When Islamic beliefs and values are incorporated into therapeutic interventions for Muslim youth in residential care, it allows them to foster a greater sense of belonging and community. Incorporating clients' religious beliefs demonstrates cultural awareness and respect, helping clients feel more comfortable discussing religious experiences. Focusing on strong, trusting relationships between youth and practitioners is important, as it provides stability, safety and support for positive development.

1. How Can Muslim Youth in Residential Milleus Benefit from Islamic Based Therapeutic
Intervention
Instructions:
Use ALL sources (already rephrased and need to be rephrased sources) and put into paragraphs
Total 750 words
Make sure it is answering the question throughout
ANSWER: FOSTERING A SENSE OF BELONGING
When practitioners incorporate the religious beliefs in practise it allows muslim youth to foster a sense of
belonging within the home.
ALREADY REPHRASED:
Jonathan Huefner & Frank Ainsworth (2021) states that differentiation (acknowledgement of each young
person's differences and individual needs of care) and dependability (practitioners can be securely relied
on) are requirements in residential care. Therefore, when practitioners allow themselves to expand care to
specific values and beliefs of the youth, the young people will have a safe sense of community,
acceptance and understanding.
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child states that every child has the right to grow up
in a supportive, protective, and caring environment that promotes his or her full potential.
NEED TO REPHRASE:
(Sulimani-Aidan, 2021)
However, feeling connected/having a sense of belonging to primary life contexts is considered an
important protective factor that helps youth deal with stress and is linked with better adjustment and
positive outcomes

2. (Nisa Homes, 2021)
Impact report
Nisa Homes, the first group of transitional homes that offer a holistic realm of support services for
Muslim women and children have reported that 50% of past clients feel a sense of belonging in their
communities after their stay in the homes.
- Women felt more comfortable bringing their children to a home where they would be brought up
with similar values
- women finding a safe place to call home and a trustworthy place to have their children watched
- they were able to practise their religion with no hesitation and no longer had to worry about
facing religious discrimnination for themselves and their children
(Thomas et al, 2017)
Furthermore, an awareness of the areas of overlap between mindfulness and the Islamic tradition might
enable the therapist to appreciate more fully the strengths and resources the client already has. Similarly,
the demonstration of such awareness, on the part of the therapist/instructor, might help clients feel that it
is OK to discuss their reli- gious experiences within the session, viewing religion as an asset rather than a
therapeutic
(Anglin, 2003)
yet no matter how long social workers or child and youth care workers remain in their positions, or how
few moves the child makes within the system, staff are very rarely if ever going to provide the life-long
continuity characteristic of most parents or extended family members
Residential programs are able to address the socialization, residential, economic, and emotional functions
characteristic of family life. However, the research literature on residential care does not provide much
support for the aspiration of many residential homes to be “family-like.” That goal appears quite
unrealistic and increasingly without clear meaning. Family life is more than fulfilling functions.
(Sulimani-Aidan, 2021)
However, feeling connected/having a sense of belonging to primary life contexts is considered an
important protective factor that helps youth deal with stresses and is linked with better adjustment and
positive outcomes.
Sense of belonging in care is the link between mentoring relationships and youth resilience in terms of
residential care.

