• Drew University, Madison, NJ BA 1962 Psychology
• Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY M.S. 1966 Psychology
• Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY Ph.D. 1968 Clinical Psychology

Dept. of Psychiatry, VCU Medical Center

Robert Cohen is Professor and Vice Chair of the Department of Psychiatry at Virginia Commonwealth University. He is an investigator at the VCU Clark Hill Institute for Positive Youth Development and a consultant for the Coordinating Center for the National Academic Centers of Excellence on Youth Violence Prevention (University of Hawaii). He served as PI for the VCU Academic Center of Excellence on Youth Violence Prevention from 2002-2005. He also serves as Director of the VCU Commonwealth Institute for Child and Family Studies and the Autism Center of Virginia. Most of his research is at the programmatic level. Primary areas of interest include:development of comprehensive children’s mental health systems, youth violence prevention, and organizational/community development. Research activities include:

• Pilot Study on How to Enhance Family Engagement with Urban Schools. Working with a middle school in Richmond to develop effective strategies for engaging families. First phase is to identify issues and concerns through parent satisfaction survey and focus groups. Based on these data will work with Principal and other school personnel to develop, implement and evaluate an intervention to enhance the identified aspect of family engagement.
• Reducing Recidivism in Youth Admitted to an Academic Medical Center with Intentional Injuries. Faculty from the VCU Departments of Trauma Surgery, Pediatric Emergency Services and Psychiatry are conducting a small study designed to assess the effectiveness of a hospital-initiated secondary prevention program directed at youth aged 10-21 who have been victims of intentional injury. Eligible youth will be randomly assigned to one of three groups: 1) youth and families receive a 2 hour education program while in hospital on how to avoid becoming a victim of intentional injury; 2) youth and families receive hospital education plus intensive case management for youth and family beginning in hospital and continuing for up to 6 months. Measures will be taken at baseline, 2 and 6months to assess changes on multiple behavioral and attitudinal indicators.
• Feasibility Study for Developing School-Community-Business Partnerships in the Richmond Public Schools. Worked with a Steering Committee of City and School officials and business leaders to review literature, assess current status of partnerships on behalf of fostering student learning in the Richmond Public Schools, and develop a template and plan for improving school-community-business partnerships in all Richmond schools. Study included focus groups of key stakeholders and surveys of all public school principals in Richmond.
• Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design in School Settings. Conducted several pilot studies in the use of environmental modification to improve perception and reality of school safety in selected high schools in Richmond. Using incident report data and student surveys, we are measuring pre- and post-effects of targeted environmental improvements.
• Comprehensive Services Act for At-Risk Youth and Families. Have been involved in several outcome and feasibility studies related to how to most effectively serve at-risk youth and their families. Continue to be interested in utilization management process, introduced as a result of a feasibility study conducted by VCU’s Commonwealth Institute for Child and Family Studies in the 1990s.

Psych 655 Graduate course in Community Interventions.