This article addresses common interpretations of jinn possession among health care professionals. The author addresses the following questions: How do mental health providers interpret jinn possession? How do they view traditional healing practices, such as prophetic medicine, and folk medicine, to explain the phenomenon of jinn possession? The aim of this paper is to contribute to theoretical knowledge of existing research in this area and explore the possibility of improvement of the clinical practice with clients who claim to be possessed by jinn.
AbdullahS. (2007). Islam and counseling: Models of practice in muslim communal life. The Journal of Pastoral Counseling, 42, 42–55 https://search-ebscohost-com.myaccess.library.utoronto.ca/login.aspx?direct=true&db=rfh&AN=ATLA0001678734&site=ehost-live.
2.
Akhu-ZaheyaL. M.AlkhasawnehE. M. (2011). Complementary alternative medicine use among a sample of muslim Jordanian oncology patients. Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice, 18(2), 121–126. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ctcp.2011.10.003
3.
Al-AdawiS.Al-KalbaniY.PanchatcharamS. M.Al-ZadjaliM. A.Al-AdawiS. S.EssaM. M.& QoronflehM. W. (2019). Differential executive functioning in the topology of spirit possession or dissociative disorders: An explorative cultural study. BMC Psychiatry, 19(1), 379–379. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-019-2358-2
4.
Al-HabeebT. A. (2003). A pilot study of faith healers’ views on evil eye, jinn possession, and magic in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Majallat Ṭibb Al-Usrah Wa-Al-Mujtama’, 10(3), 31–38. PMCID: PMC3425750.
5.
AliO.Aboul-FotouhF. (2012). Traditional mental health coping and help-seeking. In AhmedS.AmerM. M. (Eds.), Counseling muslims: Handbook of mental health issues and interventions (pp. 33–47). Routledge.
6.
Al-KaramC. Y. (Ed.) (2018). Islamically integrated psychotherapy: Uniting faith and professional practice. Templeton Press.
BakhshaniM. N.HosseinboreN.KianpoorM. (2013). Djinnati syndrome: Symptoms and prevalence in rural population of baluchistan (southeast of Iran). Asian Journal of Psychiatry, 6(6), 566–570. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajp.2013.09.012
9.
BayerR. S.ShunaigatW. M. (2002). Sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of possessive disorder in Jordan. Neurosciences (Riyadh), 7(1), 46–49. PMID: 23978890.
10.
BlomJ. D. (2011). On the borders of sanity and the neurophysiology of mystic experiences. Psyche & Geloof, 22(2), 72–78.
11.
BourguignonE. (1968). A cross-cultural study of disassociational states. Research Foundation, Ohio State University.
12.
BoutwellB. B.ClasenM.Kjeldgaard-ChristiansenJ. (2021). “We are legion”: Possession myth as a lens for understanding cultural and psychological evolution. Evolutionary Behavioral Sciences, 15(1), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1037/ebs0000197
ChengK. (2017). “My husband is possessed by a jinn”: A case study in transcultural mental health. Australasian Psychiatry : Bulletin of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists, 25(5), 471–473. https://doi.org/10.1177/1039856217707392
15.
ClarkS. (2013). Personal identity and identity disorders. In FulfordK. V. M.DaviesM.GippsR.GrahamG.SadlerJ.StanghelliniG. (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of philosophy and psychiatry (pp. 911–928). Oxford University Press.
16.
CohenE. (2008). What is spirit possession? Defining, comparing, and explaining two possession forms. Ethnos, 73(1), 101–126. https://doi.org/10.1080/00141840801927558
17.
DeHoffS. L. (2014). Distinguishing mystical religious experience and psychotic experience: A qualitative study interviewing presbyterian church (U.S.A.) professionals. Pastoral Psychology, 64(1), 21–39. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11089-013-0584-y
18.
DeHoffS. (2014). Distinguishing Mystical Religious Experience and Psychotic Experience: A Qualitative Study Interviewing Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Professionals. Pastoral Psychology, 64(1), 21–39. 10.1007/s11089-013-0584-y
19.
