The Home Within the Heart Center for Families and Communities is a clinical-research center dedicated to the development, implementation, and dissemination of evidence-based approaches that strengthen family and community resilience, with a particular focus on early childhood. The Center was founded and is led by Prof. Yael Mayer and Dr. Yael Enav, clinical psychologists and faculty members at the University of Haifa.

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The Center grew out of the response provided to families and communities following the events of October 7 and the war, through direct work with displaced families, families of reserve service members, and communities facing prolonged emergency conditions. Building on this work, the Center now operates in both routine and emergency contexts, promoting resilience, supportive relationships, and the mental health of children and the significant adults in their lives.

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Areas of Activity

The Center integrates therapeutic intervention, professional training and development, research, and technological innovation. It develops and delivers therapeutic programs for parents, children, and educational teams; provides training for professionals in the fields of mental health and education; and develops AI-based simulations for learning and practice for parents and educational teams, in both routine and emergency contexts.

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All of the Center’s work is grounded in clinical and research-based knowledge and in the Reflective Playfulness (RPP) model, which integrates playfulness and mentalization and places the relationship between children and the significant adults in their lives at its core.