Dear Department members,
The Department is saddened to share the news that Dr. Roger Freeman passed away on March 13, 2025, at the age of 91. He was a Clinical Professor Emeritus and had been a member of the Department of Psychiatry for over 50 years. Before his retirement from clinical practice, Dr. Freeman taught regularly in the Psychiatry Residency program at UBC.
Dr. Freeman co-founded the Neuropsychiatry Clinic at BC Children’s Hospital, where he was a Senior Neuropsychiatrist. He also co-founded and managed the Tourette Syndrome International Database Consortium, a worldwide clinical dataset on Tourette syndrome. A well-known child psychiatrist, he had a special interest and expertise in tic disorders and also served as a psychiatrist for hearing and visual impairment and meningomyelocele clinics. Dr. Freeman was the author of numerous papers on Tourette syndrome and a frequent presenter at Tourette Syndrome Foundation of Canada (TSFC) conferences. In recognition of his clinical expertise and research contributions, he was honoured as Clinician of the Year (2006) by the TSFC and received a distinguished service award from the American Academy for Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine.
Beyond his work in psychiatry, Dr. Freeman was an avid outdoorsman. He was an honorary member of the BC Association of Forest Professionals and a Life Member of the Federation of Mountain Clubs of BC. Alongside his wife, he also co-authored numerous hiking and trail guidebooks for Vancouver’s North Shore Mountains and elsewhere.
On behalf of the UBC Department of Psychiatry, we extend our sincerest condolences to Dr. Freeman’s family and loved ones for their loss.
Sincerely,
Dr. Lakshmi N. Yatham, MBBS, FRCPC, MRCPsych (UK), MBA (Exec)
Professor and Head, UBC Department of Psychiatry
Director, Institute of Mental Health, UBC
Regional Head and Program Medical Director, VCH/PHC
The UBC Department of Psychiatry Administration Office respectfully acknowledges the land on which we live, work and play is the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of the Coast Salish Peoples, the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and Səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-waututh).