Al-Razi's and Avicenna's psychiatry and lovesickness

1. Introduction

Version followed: al-Razi's al-Tibb al-Ruhani in A. J. Arberry's English translation, The Spiritual Physick of Rhazes (London: John Murray, 1950, Wisdom of the East series), as presented by the Online Library of Liberty; Ibn Sina (Avicenna) on lovesickness as Robert Burton's Anatomy of Melancholy (1621; public-domain text) reports him and as current historians summarise him (University of Exeter research by Nahyan Fancy, reported July 2026; Wack 1990). The Arabic text of Ibn Sina's Canon is not quoted in this guide, and details attributed to the Canon itself are marked [uncertain: not verified].

This is a historical tradition, not a therapy to practise. Two Persian physician-philosophers of the medieval Islamic world are its anchors. Abu Bakr al-Razi (Rhazes, 10th century) wrote a book of "spiritual physick" in which reason is God's greatest gift and should govern the passions, never be governed by them; he treats vices of the soul, including carnal love, envy, anger, anxiety and grief, as conditions a person can learn to master by reflection and self-discipline [source: Arberry 1950, chs I-II, contents]. Arberry calls the book closer to "popular ethics" than high philosophy [source: Arberry 1950, introduction, OLL]. Ibn Sina (11th century) and other physicians of the period treated 'ishq (passionate or obsessive love, lovesickness) as an illness of mind and body; historians report that Islamic physicians, unlike Galen, classed it as a distinct illness rather than a form of melancholy [source: Exeter 2026]. Its core idea of change: the disorder arises when passion overruns reason and bodily balance, and it eases when reason is restored, the body is cared for, and, in the medical texts, the lover's situation is resolved [source: Arberry 1950; Exeter 2026; Wack 1990].

What survives today: the ideas (reason over passion, self-examination, lovesickness as a real and potentially serious condition), the famous anecdote of a physician recognising love by the pulse, and an interest among Muslim clinicians and clients in an Islamic psychological heritage [source: Thomas and Ashraf 2011]. Some humoral remedies of the period (for example bloodletting and purging) injured people; they are not described here and are never recommended. Unani medicine, a living heritage system that draws on this tradition, is covered in its own Domain XI guide (046) [uncertain: not verified]. For the psychotherapist this guide is about historical literacy, recognising lovesickness and limerence as they present today, and working respectfully with clients for whom this heritage matters.

2. Framework

Historical phases (outline, attributed).

Greek inheritance: Burton reports that Galen detected love "by the pulse and countenance" and that Avicenna confirmed this from experience; Burton also retells the older stories of Erasistratus recognising a Seleucid prince's love, and of Galen recognising a Roman woman's [source: Burton 1621, Ex-Classics text, love-melancholy symptoms].
10th century: al-Razi's Spiritual Physick, twenty chapters running from the excellence of reason and the suppression of passion, through carnal love, conceit, envy, anger, lying, miserliness, anxiety, grief, greed, drunkenness, sexual intercourse, earning and rank, to the virtuous life and the fear of death [source: Arberry 1950, contents]. Historians report that physicians of this century thought lovesickness mostly afflicted the licentious and ignorant [source: Exeter 2026].
11th century: Ibn Sina describes lovesickness, including a lovesick woman made physically weak and ill by her mental state [source: Exeter 2026]; Burton cites Avicenna for signs such as hollow eyes and dryness, and for lovers who smile to themselves as if seeing or hearing something pleasing [source: Burton 1621].
13th to 16th centuries: Ibn al-Nafis held that lovesickness could be unintended, so the young and unmarried were more liable; licit sexual union (in practice, marriage) was the generally recommended remedy; in the 16th century Ibn al-Mubarak argued that the love of prophets and saints was of another kind, directed at divine perfection, and not treated that way [source: Exeter 2026].
Latin West: lovesickness passed into European medicine through the Viaticum and its commentaries, studied for centuries in medical schools, where it was considered close to melancholia and potentially fatal if untreated; it shaped courtly love and sat uneasily with Church morality [source: Wack 1990, Penn Press description]. Burton's 1621 Anatomy is a late summary in English [source: Burton 1621].

Phases of the psychotherapist's work [synthesis].

