Research - one of the three foundational tenets of Reiss-Davis

Serve the mental health needs of Children * Educate those who serve the mental health needs of children * Promote and participate in research that will inform and improve mental health services to children.

As part of the Vista Del Mar Family of Services, Reiss-Davis is able to collaborate with the various divisions - the Julie Ann Singer Outpatient Clinic, the residential program, the non-public school, the Baron School for ASD youth, Family Services of Santa Monica, to gather data on the mental health of youth, to perform our own research, to become a participatory site for research being conducted on a broader scope in the world.

Current and Recent Projects:

Evaluation of the effectiveness of psychodynamic vs non-psychodynamic therapy for children.

Phase I, calibrating and  analyzing data collected by Family Services of Santa Monica and the Julie Ann Singer outpatient clinic in 2014 is complete. Phase II is being formulated.  For therapy modalities to exist in today's medical marketplace, there must be an evidence base. 

Developmental Trauma Disorder Field Trial Site

Reiss-Davis Fellows underwent training to help collect data so that we can contribute to this historically significant study, spear-headed by Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, our 2014 Reiss-Greenberg Chair, that will help to transform how the world perceives and treats those with complex childhood traumas. See more about this study at the   Trauma Center website.

Fear and the Inner Ear

In collaboration with Dr. Stephen Porges, we are using non-intrusive  instrumentation and protocols to evaluate children's ability to be receptive to learning.