Dr Leanne Dodd is an author, former lecturer and researcher, and workshop facilitator for creative, academic and life writing, with qualifications in arts, education and mental health. She believes in the therapeutic potential of creative writing to transform lives, and has published and presented nationally and internationally on her innovative practice of using creative life writing framed by narrative therapy. Under the pen name of Lea Scott, she has published numerous novels and short stories with developing themes of trauma and mental illness and acts as a mentor for emerging writers for Queensland Writers Centre.

 

About Leanne's Modality: Leanne works in creative life writing, framed within the steps of narrative therapy, which promotes healing based on the development of a new identity that is brought to life in a richer and more preferred life story. Writing and storytelling are approaches that help people to draw out and explore some of their hidden qualities and re-author their lives. Leanne's Ficto-Memoir Method™ also helps individuals to use fiction to provide another place to stand to revisit a traumatic history. Fiction is a space where experimenting, fantasizing and trying out being someone else is acceptable because people have already learnt to engage imaginatively with fiction. When people enter into fictional stories, they often identify with the main character, so creating characters’ with empowering strengths can act as examples to help them to see possibilities for change in their lives that their mind might be blocking.

 

Education and Professional Training:

 

• 2022          First Aid Refresher in Pulmonary Resuscitation (CQU)

• 2020          Narrative Therapy Intensive I (Dulwich Centre, Adelaide)

• 2020          Mental Health First Aid Refresher (CQU)

• 2015 -18   PhD in Arts & Humanities - creative writing for post-traumatic growth (CQU)

• 2017 -18   Diploma in Art Therapy (H&H College - IICT approved training provider)

• 2017          Diploma in Life Story Coaching (CPD Provider 50070)

• 2017          Narrative Therapy Practice Certification Course (Dulwich Centre, Adelaide)   

• 2017          Certificate in First Aid and Pulmonary Resuscitation (CQU)

• 2016          Certificate in Mental Health First Aid (Mental Health First Aid Australia)

• 2016          ACADEME Early Career Academic Development (CQU)  

• 2015-16    Graduate Certificate in Tertiary Education (CQU)

• 2006          Certificate IV in Workplace Assessment & Training (Safecity RTO) 

• 1997-98    Bachelor of Commerce, Communications & Accounting (USQ)

• 1994-96    Bachelor of Arts, Communications & English Literature (USQ - upgraded to BCom)   

 

Professional Memberships: 

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Approved modalities: Art Therapy, Training and Assessment

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Other Memberships:

 

• Australasian Association of Writing Programs (AAWP)

• Australian Society of Authors (ASA)

• Queensland Writers Centre (Chair 2017-18, Vice Chair 2016-17, Treasurer 2012-16)

• Sisters in Crime (national crime writing body)

• Arts and Health Leadership Queensland 

• Sunshine Coast Creative Alliance

 

Publications: 

 

Academic

• 2021 Analysing life stories using ficto-memoir. In G. Hill, & A. Rixon (Eds.), Making sense of stories: An Inquirers Compendium, pp. 81-86, Cambridge Scholar Publishing.

• 2020, Insider research: Representing peripheral voices and multiple identities when writing about personal trauma. C i n d e r, 3, 1-10. Available at https://ojs.deakin.edu.au/index.php/cinder/article/view/951 

• 2020, Preparing students for intentional conversations with older adults: Putting Story Theory into action, Narrative Inquiry, (co-authored with McAllister, M, Dodd, L, Ryan, C, & Brien, D L).

• 2020, A thematic literature review of creative approaches to the preparation of nursing students to work in aged-care, Nurse Education Today, (co-authored with McAllister, M, Ryan, C, Dodd, L, Goldenberg, M & Brien, D L). 

