Media Advisory – Coping with current COVID-19, the election and other stressors

November 13, 2020

Media Advisory – Coping with current COVID-19, the election and other stressors

CARBONDALE, Ill. – Experts from Southern Illinois University Carbondale are available to share their advice and expertise with media for stories about how people can cope with the stresses associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, the hotly contested 2020 presidential election and other ongoing issues, compounded by ever-present social media and the approaching family holidays.

These experts, along with their areas of expertise and contact information to arrange interviews, include:

• Jaime Clark, director of counseling and psychological services/associate director of Student Health Services. Her areas of expertise include the mental health impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the elections and the racial climate. She can be reached at jaimec@siu.edu or 970-397-3005.
• Lisabeth DiLalla, professor of behavioral sciences in the Family and Community Medicine Department of the School of Medicine and professor of psychology in the School of Psychological and Behavioral Sciences. Her areas of expertise include family coping and young child development. She can be reached at ldilalla@siu.edu.
• Usha Lakshmanan, professor in the brain and cognitive sciences program in the School of Psychological and Behavioral Sciences. She is a trained Sky Campus Happiness breath and meditation workshop facilitator who can discuss the use of breathing techniques and meditation to alleviate stress, relax and improve well-being. Her other areas of expertise include psycholinguistics, child’s first language acquisition, child/adult second language acquisition, bilingualism/multilingualism, and language and cognition. She can be reached at usha@siu.edu or 618-203-6517, and she can connect journalists to a student and alumnus who have benefitted from the breathing and meditation techniques.