New Faculty Spotlight: MFT Professor Julie Payne

This fall we are excited to welcome a new faculty member to our MFT program, Assistant Professor Julie Payne. Let’s learn a little more about her!

What classes are you teaching this year?

I am currently teaching MFT 570 Advanced Psychopathology, MFT573 Crisis Management and Clinical Process, MFT 588 Assessment and Treatment of Substance Abuse, and MFT 694 Practicum. In the spring I’ll be teaching MFT 516 Assessment and Treatment of Individuals and Families, MFT 532 Research and Bibliographic Methods, and MFT 573 Crisis Management and Clinical Process and MFT 694 Practicum.

Can you tell us a little more about your research interest and why you were drawn to research this topic?

I have 2 areas of interest when it comes to research. Chronic pain/illness and disability has been a specialty of mine since I started in the field. It is an area that I regularly present on and have a lot of personal experience which is why I am passionate about research within this population. I have seen more awareness and research regarding the impact of chronic pain/illness and disability as well as how to work with this population over the last decade. It gives me hope that we can make a significant difference in how we work with this population and how we can help educate medical professionals in ways that are beneficial for individuals experiencing chronic pain/illness and disability.

The other area of interest includes working with children and adolescents from a trauma-informed approach.  My dissertation focused on the development of a campus based mental health care program geared toward children and adolescents to receive trauma informed collaborative mental health services directly at their school campus.  This is something that is rarely offered on a school campus. I have specifically researched the growing trend of mental health issues prior to COVID-19 and how after the pandemic mental health issues have reached crisis levels among children and adolescents. You can see more about my program and research at www.thriveinschools.com

What is your favorite part about teaching students at Chapman?

I love the diversity of the students and their unique perspectives they bring to the classroom. I feel like I learn just as much from them as they learn from me.  I also love being able to share my experience in the field and help develop students as future MFT’s in the field. Anything else you’d like to share?

I was born and raised in Southern California and love the ocean. I have lived in Georgia, Missouri, and Texas and am extremely happy to be back in So Cal! I am married to Major Payne (retired US Army after 25 years), and have 3 children, 2 currently living at home with us who are 11 and 10. Our oldest, my step-son, is 25 now married with 3 children of his own. We also have 3 dogs, a Dachshund, Beagle, Boxer, essentially small, medium, and large!