Orientation and assessment: hear what brings the client (an intense love preoccupation, a heritage interest, a family remedy, a religious question); assess risk and physical state. Move on when risk is assessed and any medical needs are routed.
Safety and routing: suicide and self-harm risk, self-neglect, harm to the beloved (stalking, intrusion), coercion such as forced marriage, injurious heritage remedies. Move on when safety plans and referrals are in place.
Cultural and historical formulation: what the tradition means to the client; use the Cultural Formulation Interview and its spirituality module. Move on when you and the client share a formulation in the client's own terms.
Working phase: evidence-informed work on preoccupation, loss and meaning, with heritage material used only where the client wants it.
Consolidation and follow-up: relapse plan (anniversaries, renewed contact), family or community issues, onward referral.

3. Guiding principles

History, not prescription. Practical meaning: you may discuss al-Razi and Ibn Sina; you never recommend their bodily remedies, and you never present any of them as treatment for a physical disease [synthesis].
Attribute and date every claim. Practical meaning: say "al-Razi wrote" or "historians report", and distinguish the medical texts from later stories, such as the pulse anecdote [source: Burton 1621; synthesis].
Take intense love seriously. Practical meaning: the medieval physicians considered lovesickness potentially fatal if untreated [source: Wack 1990]; today, assess mood, sleep, eating and suicide risk rather than dismissing heartbreak [synthesis].
Reason and passion as a bridge, not a judgement. Practical meaning: al-Razi's view that reason should govern passion [source: Arberry 1950, ch I] can open cognitive work, but avoid moral language about weakness or idleness (al-Razi links susceptibility to idleness and pleasure-seeking [source: Arberry 1950, ch V]; do not repeat this as blame) [synthesis].
Moderation, not self-punishment. Practical meaning: Arberry reports that al-Razi condemns extreme asceticism and self-inflicted pain [source: Arberry 1950, introduction, OLL]; never support fasting, deprivation or self-harm as a cure for love [synthesis].
The client chooses the frame. Practical meaning: offer Islamic or historical material only when the client wants it; adapt evidence-based methods rather than replace them [source: Thomas and Ashraf 2011].
Body and mind together. Practical meaning: weight loss, insomnia or exhaustion go to a physician; never advise starting, stopping or changing a medicine [synthesis].
Safeguarding over tradition. Practical meaning: a historical remedy of marriage as cure [source: Exeter 2026] never justifies pressure on a client, especially a young person, to marry; follow forced-marriage and child-protection routes [synthesis].
Cultural humility. Practical meaning: you are not the authority on Islamic teaching; consult or refer to a religious scholar the client trusts when questions are doctrinal [synthesis].
Never name patients. Practical meaning: in teaching, refer to historical patients by role ("a Seleucid prince", "a young relative of a ruler") [synthesis].

4. Intervention inventory

The interventions below are the psychotherapist's own work; steps not drawn from a cited source are marked [synthesis]. None of the medieval bodily remedies is taught or recommended.

4.1 Building your own historical literacy

Purpose / when: before discussing this heritage with a client, trainee or community group, so you can speak accurately and avoid myths [synthesis].
Steps: (1) Read al-Razi's chapters on reason, passion, self-examination and carnal love in Arberry's 1950 translation [source: Arberry 1950]. (2) Read Burton's account of love-melancholy signs, including his citations of Avicenna [source: Burton 1621]. (3) Read a current historian's account, for example Wack on the Viaticum tradition, or the July 2026 Exeter report on Fancy's research [source: Wack 1990; Exeter 2026]. (4) Note what is medical text, what is later anecdote, and what is modern interpretation. (5) Keep a one-page note of dated, attributed points.
Example language (illustrative): "What we know comes from al-Razi's own book; the story about the pulse comes from much later writers."
Watch for: repeating popular claims without a source; presenting Avicenna as a modern psychiatrist. It is working when you can say who wrote what, and when, without overstating.

4.2 Exploring a client's interest in this heritage

Purpose / when: a client raises al-Razi, Ibn Sina, Unani or "Islamic psychology", out of curiosity, faith or family pride [synthesis].
Steps: (1) Ask what draws them and where they met the idea (family, mosque, social media, a practitioner). (2) Ask what they hope it offers. (3) Share accurate, attributed history briefly, if wanted. (4) Separate ideas they may find useful (reason and passion, self-examination) from bodily remedies that are not used today. (5) Agree together how, if at all, the heritage will feature in the work.
Example language (illustrative): "It sounds like al-Razi's idea of reason guiding the passions speaks to you. Would you like us to draw on that, alongside approaches with good research behind them?"
Watch for: a client being sold heritage remedies as cures; your own over-enthusiasm. Working when the client feels their heritage is respected and the plan is clear.