DeinS. (2009). The jinn, black magic and evil eye among East London Bangladeshis. In La FontaineJ. S., (Ed.), The Devil’s children from spirit possession to witchcraft: New allegations that affect children (pp. 77–90). New York: Routlege. 10.4324/9781315615479-12
20.
EneborgY. M. (2013). Ruqya shariya: Observing the rise of a new faith healing tradition amongst muslims in east London. Mental Health, Religion & Culture, 16(10), 1080–1096. https://doi.org/10.1080/13674676.2012.740631
21.
EneborgY. M. (2014). The quest for “disenchantment” and the modernization of magic. Islam & Christian Muslim Relations, 25(4), 419–432. https://doi.org/10.1080/09596410.2014.890847
22.
GhaziuddinM. (2017). Jinn psychosis: Cultural syndrome or religious condition?Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 56(10), 894–894. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2017.07.786
23.
HanelyJ.BrownA. (2014). Cultural variations in interpretation of postnatal illness: Jinn possession amongst muslim communities. Community Mental Health Journal, 50(3), 348–353. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-013-9640-4
24.
IsgandarovaN. (2016). The Correlational Approach to Islamic Spiritual Care. Tidsskrift Islamisk-Kristent Studiecenter1, 15–28.
IslamF.CampbellR. A. (2014). “Satan Has Afflicted Me!” Jinn-Possession and Mental Illness in the Qur’an. Journal of Religion and Health, 53(1), 229–243. 10.1007/s10943-012-9626-5
LeemhuisF. (1990). Can you marry a djinni? An aspect of the djinn as persons. In KippenbergH. G.KuiperY. B.SandersA. F. (Eds.), Concepts of person in religion and thought (pp. 217–228). Monton de Gruyter.
30.
LimA.HoekH. W.BlomJ. D. (2015). The attribution of psychotic symptoms to jinn in islamic patients. Transcultural Psychiatry, 52(1), 18–32. https://doi.org/10.1177/1363461514543146
MofficH. S.PeteetJ.HankirA. Z.AwaadR.(Eds.) (2019). Islamophobia and psychiatry: Recognition, prevention, and treatment. Springer.
35.
NathanT. (2005). The djinns: A sophisticated conceptualization of pathologies and therapies. In MoodleyR.WestW. (Eds.), Integrating traditional healing practices into counseling and psychotherapy (pp. 26–37). Sage.
36.
ObeidT.AbulabanA.Al-GhataniF.Al-MalkiA. R.Al-GhamdiA. (2012). Possession by 'jinn' as a cause of epilepsy (saraa): A study from Saudi Arabia. Seizure, 21(4), 245–249. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seizure.2012.01.001
RaschkeE. (2017). Immigrants and the jinn: New and ancient paths to better mental health. America, 216(1), 24–26.
39.
RassoolG. H. (2018). Evil eye, jinn possession, and mental health issues: An islamic perspective. Taylor and Francis. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315623764
40.
RothmanA.CoyleA. (2020). Conceptualizing an islamic psychotherapy: A grounded theory study. Spirituality in Clinical Practice (Washington, D.C.), 7(3), 197–213. https://doi.org/10.1037/scp0000219
41.
SniderE.ErenayA.St. James O’ConnorT.DotzertC.HongS.SmithR.FoulgerM. P. (2019). Evidence-based spiritual care practice in the Canadian context: Twenty years later. Journal of Pastoral Care & Counseling, 73(2), 88–95. https://doi.org/10.1177/1542305019843239
YusufH. (2019). Representations of Psychological Distress among Canadian Muslims of South Asian Origin: A Qualitative Study Using the Self-Regulatory Model. ProQuest Dissertations Publishing.
44.
ZajdeN. (2011). Psychotherapy with immigrant patients in France: An ethnopsychiatric perspective. Transcultural Psychiatry, 48(3), 187–204. https://doi.org/10.1177/1363461511406465
