Muslim Mental Health Initiative
at UC Berkeley

The Muslim Mental Health Initiative
UC Berkeley Story

Where it began?

In 2014, researchers at the Stanford Muslim and Mental Health & Islamic Psychology lab (MMHIP) surveyed college campuses. They found that the majority have a dearth of mental health resources for Muslims on college campuses. Specifically, students do not have access to Muslim counselors on their campus to address their specific needs.

Why it began?

Mental health needs are critical during this transitional period for young adults from their homes to the college setting. This is the period where mental health struggles are at their peak.

Mental health issues are particularly heightened for Muslim students on campus since Muslims currently receive the most religious discrimination (Mogahed & Chouhoud, 2018), are most likely to internalize negative stereotypes (Mogahed & Chouhoud, 2018), and tend to believe that the general public does not accept their religious identity (Pew Research Center, 2017).

The increase of internalizing Islamophobia has resulted in adverse psychological outcomes for Muslims (Kunst, Sam & Ulleberg, 2013), and very few minority groups had acquired stigma as immediately and dramatically as it has for American Muslims (Khan, 2014).

What is MMHI?

When Muslim Students Association members at UC Berkeley, with support from the MMHIP lab at Stanford, appealed their mental health needs to the university heads, the MMHI was born.

The MMHI is running strong in its 6th year at UC Berkeley. Contracted with local community support, Muslim students at UC Berkeley are provided custom-tailored resources and services. This includes one-on-one consultations, support groups, mental health educational talks, and workshops.

These programmings are available not just for Muslims, but the entire student body under their Counseling and Psychological Services umbrella.

What is the impact of MMHI?

The MMHI at UC-Berkeley has inspired similar programs across the country at other universities, such as Northwestern University. Other universities are also in the process of following this model, and we hope many others adopt it as well. The efficacy of the MMHI program continues to be monitored and evaluated in the MMHIP Stanford lab.