3. The results suggest that sense of belonging is one of those factors. Sense of belonging not only makes a
significant contribution to youths’ resilience, but also serves as an explanatory mechanism by which
mentoring relationships contribute to the resil- ience of youth in care. The study’s findings thus reinforce
and add to earlier studies that reported the positive effect of mentoring relation- ships on the life course
trajectories and attainments of youth in care and care leavers in particular.
In terms of practice, it is important for residential care settings to acknowledge the significant impact that
sense of belonging has on youths’ perceptions of their future as well as on their readiness for in-
dependent living
As such, strengthening youths’ connectedness to peers and staff in out-of-home placements achieve via
targeted interventions should be given high priority.
Also, the study’s findings emphasized the importance of identifying youths’ nat- ural mentors and
strengthening their connections with these mentors; such efforts should be seen as an integral part of
intervention planning and staff training.
(Pitcher, 2018).
it has long been understood that placing any child within a substitute family which does not match his or
her cultural needs can give rise to complex issues, although the extent of this continues to be debated
it can be difficult for a young person to make sense of his or her religious identity, particularly when, as in
the case of some of those involved in this study, a move from one community to another occurs. This
‘way of life’ includes a specific religious duty on parents to ensure that their children are brought up in
this way (Baig, 2014; Qu’ran, At-Tahrim 6).
In each of these situations, well-meaning and firmly established fostering practices can be insensitive to
the needs and wishes of Muslim children. This confounds their understanding of their self, depresses their
sense of social belonging and demands they adjust in order to survive.
One of the informants in Becher’s study of South Asian Muslim family life in a London borough referred
to this as ‘being inside a boundary’. Parents, says Becher, may prefer their children to have Muslim
friends to ensure a ‘suitable moral framework’
Of course, there are a wide variety of lifestyles among those defining themselves as Muslim.
The force of this effect can be appreciated through the lens of social identity theory, in which a person’s
sense of identity and self-esteem is based on group belonging (the ‘in group’) and beyond this, on
identifying negative aspects of an ‘out group’. All this, of course, poses challenges for children who need
to move across the ‘boundary’ and back again.
The few days and weeks around a child’s first removal are clearly of great importance. This is often a
time when less than ideal solutions are available. Yet it is also when a child’s need for comfort and

4. familiarity is at its greatest. A culturally and linguistically matched placement reduces strangeness and in
the words of one focus group member, ‘Their eyes can make sense of the household.’
lack of seeing a Muslim in a professional role:
In the UK study, Typically, they experienced enormous relief at being somewhere safe and having their
basic needs met – by anyone. As they became settled, they began to feel the need to reconnect with their
Muslim identity and found affinity with Muslim carers who did not share their heritage. Several of these
young people had experienced terrible loss which they bore with fortitude and there appears to be little
appropriate therapy available or offered.
(Hodge, 2002)
Barazangi's (1991) study of primarily second generation North American Muslim youths (N = 56) found
that many Muslim youths strongly desired to retain their Islamic values. Only 2 percent thought that
Muslims should "adopt North American social norms," and none of the youths thought they should
"become like North Americans." The largest group of respondents (50 per-- cent) felt that Muslims should
"retain Islamic values even if they are different from Western values and culture." Twenty-seven percent
felt that it was "ok to hold on to some important things," while presumably letting some perceived
nonessentials drop.
The family is highly esteemed in Islamic culture. Muslims consider children a blessing from God and
generally encourage large families. Women believe that a secure mother-child attachment is critical to the
child's well-- being and for the future health of the Islamic community.
For instance, social workers should, if necessary, be able to advocate on behalf of Muslim students for
curriculum content that promotes an understanding of the Islamic perspective and does not attempt to
"convert" Muslims to secular values regarding homosexuality, sexual expression outside marriage, and
egalitarian marriage roles
Practitioners who hold value constructs that differ from Islamic norms, yet work with Muslims, must
carefully monitor any indication of prejudice or religious countertransference evoked by Muslim youths
Haque, 2003

