Counseling and psychotherapy in Lebanon: Towards a Lebanese framework of psychology

Lebanon is a small country in western Asia, on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean. In 2009, the Lebanese population was estimated to be at around 4 million people (World Health Organization [WHO], 2009).There is no state religion in Lebanon; however, the republic recognizes 17 religious sects of Christianity, Islam, and Judaism (Lebanese Global Information Center [LGIC], 2005). The capital of the republic of Lebanon is Beirut, and the official language is formal Arabic. Lebanon’s geographical location between the orient and the occident give it a cosmopolitan character and a rich multicultural heritage (Embassy of Lebanon, 2002). Owing to its location, the country has been considerably influenced by the West. Many Lebanese study in French or English schools and universities, and are versed in the three languages Arabic, French, and English. Psychology’s presence in academia has long been seen since it was one of the earliest majorstaught at a number of universities in Lebanon. It is also present in the clinical setting, in hospitals, private clinics, and other treatment centers. Counselors are employed in most of the main universities in Lebanon. They are also found at the school level. In Lebanon, counselors deal mostly with student populations at schools and universities whereas the clinical psychologist’s clientele is more diverse and not limited to these settings. Although both clinical psychology and counseling involve conducting psychotherapy, clinical psychologists work in settings where there is a higher level of severity and/or chronicity of mental illness, such as psychiatry units in general hospitals, community mental health centers, psychiatric hospitals, and governmental agencies. Despite the long presence of psychology in Lebanon, legislation and guidelines for practice are still missing, hence making it impossible to control all psychological practices in the field. Lebanese society has been more aware that psychological practice is different from psychicreadings, astrology, religious rituals, and others (Attieh, 2008). Psychology has developed as a path of its own, independent of medicine. Although medicine, specifically psychiatry, has been known to be the treatment of choice in treating mental disturbances, there is moreawareness of the importance of psychological treatment either standing on its own, or complementing the medical treatment. Most models of treatment in Lebanon follow the biopsychosocial model of treatment; hence the presence of psychologists as part of the treatment team is becoming an essential component for any service provider. This recent movement gave more credibility to the field and specifically to psychotherapy. The present chapter will provide a brief history of the field of clinical psychology andcounseling in Lebanon in addition to a description of its current status and future prospects.