A FLOURISHING MIND

– Dr. Maureen Gaffney

WORDS: Liv Morgan

Look up ‘Flourish’ in the dictionary and you will find definitions such as: 1: to grow luxuriantly; 2: to achieve success, or to reach a height of development or influence; 3: to make bold and sweeping gestures. It is no wonder then that Dr. Maureen Gaffney — Psychologist, Writer and Broadcaster — is entitling her upcoming book as such. Maureen is the epitome of a businesswoman flourishing in life so who better than her to teach us how..

“It’s never too late to be the person you want to be,” Maureen enthuses. Although, for Maureen it may be more apt to say “it’s never to late to be the person who keeps on achieving”; To list all of her accomplishments would result in this feature becoming a curriculum vitae recount. She has however most notably been a clinical psychologist by profession, Director of the Doctoral Programme in Clinical Psychology in Trinity College, and
a member of the Law Reform Commission for ten years. She worked with Intel for eight years delivering their Emotional Intelligence agenda and has sat as executive chair of the National Economic and Social Forum advising government on issues of equality and social exclusion.

Understandably, Maureen hesitates to choose which role she is most proud of. “It’s a hard question to answer because I’ve been involved in so many things but I would probably say the help I’ve given people individually. I met a woman recently who said that she had recorded every programme I’d ever done and that she sends them to her daughter in America. I find that the most touching thing! When you’re in a studio and that red light goes on you really don’t know who’s listening and it’s just lovely to think that all these people are sitting down having cups of coffee, listening.”

There is a sense that ‘work’ for Maureen is a labour of love. She admits from day one of studying psychology she was devoted to it: “I’m incredibly interested in ideas and people. So I’m kind of endlessly interested in it and I think that if you’rereally interested in something you don’t have to motivate yourself as you just are.

Read more about Maureen Gaffney in in the Summer 2011 issue of WMB, on newsstands from June 1st!