About

Dr. Abdallah Rothman

About

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 the late 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 (CMC).

Dr. Abdallah has over 20 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, counselors, coaches and healers in his therapeutic approach within the Islamic Psychology Diploma at CMC, and is currently writing a book about it expected to be published in 2025.

Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology (PhD)
Research concentration: Islamic Psychology & Psychotherapy
Kingston University London


Master of Arts in Psychology (MA)
Concentration: Mental Health Counseling
Antioch University Seattle, WA


Certification in Art Therapy (MA)
Antioch University Seattle, WA


Bachelor of Arts in Community Studies (BA)
University of California Santa Cruz

Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC)
Virginia Board of Counseling


Registered Art Therapist- Board Certified (ATR-BC)
American Art Therapy Association


CPR and First Aid Certification
American Red Cross

American Counseling Association
Professional Member


American Art Therapy Associaton
Professional Credentialed Member


International Association of Islamic Psychology
Senior Fellow