Mental Health and Wellness


Our mental health services are designed to help our clients achieve psychological well-being and support the development of a healthy emotional state to enjoy life, manage normal stresses, establish balance, and attain psychological resilience allowing them to realize their potential and make a contribution to their community.

Therapy and Counseling


Our services help children and teens understand themselves and better manage issues that may interfere with their ability to be successful.
We offer Evidence Based Programs as well as psychodynamic and relationship based services.

Play Therapy uses play as the primary modality to support children with internal struggles or emotional problems that are difficult to resolve through other forms of intervention or talk therapy.

Family Therapy helps parents work together with their children to strengthen relationships through better communication. It helps them understand and deal with behavior issues, social and emotional problems, or other mental health issues that interfere with their ability to parent successfully.

Parenting Work utilizes a parent-therapist team approach to support the parent in developing a more reflective style in an effort to gain a better understanding of their child’s/teen’s behavior and to facilitate better communication and cooperation between parents and children.

Our Evidence Based Programs include:

  • Child Parent Psychotherapy
  • Managing and Adapting Practices
  • Reflective Parenting

Field-Based Services

  • Mental health services provided to clients at home, school, or other community locations
  • Field-based services allow us to minimize barriers to access care for clients who may not otherwise seek services in a traditional mental health setting. It enable us to meet clients “where they are” and provide an array of services such as individual therapy, parent support, family therapy, case management and linkage

These services are available at multiple locations.

VDM Outpatient Center

(310) 836-1223, Intake ext 500


Family Service of Santa Monica

(310) 451-9747, ask for Intake

Early Intervention


Early Head StartThrough education and social support, we invest in the early years of a child’s development by helping identify and meet the needs of children up to age five who are at risk of child abuse or neglect or who have been identified with developmental delays.

The Early Head Start program provides comprehensive child development, health, mental health and family support services to low-income pregnant women and families with young children. The Early Head Start services are provided through a home visit program and through child care partnerships.

EHS Program Report FY 2014-2015

Child Care Program is our comprehensive program that provides subsidized child care, child development, mental health, and family support services to income-eligible families through a network of 12 state licensed family child care homes in Hollywood and Mid Wilshire areas.

The above Early Intervention services are available through Vista Village. Please contact them at (323) 934-7979.

To Make an Online Payment for our Child Care Program, please click here.

The Early Childhood Wellbeing Project at Family Service of Santa Monica supports families with young children achieve optimal development. With emphasis on the social emotional health of young children in their first five years, we lay a foundation for school readiness and a lifetime of resiliency and success.

Services include:

  • Assessments of individual young children’s needs
  • Referral to services that meet the needs of a young child and his/her family
  • Child-Parent Psychotherapy
  • Training and consultation for early childhood professionals on social emotional development
  • Reflective Parenting Groups

Please contact Family Service of Santa Monica to inquire about this program at (310) 451-9747.

Vista Village

(323) 934-7979


Family Service of Santa Monica

(310) 451-9747

Additional Services

Psycho-Educational Diagnostic Services (PEDS) offers comprehensive, psychoeducational assessments to help children develop toward a brighter future using the following tools:

  • Learning Disabilities Assessment
  • Attention Deficit Evaluations
  • Preschool Consultation
  • Autism Spectrum Evaluations
  • Accommodation Assessments
  • Psychological Testing
  • Kindergarten Readiness
  • Career Testing and Planning

Please contact our PEDS Program Director, Lisa Blanchard, Psy.D., at (310) 204-1666 ext 307 for more information or download our brochure.

Neurofeedback is a training program that uses biofeedback techniques to directly train the brain. Neurofeedback has been found to be helpful in enhancing self-regulation and remediating certain brain dysregulation patterns including: AD/HD, disruptive behavioral problems, bedwetting, anxiety, depression, and sleep issues. This service is offered either as an alternative or adjunctive to medication treatment.

Please contact the Neurofeedback Coordinator at (310) 836-1223 ext 871

Clinical staff are on-site at several elementary, middle, and high schools throughout the Los Angeles Unified and the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School Districts providing direct services to children and their families. Additionally, our staff provides consultation services to teachers and school-site administrators, along with parent education.

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“Good Faith Estimate”

explaining how much your medical care will cost

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