“Maya is a 42-year-old Muslim woman who was referred to an Islamic women’s center for advocacy and counseling. She has been married to Asad, a 44-year-old physician, for 18 years. Maya is the stay-at-home mother of their three children, aged 10, 12, and 14. Both Maya and Asad are originally from Egypt, having immigrated to the United States shortly after getting married. Maya reports that she and her husband have always been devout Muslims, being very involved in their local mosque. They have had what she considers a traditional Muslim marriage, where her husband is the leader of the home and provides for the family financially, and Maya takes care of the home and the children. For the majority of their marriage Maya believes that their marriage has been a good one. She believes that her husband was always very respectful of her and relied on her wisdom and input in making decisions impacting the family, particularly with regard to the children. Because Maya was an accountant prior to getting married, Asad has relied on her to help with financial matters related to his medical practice. Maya reported that about five years ago Asad began to “bring his work home with him,” which led to an increase in his general irritability and frustration. In the last two years Maya noted that he began to become more controlling of her whereabouts, getting angry with her if he could not reach her at a moment’s notice. She did not reach out then because she believed Asad when he said that it was his right to control her in this manner. Although Maya’s father did not behave in this manner, she began to believe that perhaps she needed to endure Asad’s behavior in order to be a good Muslim wife. Maya shared that in the past few months his aggression had escalated to the point of screaming at her, both at home and in public, backing her into corners. His drinking has escalated as well. The incident that prompted Maya to finally reach out for help occurred after she refused to sleep with Asad because he was extremely intoxicated and verbally abusing her. Asad became irate and began beating her, citing his right per the Qur’an (4:34–35). Maya initially went to the Imam at her mosque, who supported her completely and also explained that her husband’s use of the Qur’an was a misinterpretation. He explained that Islam did not in any way condone abuse. He provided her with a considerable amount of information regarding the “cycle of violence” and services in the community for victims of domestic violence, including support groups for both adults and children. Maya contacted the Muslim women’s center that day and saw a counselor later in the week. During Maya’s first counseling center she expressed relief that her community was so supportive of her, but she expressed sadness as well because the information and resources she received seemed so fatalistic and hopeless. Her counselor explained that her husband was acting in a manner inconsistent with the will of Allah and if he was truly committed to following Islam and being a good Muslim husband and father, then perhaps he would be open to receiving counseling as well. Domestic violence, the counselor explained, not only destroyed everyone in the family but also affected the entire community, thus the Muslim community was as concerned about Asad as it was about Maya. During counseling Maya began to understand the underlying dynamics of her husband’s behavior and gained wisdom regarding the difference between a husband who led his family with respect, as described by Muhammad, and the controlling and abusive behavior exhibited by her husband. As Maya gained confidence in herself and her decisions, she felt strongly that Allah was leading her to be strong for the sake of her family. Strength, according to her counselor, meant that she could not tolerate abuse. Asad met with the Imam for several weeks and then reluctantly agreed to attend a one-year anger management program that was led by an Imam at the community Islamic center, and Maya agreed not to make any decisions about whether to consider a divorce until after Asad had finished his program. Both the Imam and the counselor agreed that family counseling should not occur until after Asad had received enough counseling to recognize that the root of the family and marital problems lay within him. As Maya continued counseling, she began to realize the intergenerational cycle of abuse that existed in her husband’s family and how important it was, particularly for the sake of her children, that she become strong enough to break the cycle. The most difficult aspect of this process for Maya was maintaining good boundaries with Asad and realizing that he had the choice not to change, which would force her hand in a sense, forcing her to leave the marriage to avoid repeating the patterns of abuse.

Explain why the faith-based intervention was successful in this case study. Determine what conditions would cause a human service professional to integrate faith-based interventions into the counseling strategy. Support your research findings with at least two journal articles (APA format)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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