4.3 Recognising lovesickness and limerence today

Purpose / when: a client is consumed by love for a person (present, absent, unattainable or lost) with intrusive thoughts, low mood, poor sleep or appetite [synthesis].
Steps: (1) Map the preoccupation: how often, how long, what triggers it. (2) Ask about mood, sleep, eating, work and relationships. (3) Screen for depression, anxiety and obsessive-compulsive features using standard tools you are licensed to use. (4) Ask about contact with the beloved and whether it is wanted on both sides. (5) Note that "lovesickness" is not a current diagnosis; formulate using current categories where they fit. The modern term "limerence" was introduced by the psychologist Dorothy Tennov [uncertain: not verified].
Example language (illustrative): "Doctors a thousand years ago took this kind of love seriously as something that affects body and mind. I'd like to take it seriously too. Can you tell me what a typical day is like?"
Watch for: depression or obsessive-compulsive disorder behind the presentation; the client minimising ("it's just a crush"). Working when the client feels heard and you have a clear picture.

4.4 Suicide and self-harm risk assessment

Purpose / when: whenever love loss or unrequited love comes with hopelessness; the medieval physicians themselves saw lovesickness as potentially fatal [source: Wack 1990].
Steps: (1) Ask directly about suicidal thoughts, plans and past attempts. (2) Assess protective factors. (3) Make a safety plan with the client, including lethal-means counselling (safe storage and removal only). (4) Give crisis resources: 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline (US); Samaritans 116 123 (UK and Ireland). (5) Escalate to emergency care where risk is imminent. (6) Follow up [synthesis].
Example language (illustrative): "When love hurts this much, some people think about not wanting to live. Have you had thoughts like that?"
Watch for: romanticising death for love (a theme in love poetry and lovers' tales); do not repeat such stories with clients at risk. Working when the client can name warning signs and who to call.

4.5 Medical and eating routing

Purpose / when: weight loss, not eating, exhaustion or insomnia; Ibn Sina described a lovesick woman made physically weak and ill [source: Exeter 2026].
Steps: (1) Ask about eating and weight change without setting targets. (2) Screen for disordered eating. (3) Refer to the client's physician for physical review; refer to a registered dietitian or eating-disorder service where indicated. (4) For eating-disorder support, give the National Alliance for Eating Disorders. (5) Never advise on medicines or supplements [synthesis].
Example language (illustrative): "You've mentioned hardly eating. I'd like your doctor to check how your body is coping, alongside our work."
Watch for: fasting or deprivation framed as spiritual discipline or cure; al-Razi himself opposed self-inflicted pain [source: Arberry 1950, introduction]. Working when the medical check is done.

4.6 Cultural and spiritual formulation

Purpose / when: the client's understanding of love, desire or distress is shaped by Islamic or other tradition [synthesis].
Steps: (1) Use the DSM-5-TR Cultural Formulation Interview and its supplementary module on spirituality, religion and moral traditions. (2) Ask about the client's explanation for the distress (illness, test, sin, fate, the evil eye) and the help they have sought. (3) Where the difficulty centres on faith, consider the DSM-5-TR "Religious or Spiritual Problem", coded Z65.8 (ICD-10-CM Z65.8 lists religious or spiritual problem under Includes) [source: ICD-10-CM Z65.8, Unbound Medicine]; DSM-5-TR wording [uncertain: not verified]. (4) Draw on spiritual and religious competencies (Vieten et al. 2013) [uncertain: not verified].
Example language (illustrative): "In your family, how would people explain what you are going through?"
Watch for: imposing your frame or assuming a Muslim client wants religious content. Working when the formulation uses the client's words.

4.7 Psychoeducation: reason and passion as a heritage bridge

Purpose / when: a client who values the tradition, to introduce cognitive work in familiar terms [source: Thomas and Ashraf 2011, who argue that Islamically informed cognitive work may suit clients whose world view Islam shapes].
Steps: (1) If the client wishes, summarise al-Razi's view that reason should govern, not be governed by, passion [source: Arberry 1950, ch I]. (2) Link it to the idea that thoughts shape feelings and actions. (3) Introduce standard cognitive methods (thought records, examining evidence) in your own words. (4) Check that the client experiences this as support, not judgement.
Example language (illustrative): "Al-Razi called reason a gift that can steer us. Cognitive therapy has a similar idea: we can step back and look at our thoughts."
Watch for: the client hearing "your passion is a moral failing"; shame. Working when the client uses the frame on their own.

