Nicholas Mazza

Nicholas Mazza, Ph.D., is Professor and Dean Emeritus  at the Florida State University, College of Social Work, Tallahassee, FL. Dr. Mazza holds Florida licenses in psychology, clinical social work, and marriage and family therapy. He has been involved in the practice, research, and teaching of poetry therapy for over 40 years. Dr. Mazza is the author of Poetry Therapy: Theory and Practice, 2nd Edition; and Editor of a 4 volume series, Expressive Therapies (published by Routledge). He is also the founding (1987) and current editor of the Journal of Poetry Therapy: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Practice, Theory, Research, and Education. He is past vice president and current board member of the National Association for Poetry Therapy (NAPT). In 1997, Dr. Mazza received the Pioneer Award; and in 2017, the “Lifetime Achievement Award” from NAPT.

Dr. Mazza is a widely published scholar and poet. In addition to poetry therapy, Dr. Mazza has practiced, taught, and published in the areas of crisis intervention, death and trauma, family therapy, group work, clinical theories and models, and the arts in community practice. Dr. Mazza, a marathon runner, is the founder of the College of Social Work  Arts and Athletics Community Outreach Program for At-Risk Youth established at Florida State University (FSU) in 2011.