About Leanne Goff
WHO AM I?
In October 2022 I graduated with a Postgraduate Diploma in Child & Adolescent Counselling & Psychotherapy which I completed through PCI College.
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In December 2021 I became a fully accredited member of the IACP.
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In July 2020 I graduated with a Diploma in Integrative Counselling & psychotherapy through the Institute of Integrated Counselling & Psychotherapy (IICP).
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My background is in Guidance Counselling and I have completed my Masters in Guidance Counselling through Dublin City University (DCU). I am registered member of the Institute for Guidance Counsellors (IGC) and am an active member of the South East Branch of Guidance Counsellors. I am also a registered member of the Psychological Society of Ireland (PSI) and the British Psychological Society (BPS).
I currently work as a Guidance Counsellor in the CBS Secondary School, Wexford.
I value and appreciate lifelong learning and continually strive to pursue both personal and professional development. I am extremely passionate about working in the area of mental health, providing an individual experience to my clients whereby I hope to make a positive difference to the lives of the people I come into contact with. I firmly believe that when someone shows courage, strength and determination to speak out about their difficulties, that they need someone who fully listens to them and their story without judgement, can put themselves in the persons shoes and truly understand what they are going through and this is what I am fully committed to through the services that I offer my clients.
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Further to my main training some of the additional skills and knowledge I have acquired are in cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and mindfulness, safe talk and suicide prevention, relational skills in adolescents, supporting children and teenagers in trauma, school anxiety, building resilience, bereavement, supporting well-being in the school community, stress management and mediation and self-care.
MORE ABOUT ME...
HOW I DESCRIBE MYSELF
I am a dedicated, honest, hard worker, who puts heart and soul into everything I do. Possessing a strong work ethic and whole-hearted approach, I always give full effort to all tasks to ensure they are completed to the highest possible standards and I will stick with it until fully satisfied, same can be said for the service I offer also. I consider myself to be a trustworthy person who is very reliable, punctual, highly organized and equally effective when working as part of a team or on my own. My friends regard me as a good listener and I believe I show great empathy to people in all situations. I like to stay up to date with information and continuously learn new things in order to become as effective as possible in all aspects of my life and my work.
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Core Values: ​In three words…Independent, Ambitious & Hardworking.
HOW I RELAX
I have a keen interest in personal self-care and have spent a considerable amount of time in the last few years identifying what works best for me. As a result, I can say that I truly recognise the value and importance of taking time out and doing what makes you happy for both your mental and physical health. For me this has changed considerably over the years but more so recently and now I value meditation, yoga, journaling, listening to podcasts, mindful colouring, knitting and reading but specifically learning new things, increasing my knowledge and being able to apply what I learn to my everyday life and also to help others, especially in my line of work. Getting out in nature is also hugely important to me and my love for walking and hiking has taken flight in recent months, especially as I prepare to take on my greatest personal challenge to date, to trek to Everest Base Camp. One of my biggest passions in life is to travel to new countries, experience new cultures and all that the world has to offer. One of my favourite places that I have been to is Bali, it is everything and oh so much more than you read and see and you really have to experience it to believe it!
WHAT SUCCESS MEANS TO ME
I believe that success is a feeling you get when you have achieved something that; a) you have worked really hard and b) has challenged you and made you step out of your comfort zone. Success does not look like people think it should, it is not a simple straight line from A-B but rather there are bumps, obstacles, twists and turns throughout and it is how you overcome those challenges that determines your individual success. Success can also mean different things to different people depending on where you are in your life and what matters most to you at that time i.e. raising a family, self-care, professional development or just being able to get up out of bed in the morning. I think sometimes when we do succeed we fail to acknowledge it or give ourselves credit for it and all too often perhaps we let the moment pass without taking a step back and appreciating the feelings at the time, the fact that we did a good job or just simply giving ourselves a well-deserved pat on the back.
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Success to me in these current times seems very different to the success I would feel when working or with my clients. To succeed in these uncertain times means to prioritise my own physical and mental health, setting myself daily goals or tasks, having a routine in place, taking advantage of the time I now have for self-care and personal development, something I have really struggled to achieve for so long. So, I am now going to take this as a sign to slow down, be present and cop the f*** on! Therefore, success to me at this moment simply means, to survive!