Renée Goossens

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Renée Goossens was educated in Australia, Italy, France and England. Trained as a teacher for children with special needs, she studied further in medical research at a leading children’s hospital specialising in neurological disorders. Since the age of 19, she worked with medical teams supporting families suffering from a variety of physical and emotional problems.
At 21, a serious motor vehicle accident kept Renée in hospital for nearly two years. The day she was finally able to leave hospital, she was wheelchair-bound with a lively toddler to raise, Renée was determined to beat the odds and walk again.

From her own experiences, Renée Goossens knows that there is more to the experience of chronic pain than the pain itself. In writing Pain Management, she brings her personal perspective, as one who has successfully fulfilled the roles of mother, teacher, translator, writer and a great friend to many, in the face of increasing physical disability and severe pain.

Her work as a teacher and administrator involved caring for colleagues and students. Later, working in Occupational Health and Safety her spinal condition deteriorated. It was then that Renée began writing and researching for a memoir, a novel, travel articles and this book on managing pain.

A memoir: ‘BELONGING’ published by ABC books 2003.

Diploma in teaching from Westminster College, Oxford

Medical Researcher at Park Hospital for Children with Neurological disorders – ‘a Place of Safety for Battered Babies’, Oxford

Teacher, NSW Department of Education: Music and French also family therapist with children suffering from autism, emotional disturbances and learning disorders, cerebral palsy and spinal disorders.( 8 years)

Lecturer in French at NSW State Conservatorium of Music, Sydney (10 years)

Language Coach at The Australian Opera,(concurrent with above)

Administrator, subtitler, subeditor and policy writer for Occupational Health and Safety Working paper at Special Broadcasting Service Television (12 Years).

Community Work

Volunteer advisor on Access within the Mosman Council area, also on an individual basis negotiating with the Sydney Opera House on creating better access and transport throughout Sydney and metropolitan areas.