Community Academic Research

The CARE Lab is run by Dr. Maya Boustani at Loma Linda University. The goal of The CARE Lab is to develop academic-research collaborations to reduce mental health disparities for vulnerable youth and families. The research rests on three principles (a) prioritize research-practice partnerships in the design and delivery of services; (b) identify low-cost ways to disseminate evidence-based practices in communities of need, using indigenous resources; and (c) attend closely to workforce and organizational factors that support feasibility, effective implementation, and sustainability of evidence based practice.

Maya Mroué Boustani, PhD

Lab Director, Assistant Professor

Shayna Greenberg

Lab Manager, PhD Student

James Hodgins

PhD Student

Diana Marin

PhD Student

Erica Mazzone

PhD Student

Lennisha Pinckney

PhD Student

Emma Franklin

PsyD Student

Colin Mahler

PsyD Student

Julia Sanchez

PsyD Student

Gabriela Bagnara

PsyD Student

Jaynish Hazari

PsyD Student

Kelly Vogel

PsyD Student

Chalita Antommarchi

PsyD Student

Hannah Jutzy

PhD Student

Talia Banayan

PsyD Student

Savannah Bachar

PsyD Student

Veronica Nakla

PhD Student

Dina Bashoura

PsyD Student

Chris Blank

PsyD Student

Stacy Frazier, PhD

Professor

Florida Institute University

Christine Lisetti, PhD

Professor

Florida International University

Sigrid Burruss, MD

Surgeon

Loma Linda University

Daniel Michelson, PhD

Clinical Senior Lecturer

King’s College London, UK

Leslie Rith-Najarian, PhD

Lecturer

Harvard University

Thomas Engell, Phd

Researcher

Norway

PROJECT eEVA

This project investigates human-computer interactions with a virtual health agent delivering Motivational Interviewing.

PROJECT YASP

The purpose of this study is to determine if the Youth Alternative Solutions Program is effective at reducing incarcerations and hospital admissions related to substance use.

PROJECT SOARing

The School-Based Opportunities for Adolescent Recovery (SOARing) study examines the preliminary effectiveness of an adolescent DBT-skills group treatment delivered in a school-based setting.

PROJECT CHWs

The CHWs project aims to reduce burnout among Community Health Workers providing home visits to under-served families of children experiencing chronic absenteeism from school in San Bernardino.

PROJECT PROBLEM-SOLVING SKILLS TRAINING (PSST)

This project proposes to unpack Problem-Solving as a complex skill set to reduce risk for internalizing problems for young people.

San Bernardino City Unified School District

We are excited to be partnering with the San Bernardino City Unified School District on mental health and wellness initiatives.

Literature Reviews

Conceptual & other papers

Project SOARing (DBT skills)

Project eEVA (collab with FIU Computer Science)

Project PRIDE India (UCLA)

Engaging Families (UCLA)

Emergent Life Events (UCLA)

Sexual health for youth (FIU)

Drug Court (UM)

Modeling rapport for conversations about health with autonomous avatars from video corpus of clinician-client therapy sessions

Reza Amini, Maya Boustani, Christine Lisetti

Project SOARing: Preliminary Feasibility of a Tier 2 DBT-Based Skills Program for At-Risk Adolescents

Chalita Antommarchi, Shayna Greenberg, Gabriela Bagnara, Hannah Jutzy, Kelly Vogel, Talia Banayan, Maya Boustani

Impact of COVID-19 on Community Health Workers: Semi-Structured Interviews

Diane G. Marin, Dina Bashoura, Hannah Jutzy, Maya M. Boustani

Stepping out on your own and into the community: Launching a community-engaged research program

Park, A., Barnett, M., Boustani, M., Lakind, D., Okamura, K. & Wright, B.

Acceptability of a Digital Health Agent that Delivers Motivational Interviewing to Treat Alcohol Abuse: Comparing provider responses to consumer responses

Hazari, J., Hodgins, J., Marin, D., Lisetti, C, Boustani, M.

