Lois Holzman, Ph.D.

Lois Holzman is director and co-founder of the East Side Institute for Group and Short Term Psychotherapy in NYC. She has been a key developer and researcher of social therapy, the group-oriented approach to human development and learning created by Fred Newman and, as Newman's chief collaborator for over a quarter of a century, she is the leading expert on his work. She has been involved in the development of social therapeutic methodology, not only in psychotherapeutic practice, but also in the contributions it has made to education across the life span, youth development, medicine and healthcare, and organizational development and executive leadership. Dr. Holzman has written and edited ten books and over sixty articles on psychology, psychotherapy, education and social therapeutics. Many of them put the work of psychologist Lev Vygotsky and philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein to use in creating new radically humanistic approaches. Among her books are Psychological Investigations: A Clinician's Guide to Social Therapy (with Rafael Mendez); Performing Psychology: A Postmodern Culture of the Mind; Lev Vygotsky: Revolutionary Scientist (with Fred Newman); and Vygotsky at Work and Play. Dr. Holzman earned her Ph.D. from Columbia University, was a postgraduate research fellow at The Rockefeller University's Laboratory of Comparative Human Cognition, and associate professor at Empire State College, State University of New York.