Department of Counseling and Family Sciences

Bryan Cafferky, PhD

PhD, Marriage and Family Therapy — Kansas State University, 2015

  • Meta-analysis
  • Structural equation modeling
  • Qualitative research
  • Bowen family systems
  • Family violence
  • Military families

Chyrene Cutting, DMFT

Doctor of Marital and Family Therapy — Loma Linda University, 2022

  • Emotionally focused couples therapy
  • Spirituality and integrative treatment
  • Clinical advocacy and policy
  • Intimate partner violence
  • Cultural considerations, ethics, and practice; MENA populations
  • PHP, IOP, and inpatient hospitalization
  • Training and supervision
  • Program development

Brian J. Distelberg, PhD

PhD — Michigan State University, 2009

  • Health
  • Chronic illnesses
  • Translational research
  • Family systems
  • Research methodologies
  • Statistics
  • Multivariate analysis

Elizabeth J. James, DMFT

Doctor of Marital and Family Therapy — Loma Linda University, 2023

  • Child and adolescent
  • Pregnancy, prenatal, and postpartum depression
  • Attachment and bonding
  • Family systems
  • Relationship issues
  • Trauma and EMDR
  • Neurodevelopmental disorders (ASD, ADHD)
  • Behavioral issues
  • DIR/Floortime and ABA
  • Clinical supervision and mentorship
  • Advancement of marriage and family therapy
  • Person of the therapist

Zephon D. Lister, PhD

PhD, Marriage and Family Therapy — Loma Linda University, 2010

  • Couples and chronic illness
  • Medical family therapy/integrated behavioral health
  • Religion and family functioning
  • Global mental health
  • Low dose interventions for acute and low resource settings

Lena Lopez Bradley, PhD

PhD, Marriage and Family Therapy — Loma Linda University, 2013

  • Couples therapy
  • At-risk youth
  • Anger management
  • Crisis intervention and trauma
  • Clinical training and supervision
  • School-based programs
  • Mandated clients
  • Program development

Michelle A. Minyard-Widmann, MS

MS, Child Life Development/Child Life — University of La Verne, 1995

  • Child development
  • Stress and coping in the hospital environment
  • Grief and loss
  • Program development

Winetta A. Oloo, PhD

PhD, Marriage and Family Therapy — Loma Linda University, 2006

  • Recovery-oriented care
  • Clinical supervision
  • Adolescent and transitional-aged youth development
  • Treating severe mental illness

Nichola Ribadu, DMFT

Doctor of Marriage and Family Therapy — Loma Linda University, 2008

  • At-risk youth
  • Group homes for at-risk youth
  • Program development
  • Staff development and trainings (group home, managed care, community mental health)
  • Community mental health
  • Professional mentoring
  • Narrative therapy
  • Diversity
  • Self-of-therapist

Alisha Saavedra, MA

MA, Psychology (emphasis in Child Development) — California State University, San Bernardino, 2009

  • Child development
  • Stress and coping in the hospital environment
  • Grief and loss
  • Clinical training and supervision
  • Promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in child life

Randall Walker, MS

MS, Counseling — California State University, Fullerton, 1983

  • Substance use treatment and recovery
  • Mindfulness-based relapse prevention
  • Clinical supervision

Jacqueline M. Williams-Reade, PhD

PhD, Medical Family Therapy — East Carolina University, 2011

  • Medical family therapy
  • Adult and pediatric illness
  • Palliative and hospice care
  • Maternal mental health
  • Burnout
  • Grief and loss
  • Qualitative research
  • Women's professional development in academia

Monique E. Willis, PhD

PhD, Marital and Family Therapy — Loma Linda University, 2014

  • Caregivers and chronic illness
  • Intersectional justice, health equity, and wellness
  • Person of the therapist and self-care
  • Black and brown women's leadership in academia
  • Qualitative research

Department of Psychology

Hector M. Betancourt

PhD, Psychology — University of California, Los Angeles, 1983

  • Social, cultural, and health psychology
  • Cognition (attribution)-emotion processes in interpersonal and inter-group behavior
  • Role of culture in psychological processes and behavior
  • Culture, diversity, and behavior in health and social issues
  • Cultural and psychological factors in social inequities and health disparities

Maya Boustani

PhD, Psychology (Child and Adolescent Clinical Science) — Florida International University, 2016

  • Child and adolescent evidence-based treatments
  • Mental health prevention and promotion
  • Community-based research
  • Dissemination and implementation research

Kendal C. Boyd

PhD, Psychology — Fuller Theological Seminary Graduate School of Psychology, 1999

  • Psychology of religion and spirituality
  • Cognitive behavior therapy

Colleen A. Brenner

PhD, Psychology — University of Indiana, Bloomington, 2006

  • Serious mental illness (focus on schizophrenia and bipolar disorder)
  • Clinical neuropsychology
  • Electroencephalography (EEG)
  • Resiliency, self-efficacy, overall health, and well-being in serious mental illness
  • Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Psychosis (CBTp)

Patricia M. Flynn

PhD, Psychology — Loma Linda University, 2005

  • Cultural and health psychology
  • Health disparities and inequities
  • Cultural and psychological factors in health behavior and outcome
  • Cultural competence training in graduate medical education
  • Implicit bias in patient-provider clinical interactions

Richard E. Hartman

PhD, Behavior, Brain and Cognition — Washington University, 2001

  • Behavioral neuroscience with an emphasis on improving the brain's resiliency against neurodegenerative conditions (e.g., Alzheimer's, stroke, traumatic brain injury) via a variety of therapeutic strategies, but especially diet/nutrition

