An Analysis of 100 Muslim Email Counseling Clients

Abstract

This chapter analyzes 100 of the author's Muslim clients to learn about their most common problems, demographic information, number of emails typically exchanged, and number of resolved and unresolved cases. The most common problems were marital, family (non-marital) issues, depression symptoms, and anxiety symptoms. Eighty-four percent of clients were women and 16% were men. Most clients were from either the Indian subcontinent or North America and were in their twenties. The average number of email exchanges (a single client's email and the author's therapeutic response) was six. Of the 100 clients, 36 cases were resolved, 57 cases were unresolved, and 7 cases are ongoing. The main type of marital problem faced was infidelity (physical and non-physical). Islam-informed cognitive behavioral techniques, as well as relevant Islamic teachings to use in therapy, are recommended and explained. An overall finding is that global Muslim clients seek online counseling for mostly relationship problems.