Main Article Content
Abstract
This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy integrated with Islamic values (REBT-NIS) in reducing trauma symptoms in children who have experienced sexual abuse in Aceh. This approach combines REBT techniques with Islamic values such as ridha (contentment), patience, and ikhlas (sincerity), which are expected to help children develop more rational and positive thinking in overcoming their trauma. The study used a quasi-experimental design with pre-test and post-test assessments to measure trauma, anxiety, depression, and stress symptoms in the children involved. The results showed a 50% reduction in trauma symptoms after the implementation of REBT-NIS, with significant improvements in all trauma dimensions measured using the Child PTSD Symptom Scale (CPSS) and Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS). These findings indicate that the REBT-NIS approach, which integrates Islamic values, is effective in supporting trauma recovery in sexually abused children, particularly in Aceh. This approach contributes to trauma therapy theory and practice by demonstrating the importance of integrating religious values into evidence-based psychological therapy.
Keywords
Article Details

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
References
- Abdullah, S. (2015). An islamic perspective for strengths-based social work with muslim clients. Journal of Social Work Practice, 29(2), 163–172. https://doi.org/10.1080/02650533.2014.956304
- Alaggia, R., Collin-Vézina, D., & Lateef, R. (2019). Facilitators and Barriers to Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) Disclosures: A Research Update (2000–2016). Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 20(2), 260–283. https://doi.org/10.1177/1524838017697312
- Aldahadha, B., & Al Dwakat, M. (2025). Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in the Qur’an and the Sunnah: An Integrative Model for Treating Suicidal Cases. Journal of Rational-Emotive & Cognitive-Behavior Therapy, 43(1), 7. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10942-024-00573-y
- Brewer-Smyth, K., & Koenig, H. G. (2014). Could Spirituality and Religion Promote Stress Resilience in Survivors of Childhood Trauma? Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 35(4), 251–256. https://doi.org/10.3109/01612840.2013.873101
- Burhanudin, J. (2014). HISTORY, AUTHORITY, AND POWER: A Case of Religious Violence in Aceh. JOURNAL OF INDONESIAN ISLAM, 8(1), 112. https://doi.org/10.15642/JIIS.2014.8.1.112-138
- Carlson, K. M., & González-Prendes, A. A. (2016). Cognitive Behavioral Therapy With Religious and Spiritual Clients: A Critical Perspective. Journal of Spirituality in Mental Health, 18(4), 253–282. https://doi.org/10.1080/19349637.2016.1159940
- Cornish, M. A., Wade, N. G., Tucker, J. R., & Post, B. C. (2014). When Religion Enters the Counseling Group. The Counseling Psychologist, 42(5), 578–600. https://doi.org/10.1177/0011000014527001
- Cucchi, A. (2022). Integrating Cognitive Behavioural and Islamic Principles in Psychology and Psychotherapy: A Narrative Review. Journal of Religion and Health, 61(6), 4849–4870. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-022-01576-8
- Currier, J. M., Fox, J., Vieten, C., Pearce, M., & Oxhandler, H. K. (2023). Enhancing competencies for the ethical integration of religion and spirituality in psychological services. Psychological Services, 20(1), 40–50. https://doi.org/10.1037/ser0000678
- Erath, T. G., Pellegrino, A. J., DiGennaro Reed, F. D., Ruby, S. A., Blackman, A. L., & Novak, M. D. (2021). Experimental Research Methodologies in Organizational Behavior Management. Journal of Organizational Behavior Management, 41(2), 150–181. https://doi.org/10.1080/01608061.2020.1869137
- Eseadi, C. (2023). The Impacts of Religious Rational-Emotive Behavior Therapy (RREBT) on Mental Health: A Comparative Review. Islamic Guidance and Counseling Journal, 6(2). https://doi.org/10.25217/0020236406900
- Eseadi, C., Anyanwu, J. I., Ogbuabor, S. E., & Ikechukwu-Ilomuanya, A. B. (2016). Effects of Cognitive Restructuring Intervention Program of Rational-Emotive Behavior Therapy on Adverse Childhood Stress in Nigeria. Journal of Rational-Emotive & Cognitive-Behavior Therapy, 34(1), 51–72. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10942-015-0229-4
- Foa, E. B., Asnaani, A., Zang, Y., Capaldi, S., & Yeh, R. (2018). Psychometrics of the Child PTSD Symptom Scale for DSM-5 for Trauma-Exposed Children and Adolescents. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 47(1), 38–46. https://doi.org/10.1080/15374416.2017.1350962
- Foa, E. B., Johnson, K. M., Feeny, N. C., & Treadwell, K. R. H. (2001). The Child PTSD Symptom Scale: A Preliminary Examination of its Psychometric Properties. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 30(3), 376–384. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15374424JCCP3003_9
- Grove, A. B., Green, B. A., Kaye, S. M., & Sheerin, C. M. (2024). A Narrative Commentary on the Use of a Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy-Informed Group to Address Irrational Beliefs, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, and Comorbidities. Brain Sciences, 14(2), 129. https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci14020129
- Ilyas, S. M. (2020). Islamic Psychotherapy In The Pandemic Of Covid-19. ENLIGHTEN: Jurnal Bimbingan Konseling Islam, 3(1), 35–47. https://doi.org/10.32505/ENLIGHTEN.V3I1.1581
