Julie is a NZ trained, qualified and registered Clinical Psychologist. After an early career spent working in District Health Board mental health teams (assessing and treating people suffering from diagnoses including depression, anxiety disorders and post-partum disorders) she became the Consultant Clinical Psychologist for the Consultation-Liaison Service at the Canterbury District Health Board (CDHB) in 2006, treating those patients with co-morbid physical and emotional health diagnoses).

Following the Christchurch earthquakes, Julie joined the team investigating the psychological factors contributing to “broken-heart syndrome,” as part of a CDHB/University of Otago collaboration, proceeding to become the Principal Investigator on a related large, Health Research Council funded, research trial. She continued in an ongoing research/academic role whilst also leading a Ministry of Health regional team of clinicians improving psychological support for
Oncology patients across the South Island of new Zealand.

In 2017, however, Julie’s life changed dramatically. First she lost her husband, Paul, to cancer, and then, extraordinarily, just two weeks after Paul’s death, her 27 year old son, Sam, drowned in a tragic rafting accident. Paul and Sam’s deaths fuelled a passion for resilience psychology in Julie as she has worked to accept and adjust to the double bereavement. “My academic career and interests to date, combined with the recent personal experiences, have greatly furthered my interest in the field of Positive Psychology, and the topic of resilience in particular,” she explains.

Putting her PhD on hold following her husband’s diagnosis, she instead completed a Diploma in Positive Psychology and Wellbeing to add to her BSCHons, Clinical Psychology and Health Sciences (Distinction) qualifications. Her work with the NZ Institute of Wellbeing and Resilience complements her other role, that of a Senior Research Fellow on the academic team investigating the impact of the March 15 terror attacks in Christchurch on the NZ Muslim community.

Julie’s clinical expertise, her considerable health and University sector experiences, and her personal story that has taught her so much about loss and coping with challenge and change, all combine to make her an inspiring presenter. She is able to draw upon her professional and personal experience to help
others understand the true nature of resilience , enabling them to better equip themselves and others to cope and adapt to change.

She is a published author (writing in leading academic journals and contributing book chapters), has presented her work at international conferences, and has recently been featured in two documentaries on coping with loss and change (Accepting the Good and Camino Skies). Her own memoir, Grief on the Run (Allen & Unwin), is scheduled for a release date of March 1, 2021, (after an unanticipated COVID delay).