5. Another implication of Islam is that public administrators will need to examine scheduling policies just as
they have done for other religious persons. How do we accommodate a Christian who needs to take
Sunday morning off, a Seventh Day Adventist who needs to take Saturday morning off, a Jew who wishes
to take Friday after sundown off, and a Muslim who wishes to take an hour off in the middle of the day on
Friday? The court has indicated that we cannot hypothesize. We must determine for each individual
whether we can arrange an accommodation.
(Huefner, 2021)
Formal interventions cannot be maximally effective without a supportive environment
Therapeutic residential care is at its core informed by a culture that stresses learning through living and
where the heart of teaching occurs in a series of deeply personal, human relationships.
It has long been recognized that children and youth with emotional and behavioral challenges need to live
in a stable, warm, and nurturing environment before any benefit can accrue from treatment. Consequently,
the most basic principle in child care practice is to form a close, trusting relationship with each child
A nurturing atmosphere is established by care workers who place a special emphasis on being warm and
welcoming
Strong bonds between children and youth and care workers allow children and youth to learn to trust, to
feel safe, and obtain the assistance they need to overcome the developmental obstacles
and problems that have led to their current circumstances.
our conceptual model of the key components of a milieu approach to therapeutic residential care. It
consists of five elements: care, treatment, nurturing, teaching, and order.
community inclusion has been found as a fundamental strategy in trauma-informed practice for reduction
of seclusion and restraint
(Foltz, 2004)
The most effective strategy to manage these feelings and behaviors may be through the establishment of a
trusting relationship. While youth being placed in RTCs have increasingly experienced harmful
relationships with adults, these troubled children remain very receptive, albeit cautious, to positive, caring
relationships. As our “science” progresses, however, our empowerment of children may gradually, and
ever so subtly, be deteriorating.
Hodge, D. R. (2002).
Muslim youths often are ostracized because of their beliefs and may feel pressured to conform to secular
norms. Tensions surrounding pressure to conform to secular norms can underlie more overt maladaptive

6. behaviors
Because Muslim youths often are reluctant to express emotions with people outside of the community,
cognitive interventions based on youths' spiritual beliefs may be more effective than approaches that
directly address the affective dimension of human personality.
(Scholte, 1997)
When residential treatment programs attempt to impose structure onto youth that have typically
experienced chaotic, abusive or neglectful environments, adolescents may experience such structure as
confusing, strange, and uncomfortable
residential treatment may even be traumatic for adoles- cents, as many are forcibly placed in residential
treatment. They note that separation from familiar places and people may be deeply distressing for some
youth.
separation from familiar surroundings could exacerbate anxiety in youth with already high anxiety levels.
In addition, concerns about the potential of abuse and misuse of disciplinary tactics inspired recent
legislative action addressing these concerns, aiming at ensuring client’s safety and rights
Lyman and Campbell further assert, ‘‘A significant weakness in much of the research literature on the
effectiveness of residential and inpatient treatment is its failure to adequately specify or independently
verify components of treatment’’ .
(Reynolds, 2010).
Doing justice as a path to community sustainability. Doctoral dissertation, Universiteit van Tilburg,
Tilburg, Netherlands. Retrieved from: http://www.taosinstitute.net/
We can understand this to mean that, while we are aware of the contradictions and messiness of our
efforts to explore social justice praxis, we recognize that we cannot not do the work. Addressing power
“requires a commitment to complex analysis and the letting go of wanting everything to be simple.
Segregation simplifies; integration requires that we come to terms with multiple ways of knowing, of
interaction” (Reynolds, 2010, p. 53).
(De Finney et al, 2011)

7. While each case is unique, these children and youth frequently have in common the experience of social
exclusion based on their differences from dominant norms.
The absence of information about children and youth who do not conform to dominant gender and
sexuality norms in systems of residential care powerfully illustrates how a dominant culture of “don’t ask,
don’t tell”10 effectively minoritizes young people who do not fit dominant norms of gender and sexuality.
What are the needs of minoritized children and youth in care, and what criteria are used to determine
them? Who provides this care and what do they define as appropriate or normal functioning? What does
the young person, family, community, or broader society consider normal? How are alternative or
contested notions of health, wellness, and development considered in planning and delivering care? What
are the social inequities – such as poverty, colonialism, racism, and heteronormativity – faced by these
children and youth, their families, and their communities? How do these realities contribute to the neglect,
abuse, or various “at risk” behaviours that have led to the children and youth being taken into care?
Our participation in the regulation of our clients is supported by the planned environments we create, the
training tools we employ, and the instruments we use to measure the success and failure of interventions.
(Stuart, 2009).
- emotional elements of the residential milieu are volatile
- young people in residential care often are there for a long time and will become attached to peers
and staff within the setting
- young people are not able to choose their peers in residential settings
- “the most appropriate and therapeutic culture that promotes healing, wholeness, and hope for
children in residential care is on that focuses on relationships and understanding rather than more
control of behaviour”
- young people are the centre of the programming in residential work and there is a drive towards
creating a sense of ‘normal’ for them within the familial living environment