Blog

In February of this year, Director of Clinical Training for the Child Life Specialist Program, Alisha Saavedra, was part of a Students for International Mission Service (SIMS) trip to Baja, Mexico. One of the locations that the SIMS group visited was Door of Faith Orphanage (DOFO) in La Misión. DOFO is an amazing organization that has been providing orphan care for over 50 years. They have grown to be one of the largest orphanages in Baja, caring for approximately one hundred children at any given time.

The MEND (Mastering Each New Direction) team, led by Professor of Counseling and Family Sciences Dr. Brian Distelberg and alumnus Dr. Daniel Tapanes, have developed and implemented a program emphasizing mental health integration with chronic illness. MEND began as a collaborative project between the Loma Linda University Behavioral Medicine Center with School of Behavioral Health faculty. The program works with individuals from 8-80 years of age, and its focus is on identifying and coping with internal, external, or relational stressors that are impacting physical condition.

The Pediatric Brain and Spine Tumor Support Group provides emotional support and functions as a bridge between the medical and emotional needs of the patients and their families. The group was initiated by Dr. Tanya Minasian, Loma Linda University Children's Health neurosurgeon, and is facilitated by the SBH Child Life Specialist MS program and clinical directors, child life specialist graduate students, and doctoral psychology students. During the group, the children and their caregivers are divided into two groups.

A special mixer for alumni from the School of Behavioral Health was held on February 28 during Loma Linda University Health’s annual Homecoming weekend. Hosted in the Department of Psychology, alumni, faculty, and family turned out to enjoy a photo booth, a variety of door prizes (including a pen ink drawing by Dr. Beverly Buckles as well as hand turned pottery and a pen by Professor Terry Forrester), as well as delicious hors d’oeuvres and hot beverages. Dr.

The Child Life Specialist program has a bunch of exciting activities planned in celebration of Child Life Month! March 1 The program has been invited to attend Education Hour with the Child Life staff at Loma Linda University Children's Health. Allie's Helping Hands, a program that helps siblings of chronically ill children, will be presenting. March 6 Students will be volunteering at the annual Children's Day event through LLUCH at the Drayson Center. March 8 Faculty and students will be running the Child Life program's annual Teddy Bear Clinic, whic

One of the major shifts occurring in the United States is the aging of our population. It's projected that within just a couple of decades older people will outnumber children for the first time. By the year 2035, there will be approximately 78 million people aged 65 years and older. Department of Social Work and Social Ecology alumna Lori Delagrammatikas has long recognized the importance of providing needed services to seniors, particularly in the area of protective services.

The chances of you or someone you know being impacted by mental health challenges are very high. According to Mental Health America, 18% of adults in the United States have a mental health condition. That’s one out of five people--or over 43 million Americans. In addition, nearly half are also struggling with substance abuse. However, about 9 million people report having an unmet need. In California specifically, over 65% of people struggling with a mental health challenge are not getting the resources they need.

Disruptive behaviors are a common occurrence in children.

Over the summer, the Child Life Specialist MS cohort had the incredible opportunity to travel to China to share the concepts of child life internationally and to interact with patients, families, and professionals from a different culture. Throughout the course of our time in China, we traveled to three different hospitals located in Hangzhou and Quzhou. While at Children’s Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, we provided lectures on family-centered care and communication, introducing to nurses, physicians, and administrators the idea of One Voice for the very first time.

During the summer of 2018, directly following graduation festivities, I was honored to be a part of a team that traveled to Angola, Africa, to provide health education via health fairs and medical assistance, as well as community-building and networking for the future. Before the trip began, there were many planning meetings held on how best to serve the people of Angola, specifically in Bongo, Huambo, and Luanda.