Lois Holzman is director and co-founder of the in New York, New York, where she developed social therapy methods with Fred Newman. She is known for her research and work on play therapy, social therapy, and criticism of the medical model of mental health. She was instrumental in introducing the ideas of Lev Vygotsky to the fields of psychotherapy, organizational and community development. In 2014, Holzman received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Cultural-Historical Research Special Interest Group of the American Educational Research Association.