4.8 Weighing consequences before acting

Purpose / when: urges to contact, check on or pursue the beloved; al-Razi advises that a person should represent the outcome to himself and weigh the matter carefully before following an appetite [source: Arberry 1950, ch II].
Steps: (1) Identify one urge (for example, checking the beloved's social media). (2) Together list short- and long-term consequences. (3) Rate the urge before and after the review. (4) Plan an alternative action. (5) Review at the next session [synthesis].
Example language (illustrative): "Let's slow this urge down and look at where it leads, the way al-Razi suggested."
Watch for: rigid self-denial; al-Razi also recommends refusing appetites to build discipline [source: Arberry 1950, ch II], which can feed perfectionism or scrupulosity. Working when urges are acted on less often and with less distress.

4.9 Trusted-companion feedback

Purpose / when: a client who struggles to see their own patterns; al-Razi advises relying on an intelligent companion to point out one's faults and asking again and again, because habits return [source: Arberry 1950, ch IV].
Steps: (1) Ask whom the client trusts to be honest and kind. (2) Agree one question they could ask (for example, how they seem since the break-up). (3) Prepare for hearing it. (4) Debrief the answer in session [synthesis].
Example language (illustrative): "Is there someone whose honesty you trust, who could tell you how you've seemed lately?"
Watch for: a critical or controlling relative used as "companion"; harsh feedback deepening shame. Working when the client gains a useful outside view.

4.10 Reducing cues that feed preoccupation

Purpose / when: rumination is fed by songs, messages, photos or stories; al-Razi says those given to lovers' tales, amorous poetry and sorrowful music are harder to free from love [source: Arberry 1950, ch V].
Steps: (1) Map the cues that set off longing. (2) Let the client choose which to reduce, pause or keep. (3) Plan replacement activities. (4) Review effects [synthesis].
Example language (illustrative): "Which reminders pull you back in the most? You decide which ones, if any, to put away for now."
Watch for: imposing bans; cutting the client off from music or faith practices that comfort them. Working when rumination time falls.

4.11 Psychoeducation on longing and relief

Purpose / when: a client puzzled that thoughts of the beloved bring both pain and intense relief; al-Razi defines pleasure as a return to one's natural state and writes, in paraphrase, that pleasure is only ever in proportion to a pain that came before it [source: Arberry 1950, ch V].
Steps: (1) Offer the idea, attributed, if the client wants historical framing. (2) Link it to the modern idea that intermittent contact and relief can strengthen craving. (3) Use it to explain why "just one message" keeps the cycle going. (4) Return to 4.8 and 4.10 [synthesis].
Example language (illustrative): "Al-Razi noticed that the relief we feel depends on the pain before it. Each brief contact may be giving you relief that keeps the longing alive."
Watch for: intellectualising instead of feeling. Working when the client recognises the cycle as it happens.

4.12 Grief work for lost or impossible love

Purpose / when: the love has ended, was never returned, or cannot be lived (death, marriage to another, family refusal) [synthesis]. Al-Razi gives a chapter to repelling grief and another to fear of death [source: Arberry 1950, contents].
Steps: (1) Name the loss as a loss. (2) Allow mourning: memories, anger, regret. (3) Identify meanings attached to the beloved (identity, hope, rescue). (4) Rebuild routines and relationships. (5) Mark anniversaries in the relapse plan [synthesis].
Example language (illustrative): "Even if others don't see it as a bereavement, you've lost something that mattered. It makes sense to grieve."
Watch for: prolonged grief, depression, suicide risk (4.4). Working when the client can think of the beloved with less pain and invest elsewhere.

4.13 Body signs without myth

Purpose / when: a client fascinated by the story of a physician detecting love by the pulse, or alarmed by their own racing heart and blushing [source: Burton 1621, on Galen and Avicenna; the Avicenna version is usually traced to Nizami Arudi's Chahar Maqala, translated by E. G. Browne (1921), uncertain: not verified].
Steps: (1) Present the story as anecdote, not as a diagnostic method. (2) Explain arousal (heart rate, flushing) as a normal response to strong emotion. (3) Teach a grounding or paced-breathing skill in your usual way, with the client free to stop. (4) Use the client's noticing of body signs as an early cue for coping plans [synthesis].
Example language (illustrative): "The old story shows that people have long noticed love in the body. Your racing heart is that same response, not a sign something is wrong with you."
Watch for: health anxiety; any suggestion the pulse can diagnose love. Working when bodily signals feel less frightening.