School-Based Opportunities for Adolescent Recovery (SOARing): The Acceptability and Feasibility of a DBT Skills Pilot Program for At-Risk Adolescents

Erica Mazzone, Chalita Antommarchi, Gabriela Bagnara, Hannah Jutzy, and Maya Boustani

Acceptability and feasibility of using an online digital health agent to deliver MI to treat alcohol abuse: Consumer Perspectives

Maya Boustani, Stephanie Lunn, Mihai Polceanu, Christine Lisetti

Now Streaming: Disseminating CBT through Public-Facing Platforms

Moderators: Tommy Chou & Xin Zhao Panelists: Riana Anderson, Maya Boustani, Tommy Chou, Anne Morrow, Eric Youngstrom

Adolescent engagement in a transdiagnostic mental health treatment delivered in Indian schools

Resham Gellatly, M.A., Maya M. Boustani, Ph.D., Kanika Malik, Ph.D., Daniel Michelson, DClinPsy, Kimberly Becker, Ph.D., Rujuta Mahajan, M.A., Abhijeet Jambhale, M.A., Rooplata Sahu, M.A., Pooja Nair, Vikram Patel, MBBS, Ph.D., Bruce F. Chorpita, Ph.D.

Helping those who help others: A qualitative analysis of Community Health Workers’ Training and Supervision Needs

Maya Boustani, PhD, Diane Marin, BS, Dina Bashoura, BSA, Chris Blank, BA

Helping those who help others: Building a system to empower community health workers who provide services to vulnerable families

Maya M. Boustani, Ph.D., Dina Bashoura, Diane Marin

Development and preliminary effectiveness of an early intervention Dialectical-Behavior Therapy skills tier 2 program delivered in an underserved school-based setting.

Maya Boustani, PhD, Chalita Antommarchi, BS, Hannah Jutzy, BS, Erica Mazzone, BA, Gaby Bagnara, MA, Kelly Vogel, BS, Talia Banayan, BA

Project SOARing (DBT skills)

Project Community Health Workers

Project PSST (Problem-Skills Training)

Project eEVA (digital health agent)

Other projects

A Meta-Analysis of the Literature on the Impact of Problem Solving on Internalizing Problems

Colin Mahler, M.A. Loma Linda University

Shelter Staff Perceptions of the Experience of Physicians Seeking Services for Intimate Partner Violence

Gabriela Bagnara Loma Linda University

A Mental Health Needs Assessment of Low-Income Students Attending an Alternative High School: Qualitative Findings

Kelly Vogel, M.A. Chair: Maya Boustani, Ph.D. Department of Psychology, Loma Linda University

Exploring Resiliency Effects of Growth Mindset in Education

Talia Banayan Loma Linda University

Clinical Utility of a Digital Health Agent to Deliver Motivational Interviewing to Treat Alcohol Abuse

Jaynish Hazari, MPH, MA Department of Psychology Loma Linda University

School-Based Opportunities for Adolescent Recovery (SOARing): Preliminary Feasibility of a Tier 2 DBT-Based Skills Program for At-Risk Adolescents Residing in an Underserved Community

Chalita Antommarchi

Department of Psychology partners with San Bernardino City Unified School District

Dr. Boustani speaks to San Bernardino school counselors

Practice Corner: Forty Years of Engagement Research in Children’s Mental Health Services: Multidimensional Measurement and Practice Elements

Stay-at-home orders disproportionately impact youth in or at-risk for foster care

The Impact of COVID-19 on Vulnerable Youth

Maya Boustani and The CARE Lab members at WPA conference 2023

Maya Boustani, The CARE Lab and Dr. Zimbardo at WPA conference 2023

Veronica Nakla presenting her paper at WPA 2023

Maya Boustani and James Hodgins at WPA conference 2023

Maya Boustani and Diana Marin at WPA conference 2023

Erica Mazzone presenting her poster at WPA conference 2023

Maya Boustani and Julia Sanchez at WPA conference 2023

SIRC 2022

Dr. Boustani and Dr. Engell at SIRC 2022

Ms. Ceballos community partner from Sierra High School receives Mental Health Champion at ABCT 2022

Colin Mahler presenting at WPA 2022

Veronica Nakla presenting her poster at WPA 2022

Maya Boustani and Jaynish Hazari at ABCT 2020

ABCT 2020 from home due to Covid

Dr. JC Belliard, Maya Boustani, and Ms. Yesenia Ceballos at the Institute for Community Partnerships LLU, 2019

