Apaula Julia Ioane is a Samoan New Zealand clinical psychologist and academic, and is a full professor in the School of Psychology at
Massey University
Massey University () is a Public university, public research university in New Zealand that provides internal and distance education. The university has campuses in Auckland, Palmerston North, and Wellington. Data from Universities New Zealand ...
, specialising in childhood trauma, family violence and youth offending.
Early life and education
Ioane was born in New Zealand to
Samoan parents, and speaks Samoan and English.
She was raised in
South Auckland
South Auckland ( or ) is one of the major geographical regions of Auckland, the largest city in New Zealand. The area is south of the Auckland isthmus, and on the eastern shores of the Manukau Harbour. The area has been populated by TÄmaki MÄ ...
.
She holds the chiefly title ''FolasÄitu'' from the village of
Fasito’o uta, and also has ancestral links to the village of
Leauva’a.
Ioane graduated with a
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years.
The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...
degree from the
University of Auckland
The University of Auckland (; MÄori: ''Waipapa Taumata Rau'') is a public research university based in Auckland, New Zealand. The institution was established in 1883 as a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. Initially loc ...
in 1998. Ioane's interest in psychology had developed when working at the
Ministry of Education
An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...
. She realised that a family who were new migrants from Samoa were not going to understand the interventions they were being asked to make, and was told by the psychologist involved that there were not enough Samoan psychologists. Ioane then returned to Auckland University for a postgraduate diploma in psychology (2007), an honours degree (2010), and a
Doctor of Clinical Psychology degree with a thesis titled ''A comparison of Pacific Island violent youth offenders with Maori and Palagi violent youth offenders'' (2012).
Academic career
Ioane worked for a community provider of a programme for sexual offenders, and then the Regional Youth Forensic Service, before joining the faculty of
Auckland University of Technology
Auckland University of Technology ( AUT; ) is a university in New Zealand, formed on 1 January 2000 when a former technical college (originally established in 1895) was granted university status. AUT is New Zealand's third largest university i ...
as a lecturer. She also began to research how psychology practice could be changed to be more responsive to the needs of Pacific people.
Her work with young offenders also led her to question why some Pacific youths enter the youth justice system and others don't, when from the outside the family may seem similar.
Ioane later joined the faculty of Massey University, rising to full professor from 2024.
Ioane was an expert witness for the
Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care, providing evidence on the system changes required to provide redress from a Pacific perspective.
She has also consulted to the judiciary in Samoa, and is on a number of governance boards and advisory boards in New Zealand.
Selected works
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ioane, Julia
Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people
New Zealand academics
New Zealand women academics
Academic staff of the Auckland University of Technology
Academic staff of Massey University
University of Auckland alumni
New Zealand people of Samoan descent
New Zealand psychologists