Holly Morrell

Holly E. Morrell, PhD, is a Professor in the Department of Psychology at Loma Linda University's School of Behavioral Health, serving as Program Director for the SBH-Psychology (Clinical Psychology) PhD program. Her roles include Director of Clinical Training (2017–2022), Chair of the Academic Affairs Committee (2023–present), and membership in committees such as the Graduate Council and Internship Committee. She specializes in clinical psychology, behavioral health, and interventions targeting adolescent substance use, family stress in autism, and chronic illness management.

Education: PhD in Psychology (Details not explicitly stated in text).

Research Interests: Dr. Morrell's work focuses on adolescent health behaviors, including smoking and e-cigarette use, the impact of psychological vulnerabilities on health outcomes, mindfulness-based interventions for parenting stress, and chronic illness self-efficacy. Her studies often involve underserved populations and integrate behavioral, psychological, and technological approaches to improve mental and physical health outcomes.

Grants & Projects:

• Co-Investigator: Mindfulness and Parent Stress Reduction for Autism (NIH R15, $465,324).
• Lead: Stress-Reduction Techniques for Effective Parenting (STEPS Project, 2025–2026).
• Principal Investigator: Video Game Addiction and ADHD (2021–2022), Ethnic Differences in Body Image (2020–2021), and others.

Teaching: Teaches advanced statistics, clinical inquiry, and practicum courses at the graduate level, including Advanced Multivariate Statistics and PhD Clinical Inquiry.

Labs/Teams: Leads research teams focused on behavioral health interventions, particularly in pediatric chronic illness and autism spectrum disorder care. Collaborates with multidisciplinary groups on projects like TextSavvy and the STEPS initiative.