Professor Stephen Demanchick receives 2026 New York Association of Play Therapy Service Award
Nazareth University Professor Stephen Demanchick, Ph.D, RPT-S., chair of the Creative Arts Department and director of Nazareth’s Play Therapy Center, will receive the 2026 New York Association of Play Therapy Service Award at the annual conference in June. Each year, the NYAPT honors someone who significantly develops, promotes, or advances the value of play, play therapy, and credentialed play therapists.
His clinical and research interests include child-centered play therapy and filial therapy, as well as person-centered therapy. In addition to his therapy work with children, Demanchick also operates a small private practice as a men’s counselor.
Demanchick received the American Association of Play Therapy Service Award for 2011. He served as past editor for the International Journal of Play Therapy and The Person-Centered Journal and has published several book chapters, articles, and book reviews.
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Demanchick will receive the 2026 New York Association of Play Therapy Service Award in June at the annual conference.