Hermila Melero

Hermila Melero serves as an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Marriage & Family Therapy at Pacific Oaks College's Pasadena campus, bringing over 25 years of social work experience since 1995. Her clinical background spans group home settings for pregnant/parenting teens and community-based non-profit agencies addressing critical societal issues.

Her educational credentials include:

• BA from Pomona College, Claremont (1994)
• MSW from USC School of Social Work, Los Angeles (1998)

She maintains an active California LCSW license obtained in 2003.

Professor Melero's research focuses intensely on trauma, with specialized expertise in adult survivors of child sexual abuse. Over the past decade, she has expanded her work to examine trauma-addiction intersections while addressing community violence, intimate partner violence, child abuse/neglect, and sexual assault through bilingual (English/Spanish) therapeutic frameworks. Her clinical approach emphasizes trauma-informed care across diverse populations.

Her scholarly contributions address adaptive social work education during crises, exemplified by her 2021 pandemic-era study analyzing remote field education logistics, supervision challenges, and curriculum modifications for social work trainees.