Manijeh Daneshpour, PhD, LMFT, is a professor in the department of couple and family therapy at Alliant International University in Irvine, California, and a licensed marriage and family therapist with 20 years of academic and clinical experience. Dr. Daneshpour’s main areas of research, publications, and presentations have been centered on issues of multiculturalism, social justice, third wave feminism, premarital and marital relationships, and Muslim family dynamics. She has studied Muslim families not as a religious group, but as individuals, members of family units, and a distinct group within their own societal context.
Rarely are professional books page-turners, but I could not put this down. Manijeh Daneshpour provides new information for students as well as veteran family therapists. With nuance, she focuses on differences without absolutes, helping us to build trust with families with more collectivist (less individualistic) cultural values. Indeed as an ambassador between Western and Eastern therapy mindsets, she helps us stay relevant amidst community change. -Pauline Boss, PhD, professor emeritus, University of Minnesota; author, Ambiguous loss (1999) and Loss, Trauma and Resilience: Therapeutic Work with Ambiguous Loss (2011) This book is rich with information about how to provide family counseling services to Muslim clients using contemporary family counseling theories. The author's gentle and persuasive arguments in discussing cultural context will help clinicians reflect on their own self as well as serving as recommendations to conduct family therapy. Case examples and issues unique to Muslim family clients are used to illustrate how each family counseling theory/technique is being carried out. -Zaidy MohdZain, PhD, dean and professor, Southern Arkansas University