Across all religious groups, people of the Islamic faith have some of the lowest recovery rates from mental health challenges. That’s according to studies looking at Muslim communities in different parts of the world.

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Some things have deepened those challenges, like the pain of experiencing Islamophobia or the reverberations of violence happening abroad — like the Israeli wars in Gaza and Lebanon, and the escalating conflict and humanitarian crisis in Sudan.

A new mental health facility at the Islamic Center of Detroit marks an important milestone for people of the Islamic faith. Staff at the center believe it to be the first mental health clinic located within a mosque nationwide. The facility, called My Mental Wellness, offers free on-site and virtual therapy to people of all ages. 

Director of My Mental Wellness Danish Hasan and one of the center’s therapists, Takween Dwaik, joined The Metro to discuss the work they’re doing. 

One of the challenges that comes with providing mental health support to the community is a different cultural understanding around therapy in the Muslim world, Hasan says. This has also caused My Mental Wellness to think about how they’re communicating and introducing the services they provide to people.   

“Considering our location being in the heart of Detroit, neighboring Dearborn, there is a huge diaspora from across the Muslim world. And one of the things that we’ve realized is therapy is a concept that is so distant from them,” Hasan says. “The western world has really furthered the conversation regarding therapy. But in so much of the Muslim world, people are either struggling silently in their homes, or because of the stigma they’re being institutionalized in mental facilities, or they’re being taken to religious leaders, and this middle ground that we have in the western world of therapy doesn’t exist.”

He says that while that cultural gap poses some difficulties for the clinic, it also reinforces the importance of their work.

“We not only have to reduce the stigma, but also introduce the concept of therapy, and also do it in a faith-based approach.” 

Use the media player above to listen to the conversation.

More headlines from The Metro on Nov. 12, 2024: 

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• The city of Ferndale is known to gather for communal events. Whether it’s a city-wide yard sale or Ferndale Pride, Ferndale residents turn out. This weekend, the Jingle and Mingle Underground Holiday Market will make an appearance and quickly vanish like Santa in the night. Organizer Mark Loeb joined the show to discuss this year’s market
• Every generation thinks the musical era they grew up with is the best. But was that actually the case with the ’90s? Think about the R&B, the diversity of genres from Seattle grunge, the fact that it’s known as the golden age of hip-hop. No one can actually prove one era is better than another, but we can pay homage to the good music of each decade. Gary Graff joins the show to talk about his latest book, “501 Essential Albums of the ’90s.”

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 11 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand.

Over the past few years, the number of 911 calls involving individuals struggling with mental illness has increased in Detroit.  

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The number of mental health care workers responding to those calls has increased, as well. Those mental health care responders more frequently enter crisis situations along with police officers in Detroit and around the state. But there are also officials who respond to those situations without police officers at all.  

The Detroit Wayne Integrated Health Network (DWIHN) established a mobile crisis service last year to provide immediate care to people in need of help. Today, the organization is operating its mobile crisis service 24 hours a day, seven days a week.  

To discuss this, DWIHN’s Mobile Crisis Director JaKeya Kellom and Public Affairs Manager Michael McElrath joined The Metro on Wednesday. Kellom says calls to DWIHN’s crisis services have increased from 30 in December to 141 in the month of July.

“I think sometimes when you see an increase in numbers you may think, ‘well is that a good thing, is that a bad thing?’ But for us it’s a good thing because that lets us know there are individuals learning how to use our service, and knowing that it’s available,” Kellom said.

Use the media player above to listen to the full interview with Kellom and McElrath.

More headlines from The Metro on Aug. 28, 2024: 

• Only 45% of Michigan’s Class of 2024 seniors completed the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form, according to the Michigan FAFSA Tracker. Jill Marecki, director of the nonprofit Detroit Regional Dollars for Scholars, joined the show to discuss the organization’s scholarship program and an award from the Educational Credit Management Corporation to help students sign up for FAFSA.
• For football fans, it’s an exciting time as we’re getting closer to the kickoff of the NFL season. So close in fact, NFL teams just made their final roster decisions on Tuesday. Justin Rogers, founder of the Detroit Football Network joined The Metro to discuss what we can expect this season.
• Detroit’s District 7 City Council Member Fred Durhal joined the show to discuss the recent opening of the new Tireman-Minock Park, as well as the Motor City Match program to help local entrepreneurs.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 11 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand.