Positive change processes and its stages: Developing a conceptual model based on Islamic texts

Identifying distinctive psychotherapies has been one of the tasks of researchers, and this question has always been asked that which treatment or theory is more effective. In this regard, the question of how a clinical change occurs has led much research to discover the underlying processes of change and its stages. Due to the fact that the literature of Islamic texts includes statements about psychological change, the present study aims to develop a conceptual model for the processes of positive change and its stages based on Islamic texts. For this purpose, the stages and processes of positive change were extracted from the descriptive and explanatory propositions in Islamic texts (Quran and Hadith) by qualitative content analysis. The validity of the extracted content about the processes and stages of positive change was collected and analyzed using the opinion of experts in the field. The results showed that positive change processes include overt and covert activities that individuals perform to change their cognition, emotions, and behavior in 1) motivational processes; 2) rational empowerment; 3) the pursuit of spiritual success and 4) the action; the right action leads the person to happiness and joy.