- Juanda, S., Gani, B. A., & Rahmatillah, S. (2023). The P2TP2A’s Effort to Cope with the Intensification of Sexual Abuse of Children in Perspective of the Islamic Family Law (A Case Study at the City of Banda Aceh). El-Usrah: Jurnal Hukum Keluarga, 6(1), 115. https://doi.org/10.22373/ujhk.v6i1.11992
- Kennedy, A. C., & Prock, K. A. (2018). “I Still Feel Like I Am Not Normalâ€: A Review of the Role of Stigma and Stigmatization Among Female Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse, Sexual Assault, and Intimate Partner Violence. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 19(5), 512–527. https://doi.org/10.1177/1524838016673601
- Khayat Hesari, N., Mousavi, S. F., & Kasiri Mahouri, F. (2024). Religious savior-centered psychotherapy for depression: a focus on women’s well-being. Journal of Spirituality in Mental Health, 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1080/19349637.2024.2418122
- Kingsbury, D. (2007). The Free Aceh Movement: Islam and democratisation 1. Journal of Contemporary Asia, 37(2), 166–189. https://doi.org/10.1080/00472330701253759
- Koenig, H. G. (2012). Religion, Spirituality, and Health: The Research and Clinical Implications. ISRN Psychiatry, 2012, 1–33. https://doi.org/10.5402/2012/278730
- Lateef, R., Alaggia, R., Collin-Vézina, D., & McElvaney, R. (2023). The Legacy of Shame following Childhood Sexual Abuse Disclosures. Journal of Child Sexual Abuse, 32(2), 184–203. https://doi.org/10.1080/10538712.2022.2159910
- Matweychuk, W., DiGiuseppe, R., & Gulyayeva, O. (2019). A Comparison of REBT with Other Cognitive Behavior Therapies. In Advances in REBT (pp. 47–77). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-93118-0_3
- Oktari, R. S., Kamaruzzaman, S., Fatimahsyam, F., Sofia, S., & Sari, D. K. (2021). Gender mainstreaming in a Disaster-Resilient Village Programme in Aceh Province, Indonesia: Towards disaster preparedness enhancement via an equal opportunity policy. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 52, 101974. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2020.101974
- Pearce, M., Haynes, K., Rivera, N. R., & Koenig, H. G. (2018). Spiritually Integrated Cognitive Processing Therapy: A New Treatment for Post-traumatic Stress Disorder That Targets Moral Injury. Global Advances in Health and Medicine, 7. https://doi.org/10.1177/2164956118759939
- Pohan, R. A. (2024). A psychospiritual approach to the integration of Rohingya refugees in Aceh: overcoming stigma and building solidarity. Psychological Medicine, 54(14), 3995–3996. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291724002150
- Pohan, R. A., Husni, A., Delima, M., Aisyah, P. B., Astuti, R. D., & Marhaban, M. (2024). Spiritual Integration in Counseling for Student Suicide Prevention in Higher Education in Indonesia. Asian Journal of Psychiatry, 104287. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajp.2024.104287
- Pohan, R. A., Khadijah, K., Saputra, R., Ilyas, S. M., Astuti, R. D., & Pohan, P. B. A. (2024). Building equality: psychospiritual interventions for Rohingya refugees in Aceh. Journal of Public Health, 46(4), e700–e701. https://doi.org/10.1093/pubmed/fdae185
- Pohan, R. A., Marimbun, M., Chalidaziah, W., Ramadhani, E., Putri, R. D., & Laras, P. B. (2024). Dhikr and Qur’an Recitation Therapy: An Idea to Recover the Mental Health of Families of the Death Victims of Mount Marapi Eruption in West Sumatra, Indonesia. Prehospital and Disaster Medicine, 39(2), 230–231. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1049023X24000220
- Pohan, R. A., Ramli, M., Atmoko, A., & Akbar, S. (2025). Construction of spiritual meaning in the transformation of gratitude for freshmen. HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies, 81(1). https://doi.org/10.4102/hts.v81i1.10383
- Pohan, R. A., Ramli, M., Atmoko, A., Akbar, S., & Hanurawan, F. (2025). Unveiling gratitude in Javanese Muslim hajatan traditions: Cultural wisdom and social cohesion in the midst of modernization. Social Sciences & Humanities Open, 11, 101321. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssaho.2025.101321
- Smith, J. D., Wolf, N. J., Handler, L., & Nash, M. R. (2009). Testing the Effectiveness of Family Therapeutic Assessment: A Case Study Using a Time-Series Design. Journal of Personality Assessment, 91(6), 518–536. https://doi.org/10.1080/00223890903228331
- Tabatabaee, S. M., Abdolahi, M., Matvaei, R., & Khalili, P. (2024). The relationship between mindfulness and childhood trauma with suicide: The mediating role of cognitive bias. ENLIGHTEN (Jurnal Bimbingan Dan Konseling Islam), 7(1), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.32505/enlighten.v7i1.8375
- Tran, N. K., Van Berkel, S. R., van IJzendoorn, M. H., & Alink, L. R. A. (2017). The association between child maltreatment and emotional, cognitive, and physical health functioning in Vietnam. BMC Public Health, 17(1), 332. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-017-4258-z
- Turner, M. J. (2016). Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT), Irrational and Rational Beliefs, and the Mental Health of Athletes. Frontiers in Psychology, 07. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01423
- Vernon, A. (2019). REBT with Children and Adolescents. In REBT with Diverse Client Problems and Populations (pp. 243–263). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-02723-0_12
- Yuniar, F., Pratiwi, N., Saptadi Ismanto, H., & Iffah, L. (2023). Academic Burnout and Relationship with Gratitude. ENLIGHTEN: Jurnal Bimbingan Konseling Islam, 6(1), 27–37. https://doi.org/10.32505/ENLIGHTEN.V6I1.5898