4.14 Integrating Islamic tradition with consent

Purpose / when: a Muslim client wants faith and heritage included [source: Thomas and Ashraf 2011].
Steps: (1) Ask what role faith plays in coping. (2) Ask permission before drawing on any religious idea. (3) Let the client bring texts or teachings they value; do not interpret doctrine yourself. (4) With consent, consult or refer to a religious scholar or chaplain the client trusts on doctrinal questions. (5) Keep evidence-based methods at the core, adapted rather than replaced [source: Thomas and Ashraf 2011; synthesis].
Example language (illustrative): "You've said your faith matters here. Would it help to include it, and is there someone in your community you'd like to ask about the religious side?"
Watch for: your stereotypes; a client using religious ideas to punish themselves. If you share the client's community, consider multiple-relationship risks under APA Ethics Code Standard 3.05 [source: APA Ethics Code]. Working when the client feels whole rather than split between faith and therapy.

4.15 Mystical or devotional love

Purpose / when: a client describes love in spiritual terms, or turns longing towards God; the 16th-century physician Ibn al-Mubarak distinguished the love of prophets and saints, directed at divine perfection, from ordinary lovesickness [source: Exeter 2026].
Steps: (1) Explore the experience respectfully. (2) Distinguish meaningful devotion from distress, withdrawal or psychotic features. (3) Consider Z65.8 if the problem centres on faith (4.6). (4) Involve a spiritual adviser of the client's choosing where wanted [synthesis].
Example language (illustrative): "How does this longing affect your daily life, your sleep, your relationships?"
Watch for: pathologising faith; missing psychosis or mania. Working when the client's spiritual life and wellbeing support each other.

4.16 Family pressure and "marriage as cure"

Purpose / when: relatives propose marriage to end a young person's lovesickness; historically licit union was the generally recommended remedy [source: Exeter 2026].
Steps: (1) Explore the client's wishes privately. (2) Assess for coercion or forced marriage. (3) Where coercion or a child is involved, follow your local safeguarding and child-protection routes and mandatory-reporting duties; in the UK the government's Forced Marriage Unit is the national route [uncertain: not verified]. (4) Support the client's own decision-making. (5) Offer family sessions only where safe [synthesis].
Example language (illustrative): "What do you want, separate from what your family hopes for? You have the right to choose whether and whom you marry."
Watch for: risk of harm, abduction or honour-based abuse; never share safety plans with the family. Working when the client is safe and their choice respected.

4.17 Responding to injurious heritage remedies

Purpose / when: a client, relative or practitioner proposes historical bodily remedies for lovesickness or melancholy; some humoral remedies such as bloodletting and purging injured people [synthesis].
Steps: (1) Ask what is proposed, by whom, and whether it has started. (2) Name physical risks plainly; route to a physician. (3) Never advise starting, stopping or changing any medicine or supplement. (4) Never refer to, endorse or supervise a harmful practice. (5) If a minor or a person lacking capacity is at risk, follow safeguarding routes [synthesis]. For Unani see the Domain XI guide (046).
Example language (illustrative): "I'm not able to recommend this. Before anything is done to your body, please speak with your doctor."
Watch for: delayed medical care; shame if the client already tried it. Working when physical safety is secured without rupture.

4.18 When a colleague or institution uses a harmful remedy

Purpose / when: a fellow clinician or service offers injurious historical treatments or presents a heritage remedy as treating physical disease [synthesis].
Steps: (1) Record what you observed. (2) Raise it with the colleague where safe. (3) Consult your supervisor and professional body's guidance. (4) Report to the employer or regulator as your professional code requires; safeguarding comes first. (5) Support affected clients' access to medical care [synthesis].
Example language (illustrative): "I'm concerned about the treatment being offered and I need to raise it through the proper route."
Watch for: pressure to stay silent within a shared community. Working when the concern is formally recorded and clients are protected.

4.19 Gender, power and the label "lovesick"

Purpose / when: a client whose distress was dismissed as "just love", or who was pathologised for desire; Wack traces links between lovesickness and gender and the conflict between medicine and Church morality [source: Wack 1990, Penn Press description].
Steps: (1) Explore how others labelled the client's feelings. (2) Separate judgement from description. (3) Validate desire and attachment as human. (4) Address any shame or coercion uncovered [synthesis].
Example language (illustrative): "People have long given love and desire moral labels. What matters here is how this is affecting you."
Watch for: sexual or relationship abuse disclosures; follow safeguarding routes. Working when shame decreases.

