The Anne Stewart Award is given in honor of our former President, APT Board member, and amazing play therapist. To be recognized with this prestigious award, one must have contributed to the field of play therapy for over 10 years, promote the mission and values of VAPT, provide play therapy training and supervision to advance play therapy, and increase membership to strengthen the presence of VAPT.
2023 Winner
Sheri Mitschelen, LCSW, RPT-S
Sheri is an extremely productive and effective promoter of play therapy throughout Virginia, the US and the globe. She started a group play therapy practice, Crossroads Family Counseling Center, in 2009 to expand the reach of her passion for serving children, and she continues to serve the community through this capacity, as well as her new non-profit counseling center Heartleaf. Sheri has also taught several college and graduate classes specific to play therapy. She has been an APT-approved provider for 9 years and created a play therapy training program that offers consistent play therapy continuing education opportunities. One of her most exciting projects is providing training for a play therapy program in Hong Kong since 2020.
Sheri was the President of the Virginia Association for Play Therapy from 2017 to 2022. During her tenure she continued to expand her impact on the field of play therapy. She worked hard to develop a strong, committed group of Board Members, recruiting new participants with innovative ideas and energy. She led our group to create and expand committees, to adapt to online play therapy outreach, networking, and training, and to keep our members connected and up to date with current play therapy practices.
2022 Winner
Lisa M. Wright, MSW, LCSW, RPT-S
Lisa provides play therapy services to children impacted by severe and complex trauma. She creates a warm and safe space for self-expression and leads a multidisciplinary team in the Richmond area to assist police, child protective service and medical providers in provision of evidenced based, trauma informed, and developmentally appropriate care for children in life’s worst circumstances. She continues to support others through relationships, upholding the tenants of play therapy. Additionally, she expanded play therapy supports through creation of pre-schools and programs to assist children who experienced trauma. Her passion and gifts for promoting the use of play and expressive arts among her clinical team and her community are obvious to all who come into contact with her.
Past Recipients
2021: Maureen Ritter, LPC, RPT-S
2020: Barbara Smith, LCSW, RPT-S
2019: Melissa Hays-Smith, LCSW, RPT-S