The community of hypnosis has lost another of its great leaders. Assen Alladin, Ph.D., R.Psych., died on November 24, 2017. His family, his friends, his students, his patients, his readers, and his colleagues will mourn his absence.
Assen Alladin was born on the Island of Mauritius and educated in England.Footnotei He initially trained as a psychiatric nurse and social worker and then trained in clinical psychology. He worked as a clinical psychologist in England for 10 years and moved to Canada in 1990. He worked at the Waterford Hospital, St. John’s, Newfoundland, and moved to Calgary in 1993. He worked 2 years as a psychologist with the Calgary Police Service and then spent the years from 1995 to 2013 at the Foothills Medical Centre, Calgary. After 2013, he worked in a full-time private practice in Calgary, Alberta.
Dr. Alladin also served as a professor, a scholar, and an editorial consultant to several professional journals. Until the time of his death, he was an adjunct associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry, University of Calgary Medical School. There he taught and supervised psychiatry residents. He provided training in clinical hypnosis and cognitive hypnotherapy locally, nationally, and internationally.
Honors
Dr. Alladin was a Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine, a Fellow of the Canadian Federation of Clinical Hypnosis – Alberta Society, and an Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society. His study of cognitive hypnotherapy with depression won the best research paper from Division 30 of the American Psychological Association in 2005.
Professional Affiliations/Memberships in Professional & Learned Societies
Dr. Alladin maintained memberships in the American Psychological Association, the Canadian Psychological Association, the College of Alberta Psychologists, the American Society of Clinical Hypnosis, the Society for Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, the International Society of Hypnosis, the Canadian Federation of Clinical Hypnosis, and the Canadian Federation of Clinical Hypnosis – Alberta Society.
Professional Offices
Dr. Alladin was immediate past president of the American Society of Clinical Hypnosis at the time of his death. He served as president of the American Society of Clinical Hypnosis in 2016-2017, president of the Canadian Federation of Clinical Hypnosis – Alberta Society from 2007-2009, education chair for the Canadian Federation of Clinical Hypnosis in 2007, president of the Canadian Federation of Clinical Hypnosis – Alberta Society from 2004-2007, and held many other positions of leadership in North American hypnosis.
Research and Publications
Apart from his leadership in hypnosis organizations, Dr. Alladin will be long remembered for his research and publications on hypnosis, especially on the application of hypnosis to anxiety disorders and depression. His books include: Integrative Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Anxiety Disorders (Wiley, 2016), Hynotherapy Explained (CRC Press, 2016), Cognitive Hypnotherapy: An Integrated Approach for the Treatment of Emotional Disorders (Wiley, 2008), and Handbook of Cognitive Hypnotherapy for Depression (Lippincott, Williams, and Wilkins, 2007). He authored more than 25 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters. He was also a generous presenter and trainer, regularly participating in the programs of ASCH, SCEH, ISH, Division 30 (APA), and the Canadian Federation of Clinical Hypnosis.
Personal Impact
In addition to the honors, publications, and offices held by Dr. Alladin, he will be remembered as a warm, caring, and generous human being. His influence on a generation of hypnosis professionals cannot be overestimated. His quiet, kind manner helped countless professionals accept hypnosis as a respectable field for study, and his gentle leadership and generous encouragement of those around him will be remembered by all.
Donald Moss, PhD and Eric Willmarth, PhD
Notes
i Acknowledgments: The biographical information was adapted from Dr. Alladin’s website at dralladin.ca.