counseling and family sciences

Are you a second or 1.5 generation Chinese American, between the ages of 25 and 40, who has lived in Southern California? If so, we want to interview you! Our research team is exploring how second and 1.5 generation Chinese Americans navigate multiple cultures and form a bicultural identity. Study results will help professionals promote cultural self-awareness and resilience for Chinese American individuals and families.

A few weeks ago I was driving home with my three teenage sons--the oldest being 14 and a set of 13-year-old twin boys--from a local edible plant nursery that has stayed open during this COVID-19 crisis. We had gone by to pick up some herb and vegetable plants for the small garden we recently started in the back of our condo. On the way home, one of my boys said, "You know, the thing that I hate most about this pandemic is that I can't hang out with my friends." For many teens, socializing with their friends is a large part of their daily lived experience. From school to sports and other act

In 2001, I was working with families who had a child with cancer in Seattle, WA. It was an emotionally demanding job in which I walked through some very dark times with these families. One such time was during the crisis of September 11.

Sometimes you can't see the road ahead but as you keep going, it gets clearer. Stay the course as the fog of life dissipates. -Sanjo Jendayi

Since the COVID-19 crisis began, Systems, Families, & Couples PhD program graduate Danna Carter has been thinking about how best to contribute to the world in meaningful ways during this difficult time.

The other day a colleague asked me how I was doing and my response was: "Great. Um, pretty good. I mean, just okay, I guess." We both laughed heartily at my quickly changing state of mind, but also acknowledged its validity. I don't know about you, but the last few weeks have left me perplexed at my own responses to COVID-19. One moment I'm bored from not being able to leave my house and then next I'm overwhelmed by the state of the world and an uncertain future.

When a child experiences an injury or illness that requires an ambulance ride to a hospital, it can be a traumatic event. Often, pre-hospital providers such as paramedics and emergency medical technicians (EMTs) have minimal knowledge of traumatic stress in children. They haven’t been trained in utilizing coping techniques or the provision of psychosocial care to pediatric patients and their families.

Imagine being at a national convention when, all of a sudden, a book publisher approaches you with a request to write a book about the journey of becoming a marriage and family therapist. That’s exactly what happened to Jessica ChenFeng, PhD, LMFT, alumna of the Loma Linda University School of Behavioral Health’s Counseling and Family Sciences Department.

Loma Linda University’s Department of Counseling and Family Sciences (CFS) was well-represented at the 2019 American Family Therapy Academy (AFTA) Conference in Oakland, California. CFS students, faculty, and alumni were listed as presenters on just under twenty-five percent of the over sixty-five presentations given at this year’s conference.

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.