Daphne Goh, Associate
Daphne's qualifications are a Bachelor of Psychological Sciences from the University of Queensland and a Master of Clinical Psychology from The Australian National University. She is currently undertaking a Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology at the ANU.Prior to joining us, Daphne worked for two and a half years in private practice in Canberra where she gained experience working with a wide range of areas including relationships and relationship difficulties, anxiety, depression, existential and sexuality issues, anger management, stress management and relaxation, sleeping difficulties, domestic violence and sexual abuse, among others. Daphne has also facilitated a hospital based group therapy program for women with depression.
Daphne is particularly interested in relationships. Her research interests include attachment, relationships, existentialism and sexuality, particularly sex therapy and sexual identity. Her PhD, which she is currently writing, concerns attachment relationships in adolescence and their implications for psychological health. In therapy Daphne is particularly interested in working with individuals presenting with relationship concerns and difficulties in the realms of interpersonal functioning, communication patterns, and sexual expectations and performance. She is also very interested in exploring existential issues with clients, including relationship or marital dissolution, death anxiety, life crises, and other challenges or difficulties in adjustment.
With respect to anxiety, Daphne works with Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Panic Disorder, Specific Phobia, Social Anxiety, Agoraphobia, and other anxiety-related issues. She has also provided individual therapy to children and adolescents for anxiety-related disorders using treatment programs established at the Macquarie University Emotional Health Clinic (formerly Macquarie University Anxiety and Research Unit).
Another area of interest for Daphne is the experiences of expatriates and those dealing with relocation and immigration. Having been an international student herself, Daphne is familiar with the difficulties of acclimatizing to a new culture and society, and the anxiety and distress it can provoke, as well as the stresses of being far away from home. These difficulties can manifest themselves in the form of home sickness, feeling isolated or unable to make friends, and concerns about assimilating or adopting new practices and cultural norms.
Daphne is also adept at assisting students to deal with the practical and psychological challenges of study, including procrastination, exam stress, feeling overwhelmed, difficulties in planning and goal-setting, and maintaining a healthy balance in lifestyle.
In addition, Daphne has a personal interest in Mindfulness and spirituality, and to this end she has received specific training in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Mindfulness based therapies.
Daphne has received several academic awards, including the Golden Key International Honour Society and Dean’s Scholar. She has presented her research at national and international conferences, and has acted as peer reviewer for the 10th Annual Conference APS Psychology of Relationships Interest Group 2010, and for the Relationships Interest Group and International Association for Relationships Research Mini-Conference 2007.
Daphne adopts a pluralistic and client-centred approach, integrating therapies primarily from Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, Mindfulness, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Interpersonal Therapy. She also uses strategies from Inner Childwork, Psychodynamic, Dialectical Behaviour Therapy and Gestalt Therapy. She describes herself as varying between exploration and being solution-focused in therapy, essentially aiming to guide each individual in achieving self-actualization. Daphne is also committed to her own professional development to ensure she provides clients with up-to-date evidence-based therapeutic strategies as part of their care.
Daphne is fully registered with the Psychology Board of Australia, and is a member of the Australian Psychological Society, the Australian Psychological Society Psychology of Relationships Interest Group, the International Association for Relationship Research, and the International Association of Applied Psychology. She is also an affiliate member of the Australian Psychological Society College of Clinical Psychologists.