4.20 Teaching the history accurately

Purpose / when: trainees, community talks or a client's family ask about this heritage [synthesis].
Steps: (1) Attribute each idea to its author and century. (2) Mark anecdotes (the pulse story) as such. (3) Present bodily remedies only as history, never as advice. (4) Refer to historical patients by role. (5) Give sources.
Example language (illustrative): "This is how Burton, writing in 1621, reports Avicenna; it isn't advice for today."
Watch for: romanticising the past or dismissing it. Working when listeners can tell history from current care.

5. Handling problems

All guidance here is [synthesis] unless a source is given.

Stuck in preoccupation. The client returns every session to the beloved. Response: agree a fixed slice of each session for it, then move to a chosen goal; use 4.8 and 4.10 between sessions; review depression or obsessive-compulsive features and consider referral for specialist treatment [synthesis].
"Only union will cure me." The client echoes the historical remedy of union [source: Exeter 2026] and refuses other work. Response: acknowledge the wish; explore what union would give them (safety, worth, rescue); work on those needs directly; where the beloved has said no, hold the boundary that the other person's choice stands [synthesis].
Contact the beloved does not want. Messages, following or monitoring. Response: name the impact on the other person; set clear behavioural goals; assess risk to others; if threats or stalking emerge, follow your duty-to-protect and reporting obligations [synthesis].
Overwhelm and crisis. Response: pause content work; ground the client; assess suicide risk (4.4); give 988 (US) or Samaritans 116 123 (UK and Ireland); arrange urgent care if risk is imminent. Do not share stories that romanticise dying for love [synthesis].
Physical decline. Not eating, not sleeping. Response: route to a physician the same week; for eating-disorder concerns, the National Alliance for Eating Disorders; never advise on medicines [synthesis].
Non-adherence to between-session tasks. Response: shrink the task; check whether it clashed with faith, family or shame; let the client redesign it [synthesis].
Rupture over faith. The client feels the therapist dismissed or, conversely, over-used religion. Response: name it, apologise for the misstep, ask how they want faith included, and adjust (4.14) [synthesis].
Rupture over moral language. The client hears al-Razi's ideas as calling them weak or idle [source: Arberry 1950, ch V, on the idle and pleasure-seeking]. Response: own the framing, separate the historical text from your view of the client, and drop the material if it hurts [synthesis].
A family or practitioner pushing injurious remedies. Response: 4.17; physical safety first; safeguarding where a minor or person lacking capacity is involved; never refer to the practice [synthesis].
Forced-marriage risk. Response: 4.16; private planning; follow local safeguarding routes; do not mediate with the family where it raises risk [synthesis].
Over-identification with the heritage. The client wants therapy to become a historical regimen. Response: affirm the value of the ideas; explain that today's care uses methods tested in research, with heritage material as a supplement where the client wants it [source: Thomas and Ashraf 2011; synthesis].
Your own limits. Response: seek supervision or consultation on Islamic heritage, forced marriage or eating disorders when outside your competence [synthesis].

Sources

Web sources:

Works cited:

al-Razi, Abu Bakr. The Spiritual Physick of Rhazes, tr. A. J. Arberry. London: John Murray, 1950 (Wisdom of the East).
Burton, Robert. The Anatomy of Melancholy, 1621; partition on love-melancholy (section numbering [uncertain]).
Nizami Arudi of Samarqand. Revised Translation of the Chahar Maqala, tr. E. G. Browne. London: Luzac for the E. J. W. Gibb Memorial, 1921 (anecdote text [uncertain: not verified]).
Wack, Mary Frances. 1990. Lovesickness in the Middle Ages: The Viaticum and Its Commentaries. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.
Thomas, Justin, and Saquab Ashraf. 2011. Exploring the Islamic tradition for resonance and dissonance with cognitive therapy for depression. Mental Health, Religion and Culture 14(2): 183-190. doi:10.1080/13674676.2010.517190.
Ibn Sina. Canon of Medicine: cited only through Burton and Exeter 2026 [uncertain: not verified].
Tennov, Dorothy, on limerence [uncertain: not verified].
Vieten, C., et al. 2013, spiritual and religious competencies [uncertain: not verified].
ICD-10-CM Z65.8, Other specified problems related to psychosocial circumstances (includes 'Religious or spiritual problem'), https://www.unboundmedicine.com/icd/view/ICD-10-CM/945432/all/Z65_8___Other_specified_problems_related_to_psychosocial_circumstances
APA Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct (Standard 3.05).

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