• 2019, Instituting self-care strategies for doctoral students. In D. Brien, C. Batty, L, Ellison, A, Owens (Eds.), The Doctoral Experience: Student Stories from the Creative Arts and Humanities, London, UK: Palgrave Macmillan. Available at https://www.palgrave.com/gp/book/9783030181987

• 2019, Re-story lives using creative writing: A client-oriented approach to overcoming the health impacts of domestic and family violence, Storytelling, Self, Society: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Storytelling Studies, 15(1) Spring 2019, 130-140. Available at https://commerce.wayne.edu/wsupjournals/storytelling-self-society/storytelling-self-society-back-issues/storytelling-self-society-volume-15-number-1-spring-2019.html

• 2019, Transcending genre: Narrative strategies for creating literary crime fiction as a subset of trauma literature. In D. Schaub, J. Linder, C. V. Zanini, S Tam, & K. D. Novak (Eds.), Topography of trauma: Fissures, disruptions and transfigurations, Leiden, Netherlands: Brill Publishers. Available at https://brill.com/view/title/39599?lang=en 

• 2018, Turning the tide: A post-traumatic recovery journey framework for creative writers, AXON Journal, University of Canberra. Available at http://axonjournal.com.au/issue-15/turning-tide

• 2018, The perfect crime: Trauma writing strategies in crime fiction. TEXT Journal of Writing and Writing Courses, 51, 1-13. Available at http://www.textjournal.com.au/speciss/issue51/Dodd.pdf

• 2017, Plot interrupted: Reproducing the narrative benefits of trauma fiction in crime fiction. TEXT Journal of Writing and Writing Courses, 38, 1-17. Retrieved from http://www.textjournal.com.au/speciss/issue38/Dodd.pdf

• 2017, Ebb and flow. TEXT Journal of Writing and Writing Courses, 45, 1-10. Available at http://www.textjournal.com.au/speciss/issue45/Dodd.pdf

• 2017, Re-storying lives through creative writing: a client-oriented approach to healing. QCDFVRe@der, 15(3), 7. Available at https://issuu.com/cdfvr/docs/qcdfvre_der_september_2017_v.15_no.

• 2016, Dead men can talk: Voicing the dead in crime fiction. TEXT Journal of Writing and Writing Courses, 35, 1-13. Available at http://www.textjournal.com.au/speciss/issue35/Dodd.pdf

• 2016, Write of passage: The crime novel as trauma literature. Paper presented at the 6th Global Conference, Trauma: Theory and Practice Conference, Interdisciplinary Press, UK. 

• 2016, Show and tell: A practice-led methodological solution for researchers in creative writing. In B. Harreveld, M. Danaher, C. Lawson, B. A. Knight & G. Busch (Eds.), Constructing methodology for qualitative research: researching education and social practices, London, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.      

• 2015, The crime novel as trauma fiction. In The refereed proceedings of the 19th conference of the Australasian Association of Writing Programs - Minding the gap: writing across thresholds and fault lines (pp. 1-16). Wellington, NZ: Waikato Institute of Technology, Wintec.  

• 2015, Ebb and flow: Re-writing the past through the filter of traumatic memory. In The refereed proceedings of the 20th annual conference of the Australasian Association of Writing Programs: Writing the ghost train: rewriting, remaking, rediscovering (pp. 1-11). Melbourne, Vic: Swinburne University of Technology.

 

Creative (as Lea Scott)

• 2020   'The Caretakers' (short story) in Lighthouse: An Anthology, Lorikeet Ink.

• 2020   'Shelby's Destiny' (short story) in Short Stories of Ghosts and Graves, RWR Writers.

• 2019   'The Eighth Deadly Sin' (short story) in Short Stories of Forest and Fantasy, Oz Tales.

• 2018   Ebb and Flow (manuscript) - longlisted for the 2018 Richell Prize for Emerging Authors (Hachette Publishers)

• 2018   'The One that Didn't Get Away' (short story) in Short Stories of Murder & Mystery, Oz Tales.

• 2013   One for All (novel) ISBN 978-1-495-39764-6

• 2012   The Appointed Hour (short fiction anthology) ISBN 978-1-475-13598-5

• 2010   A Twist in the Tail (co-authored short fiction anthology) ISBN 978 0646 546155

• 2010   Eclipsed (novel) ISBN 978 1449 574666

• 2009   A Pocket Full of Wry (co-authored short fiction anthology) ISBN 978 1442 145177

• 2009   The Ned Kelly Game (novel) ISBN 978 1442 145788

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Workshops/Presentations:

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Download a list of past workshops/presentations here: