Western Sufi orders

Domain XIII · Contemplative & religious disciplines · Hazrat Inayat Khan, Samuel L. Lewis, Rabia Ada Martin · 1945 · United States and United Kingdom

What it is

This is not a therapy. It is a family of modern Western Sufi organisations, and this guide is for a psychotherapist whose client belongs to, is joining, or is leaving one of them. Each organisation is described as it publishes itself. The intervention inventory is the therapist's own work alongside…

Format

• There is no treatment protocol. The organisations publish no session counts for therapy, and none is given here. The framework below has two strands that run side by side: the client's path in the organisation, as published, and the therapist's process.
• Open contact. Contact begins with public classes, retreats, Dances of Universal Peace evenings or introductory courses. Ruhaniat retreats and classes are open to both initiates and non-initiates. Beshara runs free introductory events, short courses and a blended Foundation course that combines…

Who practises it, and how they are trained or regulated

• Leadership and certification. Each organisation has its own route: Inayatiyya: "Leaders" are people officially authorised to lead in any of the seven activities, including Spiritual Guides. Leaders' training modules cover areas such as Guidance and Sacred Sound. An Emergent Leaders Program runs in four sessions (Concentration, Contemplation, Meditation, Realization). It covers the guide–murid relationship,…
• Dances of Universal Peace (UK network): a person attends Dances, then finds a mentor, who should not be a spouse, partner or relative. They become a mentored leader, which brings automatic membership of the Leaders Guild. Certification is optional and is arranged with the mentor. Most mentors expect at least three years of study and leading, and the mentor judges when certification is due. Experienced teachers act…
• Sufism Reoriented: there is no published certification. A teacher recognises a successor, and the qualification is described as advanced maturity, recognisable only by someone of equal or greater maturity.

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Is there physical contact? Was it explained beforehand, and do you feel free to say no or stop at any point?
• Does it involve any substance, plant preparation, remedy or supplement? Has your doctor or prescriber been told, especially about any medication you take?
• Does it involve intense or unusual breathing? Have you been told about the medical conditions for which that is not advised?
• Is it a group, retreat or community? How do they respond if someone wants to leave or raises a concern?
• Who runs it, and what training or registration do they hold?
• What actually happens in a session or meeting, and how often?
• What does it cost, and is there pressure to commit to more?
• How do you feel afterwards, in the hours and days that follow?
• Does it fit with, or clash with, the work we do here?

What practitioners of it watch for

• relying on spiritual healing in place of medical care. It is working when the client has seen their doctor.
• the client asking you to rule on doctrine, and you agreeing with or arguing against the path. It is working when the roles stay distinct and the client uses each relationship for its purpose.
• reassurance-seeking from the guide or therapist becoming a compulsion, and exposures that breach real commitments. It is working when time spent on rituals falls and the client experiences the…
• the client being unable to discuss doubts, cut off from outside relationships, financially dependent on the group, or afraid of consequences for leaving. Watch also for your own bias, in either…
• your own curiosity pulling toward restricted content, and a client who feels obliged to keep up a practice that is distressing them. It is working when you have a usable outline and the client's…

When to involve someone else

• New or worsening physical symptoms, or advice to stop or change prescribed medication: involve the client's doctor or prescriber.
• Signs of coercion, isolation from family and friends, escalating costs or secrecy: discuss openly and consider safeguarding.
• A crisis or thoughts of suicide: follow your crisis protocol. In the US, call or text 988; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans on 116 123.

Drawn automatically from the guide's own sections. Stay curious: neither endorse nor dismiss what the client values, and check anything that matters against the full guide and its sources. Not medical advice.