Zelinger Laurie

Dr. Laurie Zelinger is a board-certified psychologist with a specialty in school psychology, and a Registered Play Therapist with over 45 years' experience. She is a licensed New York State psychologist who, after retiring from a Long Island public school system, is now devoting her time exclusively to writing, consulting and her busy private practice for children. Previous books include: Please Explain Anxiety to Me: Simple Biology and Solutions for Children and Parents; Please Explain...See more

Dr. Laurie Zelinger is a board-certified psychologist with a specialty in school psychology, and a Registered Play Therapist with over 45 years' experience. She is a licensed New York State psychologist who, after retiring from a Long Island public school system, is now devoting her time exclusively to writing, consulting and her busy private practice for children. Previous books include: Please Explain Anxiety to Me: Simple Biology and Solutions for Children and Parents; Please Explain Tonsillectomy & Adenoidectomy to Me: A Complete Guide to Preparing Your Child for Surgery; Please Explain Terrorism to Me! A Story for Children, P-E-A-R-L-S of Wisdom for Their Parents; Please Explain Time out to Me! A Story for Children and Do-it-Yourself Manual for Parents; and A Smart Girl's Guide to Liking Herself Even On The Bad Days for American Girl. In June 2020, Dr. Zelinger's article, "Expanding social stories beyond the autism spectrum" was a featured article in Play Therapy magazine. She has a chapter on selective mutism in the John Wiley & Sons compendium School Based Play Therapy, as well as a chapter on prescriptive play therapy for fears and phobias in the 2019 Guilford Press compendium, Prescriptive Play Therapy: Tailoring Interventions to Specific Childhood Problems. Dr. Zelinger is also credited with being a consultant for the Bitty Baby book series by American Girl where she assisted in the development of the 'For Parents' sections as well as editorial development of another American Girl book. Her interest in writing began in 4th grade, when a play she wrote about the drought experienced in New York City at the time, was performed by the students in her public school. Dr. Zelinger is a fellow and previous officer in the national American Academy of School Psychology and had spent four years in the capacity of director on the executive board of the New York Association of Play Therapy. As a highly respected child psychologist, she has contributed to nearly 200 venues regarding child development. She and her psychologist husband, Dr. Fred Zelinger, are both certified Red Cross disaster mental health volunteers. They have been happily married for over 40 years, have raised four children and relish their roles as grandparents. See less