Sandra Lindaman

is a Certified Theraplay® Therapist, Supervisor and Trainer, and the Senior Training Advisor for The Theraplay® Institute in Evanston, Illinois, USA. Sandra has worked at The Theraplay Institute since 1990 in treatment, management, training curriculum development, publication and research; she has supervised hundreds of Theraplay practitioners, trainers and supervisors internationally. Her current supervision interests include the power of Theraplay’s combination of safety-social engagement-play and care, early intervention, developmental issues, selective mutism, autism, adoption, marginalized biological families and adverse childhood experiences.

Sandra has a master’s degree in social work from Loyola University- Chicago; she completed a one year clinical externship in the Family Systems Program at the Institute for Juvenile Research, University of Illinois-Chicago. Sandra has completed Level 1 Dyadic Developmental Therapy training. She also has a master’s degree in speech-language pathology from Northwestern University and worked in that field for many years. Recent publications include: co-editing Theraplay Theory, Applications and Implementation (2020), co-authoring a Theraplay chapter in Porges and Dana’s Clinical Applications of Polyvagal Theory (2018) and co-authoring an article on “Attachment Theory and Theraplay” (2019) as a foundational model of play therapy for the Association of Play Therapy. Sandra also co-authored the theory, autism and adoption chapters in the 2010 third edition of Theraplay: Helping Parents and Children Build Better Relationships Through Attachment-Based Play. Sandra has spread the Theraplay model via training and supervision of professionals throughout the US, UK, Europe, Canada, Finland, Sweden, Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong. In 2004 she received the Ann M. Jernberg award for outstanding contribution to Theraplay.