Jaynish Hazari presenting his doc project at ABCT conference 2019

Maya Boustani catches up with her FIU family at ABCT conference 2018

Maya Boustani and Wendy Chu at ABCT 2018

Maya Boustani trains school counselors on strategies to manage anxiety in school settings. Cal State San Bernardino, 2019

Kelly Vogel presents her research at the Miami International Child & Adolescent Mental Health (MICAMH) Conference 2020

Gaby Bagnara defends her doctoral project 2019

Kelly Voge's Doctoral Project Defense

Talia Banayan's Doctoral Project Defense

Jaynish Hazari's Doctoral Project Defense

Chalita Antommarchi's Doctoral Project Defense

Dina Bashoura's Doctoral Project Defense 2021

Chris Blank's Doctoral Project Defense 2021

Colin Mahler's Doctoral Project Defense 2021

James Hodgins' Dissertation Proposal 2022

Shayna Greenberg's Dissertation Proposal 2022

Veronica Nakla's Doctoral Project Defense 2022

Hannah Jutzy's Doctoral Project Defense 2022

Diana Marin and Maya Boustani representing their heritage

Erica & Maya at the 2023 Stand up to Stigma 5K

CARE Lab holiday party 2022

TRAC Faculty, Drs. Maya Boustani, Tori Van Dyk, Catie Sanner, Camie Neece, & Aarti Nair

Official portrait of TRAC faculty 2022!

More holiday fun 2022

Annual TRAC Holiday Party 2022

Dr. Boustani and her family run in the 5K to end stigma against mental illness 2019

CARE lab reverse trick or treating Halloween 2019

CARE lab toy drive Christmas 2019

CARE lab holiday party 2019

Maya Boustani in front of Andy Warhol's 1984 "Rorschach" — at The Broad.

Noah - Dr. Boustani's dog

LLU Child Faculty brainstorming at their annual retreat 2021

Faculty retreat 2021

CARE lab reverse trick or treating - Halloween 2021

LLU Child Faculty at the annual Child Research Holiday Party 2021

CARE Lab 2021 holiday gathering

Yesenia Ceballos at Olive Branch Center

2022-2023 Sierra High School Wellness Center Internal Practicum Team

Internal Prac first cohort at Sierra High School's new wellness center

Abby and Gaby prepare to deliver their DBT school-based group

Maya Boustani and Yesenia Ceballos - our mental health champion at our partnering high school

Prepping tablets for data collection

Sierra High School Health Fair 2023

Class of 2022

Class of 2023

Thank you for your interest in joining the CARE lab. Although we would love to take in all students interested in our work, we have limited slots (vary year to year based on Dr. Boustani's other obligations). You may be able to participate in one of our research studies by helping with data collection, analysis or other tasks without necessarily having your dissertation chaired by Dr. Boustani. Please discuss these options with Dr. Boustani directly.

If you are interested in joining the lab, please consider the following steps:

Fall and Winter of your first year:

Email Dr. Boustani a copy of your CV, your transcript, and a cover letter explaining why you are interested in working in the lab and what project you are interested in working on (see a list of projects here: https://www.thecarelabllu.com/research-projects). If you are interested in an independent project, please make the case in your cover letter about how it fits with the lab's mission and Dr. Boustani's areas of expertise.
Attend a CARE lab meeting. If your schedule prevents that, please arrange to watch a recording of one of our meetings.

Dr. Boustani will let you know of acceptance into the lab by Spring of your first year (at the latest).

If you join the lab, you agree to the following:

Attend weekly lab meetings
Donate 5 to 10 hours per week to data collection / data analysis of various ongoing projects
Develop a research project (doc project or dissertation) that is related to an ongoing study in the lab in part or in whole (I recommend that PsyDs pick to use data from an ongoing study)
Discuss with Dr. Boustani before volunteering your time in any other work (working in another lab, TAship, supplemental practicum experiences or even work outside the lab )
Follow timelines for doctoral project completion, as outlined by Dr. Boustani

Our lab handbook is available here

Assessment Center: The assessment batteries ask questions about the most common psychological disorders. Upon the completion of the questionnaire, you will get your results and additional resources. You will also get the option to download a PDF of your results, which may be helpful for consulting a clinician or for your own documentation.

Effective Child Therapy: Information about accessing evidence-based therapies, the most common psychological disorders in children and more.

MyndHealth: Skill-building to promote mental wellness.

Other Resources:

A Guide to Teletherapy

Never Give Up: A Complex Trauma Film by Youth for Youth

How to Deal with Anxiety

Guided Meditations

Child Relaxation Scripts

Resources for Youth Wellbeing

This page is regularly updated and includes resources related to racial justice that are applicable to children and adolescent mental health:

Coping with Racial Trauma (University of Georgia)

Below is a compilation of resources to get through the emotional impact of the COVID-19 pandemic:

Mental health resources:

Distant Together: Mental health resources during COVID-19

How teenagers can protect their mental health during coronavirus (COVID-19) (WHO)

Coping with Coronavirus Fears and Anxiety (UCLA)

Strategies to decrease fears and Anxiety (Anxiety and Depression Association of America)

Free Guided Meditations

Coping and emotion regulation strategies

FACE COVID: How to respond effectively to the Corona Crisis

Brief and free online stress coping intervention for teens

Self-help apps

Resources for kids and parents:

Helping parents with their kids at home

Talking to your kids about coronavirus (Eng) - En Español

12 tips to help kids cope with social distancing (Eng) - En Español

School's out: A parent's guide to meeting the challenge

Kids are schooling at home: Tips for managing their behaviors

Help your child balance social distancing and schoolwork (FIU)

Turning your home into a school (a comic)

How to calm your kids and yourself

Supporting individuals with autism through uncertain times

Supporting families with children with ASD

Books and comics for kids:

COVIBOOK: A book about corona virus for children - available in multiple languages

A comic for kids about the coronavirus

Something Strange Happened in my City: Audiobook

Something Strange Happened in my City: PDF book

RESEARCH Resources:

SPSS Statistics Guide: Offers step-by-step instructions on how to perform common statistical procedures on SPSS

Power Analysis in R

Manuscript Writing checklist

CLINICAL Resources:

Mental Health App Finder and Guide (Psyber Guide)

Self-Help Apps (VA)

NIH Publications in Spanish about Mental Health Conditions

Guidelines for Conducting Telehealth

Resources for Implementing TF-CBT Via Telehealth

Psychological First Aid

C.A.R.E. Package for Racial Healing (1st-Edition)

WEBINARS:

Using Evidence to Solve New Problems by Bruce Chorpita

Suicide Prevention in schools by NIH

BOOKS, PODCASTS, & MORE

The Social Work Podcast

A List of Must-Reads for Women in Academia

Dr. Schleider's List of Resources

Community-Academic Research Endeavor

About Us

Meet our Team

Maya Mroué Boustani, PhD

Shayna Greenberg

James Hodgins

Diana Marin

Erica Mazzone

Lennisha Pinckney

Emma Franklin

Colin Mahler

Julia Sanchez

Gabriela Bagnara

Jaynish Hazari

Kelly Vogel

Chalita Antommarchi

Hannah Jutzy

Talia Banayan

Savannah Bachar

Veronica Nakla

Dina Bashoura

Chris Blank

Stacy Frazier, PhD

Christine Lisetti, PhD

Sigrid Burruss, MD

Daniel Michelson, PhD

Leslie Rith-Najarian, PhD

Thomas Engell, Phd

Research Projects

Community Partners

San Bernardino City Unified School District

Publications

Literature Reviews

Conceptual & other papers

Project SOARing (DBT skills)

Project eEVA (collab with FIU Computer Science)

Project PRIDE India (UCLA)

Engaging Families (UCLA)

Emergent Life Events (UCLA)

Sexual health for youth (FIU)

Drug Court (UM)

Presentations

Posters

Project SOARing (DBT skills)

Project Community Health Workers

Project PSST (Problem-Skills Training)

Project eEVA (digital health agent)

Other projects

Doctoral Projects

Other Articles

Photos

Interested Students

Community Resources

RACIAL JUSTICE*

COPING WITH COVID-19*

Professional Resources