Abstract
Ever since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and the subsequent declaration of the global War on Terror, clinicians and researchers have reported growing concerns about Islamophobia in mental health settings. This chapter begins by defining Islamophobia and presents examples of its deleterious effects on mental health. Next, the chapter discusses common types of Islamophobic transference and countertransference reactions that can be elicited whenever a patient or clinician is perceived to be Muslim. Finally, the chapter discusses practical strategies for clinicians to address such situations constructively. Without making any excuses for Islamophobia, clinicians may find that working through such impasses with patients can lower psychological defenses that advance therapeutic work.
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Aggarwal, N.K. (2019). Transference and Countertransference in Addressing Islamophobia in Clinical Practice. In: Moffic, H., Peteet, J., Hankir, A., Awaad, R. (eds) Islamophobia and Psychiatry. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-00512-2_12
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