Steven Jay Lynn died at home on March 29, 2024 at age 78 after a 3-month battle with cancer. He is predeceased by his parents, Herman and Barbara. He is survived by his beloved wife, Fern Pritikin Lynn, his sister Leslie (Richard) Ehrlich, sister-in-law Phyllis (Larry) Galinkin, cherished daughters, Jessica (Sere Chao) Lynn, stepdaughter Nicole Pritikin, grandsons Julian Lynn Chao, Tyler Thibodeau, and granddaughter Angelaure Pierre. He is also survived by his former wife Jennifer Hudson Lynn. He was the favorite uncle of his nieces and nephews and grandnieces and grandnephews. Steve was a special cousin to Michael Kline and Ilene Berns-Zare and Ed Zare.
Steve was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois in a home characterized by unconditional love, a trait that he continued with his family, extended family, friends, colleagues and students. Generosity was a part of his being. He gave of his time to help anyone who needed him. His life is marked by his insatiable curiosity and love of learning.
Steve was an internationally recognized expert and prolific author in multiple areas of clinical psychology. His work focused on hypnosis, dissociation, fantasy, false memories, sexual trauma and victimization. In recent years, he published extensively on debunking pseudoscience, myths of psychology. critical thinking and evidence-based treatments. Steve was proudest of his introductory textbook, “Psychology: from Inquiry to Understanding,” now in its 5th edition.
Steve received his B.A. from the University of Michigan and his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the Indiana University. Steve began his academic career at Ohio University, rising to the rank of full professor. In 1996, Steve joined the faculty of Binghamton University where he was promoted to SUNY Distinguished Professor and served as Director of the Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology and Director of the Psychology Department’s Psychological Clinic. He received the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Scholarship and Creative Activities.
Steve’s lengthy list of awards included a Lifetime Achievement Award from Indiana University, and the best book published on clinical hypnosis. He was ranked 49th on a list of “Top Producers of Scholarly Publications in Clinical Psychology Ph.D. Programs” and was recognized as one of the world’s leading experts in the field of hypnosis. He was proud to have been the founding editor of a major professional journal, Psychology of Consciousness.
With his colleagues, in the early 80’s Steve conducted the first systematic studies of what was then termed “fantasy-prone personality,” comprising people who were highly suggestible and hypnotizable. Steve’s work illuminated various concepts related to fantasy-proneness, such as hypnosis, dissociation, trauma, and false memory. His findings led to a new understanding of these experiences and to strategies to alleviate suffering among those struggling with disorders such as phobias, dissociation and trauma. He championed a view of hypnotic behavior as amenable to understanding by scientific examination, distinct from older notions of hypnosis as a mysterious trance.
Steve’s expertise in forensic psychology led to a steady stream of requests for him to provide expert opinion in multiple criminal cases where hypnosis had been used to enhance or recover a memory. Steve’s work revealed that hypnosis increases the inaccuracies of memory and problematically increases one’s confidence in their recall. Steve’s testimony became foundational for the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision to ban all hypnotically elicited testimony, and now most states do not permit the testimony of witnesses who were hypnotized.
In addition to the heights of his scholarship, Steve was a kind, compassionate and generous person who was proud to have mentored scores of doctoral students as well as young professionals in the early stages of their careers. Of more than 400 articles and 20+ books, many were the result of collaborations with students and colleagues world-wide. Steve had a wonderful sense of humor and reservoir of incredible stories that evoked tears of laughter from friends and family. In addition to his academic pursuits, Steve maintained a private psychotherapy practice. He enjoyed golf, treasured the lifelong bonds of friendship of his men’s group, “The Mighty Men,” and played harmonica to occasionally startle his students and friends. His love for his family was boundless.
A memorial service will be held at Temple Concord, 9 Riverside Dr, Binghamton, NY on Thursday, April 4, 2024 at 2 p.m.
Donations in memory of Steven Jay Lynn may be made to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, PO Box 27106, NY, NY 10087-7106 or to the Binghamton University Foundation, Clinical Science Fund, Account #10367; Donations are accepted online at giving.binghamton.edu.