significant education and supervised professional counseling experience. Many also possess a state license as a psychologist, marriage and family therapist or social worker.

Islamic Pastoral Counseling

A Muslim Pastoral Counselor combines the knowledge, wisdom and insight from Islamic sources and sciences (Quran, hadith, science of tazkiya and other religious disciplines) with modern understanding of human behavior from reliable evidence based scientific research.

Muslim Pastoral Counseling is provided by therapists who are Muslim Professionals, who affirm and embrace the Islamic tenets, morals and identity, and have special emphasis on the science of purification of the heart (Tazkiya)

The goal of a Muslim Pastoral counselor is to use faith-based principles and psychological instruction to help people better manage and/or resolve any issues in their lives

Mediation and Arbitration

Currently Under Development

Family mediation is a process in which an independent, professionally trained mediator help families to agree on financial arrangements after separation, and to find a way to parent their children co-operatively after separation. The process is less stressful, significantly quicker than going to court, and can save you money.