Blog

You are walking through the forest on a clear day. The trees bustle around you, the birds tweet above you, and suddenly you stop. There is a large bear a few hundred feet ahead of you. You may notice the reaction from your body—your muscles may tense, your breathing may quicken, your heart may pound, your gut may ache. You now have three options: fight, flight, or freeze. This is the classic scenario psychology textbooks describe to begin the discussion on stress.

CFS welcomes first online Marital and Family Therapy MS cohort The Department of Counseling and Family Sciences is thrilled to welcome nine students as our first MFT MS online cohort! These students will engage in didactic and experiential learning within our online classrooms, plus rigorous clinical training with clients before graduating in 2.5 years. The MFT MS online program has been in development for more than two years within the Department of Counseling and Family Sciences, and mirrors our long-standing in-person program that has boasted COAMFTE approval since the 1970s.

We're excited to share that the Department of Social Work and Social Ecology and the Promotores Academy from the San Manuel Gateway College were together awarded the Peer Personnel Grant from OSPHD for 2021-23! Our program addresses a unique need for professional leadership development to work with community health workers (CHWs).

World Mental Health Day provides a platform to raise awareness of mental health issues around the world and to marshal support for advancing the development of and access to programs aimed at improving the mental health and ecological well-being for all humans. This year's focus for World Mental Health Day will showcase the efforts made around the world by the World Health Organization's (WHO) member countries to address mental health issues affected by COVID-19.

Through an interdisciplinary and collaborative effort, Loma Linda University Medical Center (LLUMC) recently received a $500,000 state grant to fund the development of a Sickle Cell Center. The Center seeks to provide the highest standard of care for adults with Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) within the Inland Empire region. Loma Linda University Health (LLUH) is one of ten sites in the state of California to receive this grant. Nearly 100,000 people in the United States live with Sickle Cell Disease—a rare, inherited blood disease that primarily impacts African- and Hispanic-Americans.

Welcome to the new school year! This year is our largest incoming class in the history of the School of Behavioral Health, and we are so excited that you have chosen Loma Linda University Health as your academic partner in success. For many of you, this is your first time on campus. It was so wonderful to meet some of you during our orientation and Welcome Back Bash. Instead of running from this nation's mental health needs, you felt a call to help those in need in our local and global communities.

Inadequate pediatric sleep is a major public health concern, especially for adolescents.1-3  In fact, about 70% of teens in the United States routinely sleep less than the 8 to 10 hours recommended by experts.4  These rates are particularly alarming considering poor and insufficient sleep is linked to impaired academic performance5, lower cognitive functioning6,7, poor emotional regulation8,9, worse mental health10-13, and negative physical health consequences such as increased risk of obesity.14-17 There are several evidence-based behavioral interventions to optimize sleep in you

Sam Ochse graduated from Loma Linda University with her Child Life Specialist MS during the summer of 2020. Like many students, her clinical training came to a temporary halt due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Department of Social Work and Social Ecology is proud to introduce our newest faculty member, Christi Bell, MSW, LCSW. Professor Bell received her bachelor’s degree in psychology and Master of Social Work from Cal State University, San Bernardino.

In honor of National Hispanic Heritage Month, we are sharing Latinas' personal insights into and recommendations for a healthy lifestyle following their participation in the Full Plate Living intervention. On March 12, 2020, the last of six program cohorts gathered for the last time in a crowded Moreno Valley classroom. Unbeknown to us all, that would be the very last time we would see each other again without masks covering our faces. Drastic changes and major program accommodations followed, forcing us to delay the final (cooking) class for months.