Dr. Chelsea Sterne is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at Cumberland University. Prior to coming to Cumberland, she served as an instructor at the University of Texas at San Antonio, a clinical research assistant for the STRONG STAR Research Consortium, as well as a licensed clinical therapist working in childhood personality and cognitive assessment.

Dr. Sterne holds a Bachelor of Arts in psychology, a Master of Science in Applied Clinical Psychology, as well as a Ph.D. in military health psychology. Prior to receiving her graduate degrees, Dr. Sterne served as a U.S. Army officer from 2014-2017.

Dr. Sterne has clinical experience in the treatment of military-related trauma, adolescent and childhood mood disorders, developmental disorders, chronic health conditions, and borderline personality disorder, as well as psychological assessment for both children and adults.

Her research is primarily focused on military psychological trauma, combat-related posttraumatic stress disorder, and comorbid posttraumatic stress and chronic pain. Specific topics of previous research include gender differences in psychological resilience, patterns of psychiatric aeromedical evacuations from military combat deployments, aggression and domestic violence in military relationships, and the efficacy and implementation of various treatment methods for posttraumatic stress disorder and chronic pain. She has also conducted research on genetic biomarkers related to fibromyalgia and posttraumatic stress disorder.

Dr. Sterne’s teaching responsibilities primarily include research methods, behavioral statistics, general psychology, and clinical psychology.