USE OF ISLAMIC RELIGION IN PSYCHOTHERAPY IN MALAYSIA

Freudian psychotherapy is not popular in Malaysia. Supportive psychoth erapy and the behavior therapies are well accepted by patients. A new form of psychotherapy using the Koran and Hadith has been developed in Kelantan, Malaysia. Tt uses cognitive therapy as the basic principle: it does not look for conflicts in patients but collaborates with the patients to find their ideals or values, These are then analyzed to un derstand why they cause symptoms and subsequently modified with the Ko ran and Hadith as guidelines in order to extinguish symptoms. Research has indicated that patients on this therapy improve faster than patie nts on supportive therapy.