Islamophobia and Psychiatry

This book is a second edition of the 2019 volume of Islamophobia and Psychiatry . This update conveys how important and challenging the subject matter remains. The first edition of this book came at a time when Islamophobia was rising in the United States and elsewhere, and the adverse mental health repercussions were significant: disparagement of Muslims, Muslim fears of asking for help from psychiatry, undue fear of Muslims by others, and increased anxiety for Muslims, amongst others. Since then, Islamophobia has waxed and waned. Islamophobia plays a major role in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, and the psychological trauma ripples out into the world. 

Attention to Islamophobia in this volume is thereby applied to different countries and from different religious perspectives. The focus is on psychiatric aspects, including new topics such as a Hindu psychiatrist’s perspective, burnout in Muslims, learning the clinical influence of religion, a new psychiatric process to negotiate international conflict, and a unique dialogue between a Muslim psychiatrist and a Jewish psychiatrist, moderated by a Christian psychiatrist.  Notably, the editors were also able to secure a rare but needed Palestinian perspective on collective trauma from a psychiatrist with lived experiences in the West Bank. Valued chapters from the first edition have been retained and revised where necessary. 

First and foremost, this is a vital expert resource for all clinicians and clinicians in training who may encounter patients and colleagues struggling with Islamophobia, including for adults and child psychiatrists, psychologists, primary care physicians, counselors, social workers, nurses, administrators, and others. It is the fifth volume, following volumes on Islamophobia, Antisemitism, Christianity, and the Eastern traditions, in an unprecedented series on religions, spirituality and psychiatry.