Abdallah Rothman 

Head of Islamic Psychology

aer@cambridgemuslimcollege.ac.uk
Curriculum Vitae
Website

Academic Bio

Dr. Abdallah Rothman is the founder of Dar al-Shifaa and co-founder and Executive Director of the International Association of Islamic Psychology, working at the intersection of Islamic spirituality and mental health practice. He is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) and a Board Certified Registered Art Therapist (ATR-BC), licensed in the United States and currently living abroad in the UAE.

Dr. Abdallah earned an M.A. in Psychology from Antioch University and earned his Ph.D. in Psychology from Kingston University London. He is a student of Professor Malik Badri in Islamic psychology and in addition to his academic training has studied privately with a number of traditional Islamic scholars throughout the Muslim world. Dr. Abdallah’s clinical practice as well as his academic research focus on approaching counseling from within an Islamic paradigm and establishing an indigenous theoretical orientation to human psychology that is grounded in the knowledge of the soul from the Islamic tradition. He publishes on this topic in books and journal articles and gives presentations, leads interactive workshops, and is invited to public speaking engagements at universities and organizations around the world. He is visiting professor of psychology at Zaim University Istanbul, International Islamic University Islamabad, and Al-Neelain University Khartoum and is currently the Head of Islamic Psychology of Cambridge Muslim College.

Dr. Abdallah has over 15 years’ experience as a counseling psychologist working with individuals, couples families and youth in a variety of settings. His experience with many different styles and methods of therapy, along with his deep, experiential and immersive study of the Islamic spiritual tradition inform his unique integrative approach to counseling. His method combines different techniques, tools and practices that are catered to the unique needs of each client. In addition to traditional Islamic therapeutic mechanisms and approaches, Dr. Abdallah draws on aspects from many other frameworks and methods of therapy such as; Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Gestalt Therapy, Somatic Experiencing, Art Therapy, and Spiritual Counseling. Thus his approach is adaptive to the needs and context of a given client and emergent, without predetermined one-size-fits-all techniques and methods. Dr. Abdallah trains psychologists, counsellors, coaches and healers in his therapeutic approach within the Islamic Psychology Diploma at Cambridge Muslim College, and is currently writing a book about it expected to be published in 2024.

Education

• PhD in psychology from Kingston University London
• MA in Psychology from Antioch University
• BA in Community Studies from University of California Santa Cruz

Research Interests

• Islamic psychology
• Islamic psychotherapy
• Islamic models of Leadership
• Islamic models of Education

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Recent & Regularly Taught Courses

• Modern Trends in Islamic Psychology (Diploma in Islamic Psychology)
• Islamic Psychotherapy & Counselling (Diploma in Islamic Psychology)