Grace J. Lee

PhD, Clinical Psychology — Fuller Theological Seminary Graduate School of Psychology, 2009

  • Clinical neuropsychology
  • Cognitive aging
  • Neurodegenerative disorders
  • Neuroimaging correlates of cognition and behavior

Holly E. R. Morrell

PhD, Clinical Psychology — Texas Tech University, 2007

  • Combustible cigarette use
  • E-cigarette use
  • Video game addiction
  • Advanced multivariate analysis

Kelly R. Morton

PhD, Life-Span Developmental Psychology — Bowling Green State University, 1992

  • Relationship between Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), negative emotions, and physical health outcomes
  • Stress and health
  • Social support and health
  • Religion and health
  • Care quality in primary care
  • Primary care psychology
  • Dietary intake and morbidity and mortality

Aarti Nair

PhD, Neuropsychology — San Diego State University/University of California, San Diego, 2015

  • Autism spectrum disorder
  • Early-onset psychosis
  • Neuroimaging
  • Social cognition
  • Translational neuroscience
  • Pediatric neuropsychology

Cameron L. Neece

PhD, Clinical Psychology — University of California, Los Angeles, 2011

  • Developmental psychology
  • Childhood disorder (emphasis on intellectual disabilities, autism, and disruptive behavior disorders)
  • Parenting and family processes
  • Treatment outcome research (focus on mindfulness approaches)

Bridgette J. Peteet

PhD, Clinical Psychology — University of Cincinnati, 2005

  • Multicultural psychology
  • Substance use prevention and intervention
  • Health disparities and inequities
  • Cultural consciousness/equity and inclusion training

Janet Sonne

PhD, Clinical Psychology — University of California, Los Angeles, 1981

  • Ethical and legal issues in professional practice of clinical psychology (ethical/legal standards; ethical/legal decision-making; therapist misconduct)
  • Interpersonal dynamics in the psychotherapy dyad
  • Supervision/consultation
  • Adult and child sexual abuse
  • Adult and adolescent eating disorders
  • Adult and adolescent suicide

Tori R. Van Dyk

PhD, Clinical Psychology — University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2016

  • Pediatric health psychology
  • Pediatric health behavior promotion and intervention
  • Sleep
  • Pediatric pain and headache/migraine
  • Child and adolescent mental health
  • Integrated behavioral health

David A. Vermeersch

PhD, Clinical Psychology — Brigham Young University, 1998

  • Psychotherapy outcome
  • Psychotherapy quality management
  • Therapist effects on outcome
  • Effects of therapist/patient feedback on outcome
  • Reducing deterioration in psychotherapy
  • Effectiveness and patient-focused research
  • Outcome test construction

Department of Social Work and Social Ecology

Qais Alemi, PhD

PhD, Social Policy and Social Research — Loma Linda University, 2013

  • Psychosocial needs of populations affected by political violence
  • Stigma, prejudice, racial, and religious discrimination
  • Immigrant and refugee acculturation, adjustment, identity, and resiliency
  • Mental health help-seeking behaviors

Kelly Baek, PhD

PhD, Social Policy and Social Research — Loma Linda University, 2018

  • Mental health
  • Culturally-sensitive interventions
  • Program development and evaluation
  • Community-based research

Christi Bell, MSW

MSW, Social Work — California State University, San Bernardino, 2014

  • Child welfare
  • Child abuse and neglect
  • LGBTQ+ youth in the foster care system
  • Trauma-informed parenting
  • Trauma-informed practice with children
  • Trauma-informed management in the workplace
  • Preventing burnout and compassion fatigue in social work settings

Monte Butler, PhD

PhD, Social Work — University of Utah, 2003

  • Social work administration
  • Medicare

Kimberly R. Freeman, PhD

PhD, Clinical Psychology — Loma Linda University, 1999

  • Child mental health
  • Assessment
  • Childhood trauma
  • Adolescent self-harm
  • Community based wellness

Talolo Lepale, MSW, MBA

Master of Social Work — Loma Linda University, 1999
Master of Business Administration — University of Redlands, 2003

  • Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
  • Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
  • Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT)
  • Individual psychotherapy
  • Team building
  • Psychosocial oncology
  • Medical social work
  • Working with adults and older adults
  • Trauma, anxiety, depression, grief, and end-of-life

Susanne Montgomery, PhD

PhD, Health Behavior/EPI — University of Michigan, 1987

  • Research design and analyses
  • Translational research (clinical and applied)
  • Community involved and based research
  • Health disparities research
  • Program evaluation and evaluation research

Larry Ortiz, PhD

PhD, Sociology — State University of New York, Buffalo, 1987

  • Race and ethnic studies
  • Critical theory
  • Latino/a issues
  • Community practice
  • Program evaluation
  • Social justice practice

Lynn Raine, PhD

PhD, Social Work — Smith College, 2019

  • Mental health
  • Trauma
  • Psychodynamic therapy
  • Latino/Latina therapy
  • Social work education

Division of Interdisciplinary Studies

Alex Dubov, PhD

PhD, Health Care Ethics — Duquesne University, 2017

  • mHealth interventions
  • Behavioral economics
  • Medical decision-making
  • Conjoint analysis
  • HIV prevention
  • Implementation science

Susanne B. Montgomery, PhD, MPH, MS

PhD, Health Behavior/EPI - University of Michigan, 1987

  • Research design and analyses
  • Translational research (clinical and applied)
  • Community involved and based research
  • Health disparities research