Brief Bio

Anne Stewart, Ph.D., is a professor of psychology, author, and playful practitioner of play therapy. She teaches, supervises, and conducts play and family therapy each week at James Madison University. She has written and presented about attachment, crisis intervention, supervision, nature and play therapy, military families, and resilience around the world. She is the founder of the Virginia Association for Play Therapy and served as chair of the Association for Play Therapy Board of Directors and the Foundation for Play Therapy. She is a recipient of the Association for Play Therapy’s Distinguished Service Award and the State Council of Higher Education of Virginia’s Outstanding Faculty Award. Anne has promoted the secure attachment and resilience of children and families across the country and throughout the world, including Sri Lanka and India following the massive tsunami. She partners with colleagues in government organizations, universities, and NGO’s on countless teaching, research, and service projects. She implemented projects addressing psychosocial problems of landmines and unexploded ordnance in Cambodia, Jordan, Lebanon, and Vietnam. In the United States, she provided play-based therapeutic services to the children and families of Virginia National Guard members deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan and serves as a consultant after natural disasters, school shootings, and other catastrophic events.