Abby Kinnear (she/her)
M.Sc, PhD Candidate
Clinical Psychology Resident
Abby is a Clinical Psychology Resident at Forward Thinking Psychological Services®. In this role, she is completing an advanced year of supervised clinical training as part of her doctoral training in clinical psychology. She completed her doctoral dissertation at Western University and has clinical experience delivering cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), and dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT) skills to a wide range of individuals with diverse presenting issues.
Abby has training experience from diverse settings and has worked with adolescents and adults experiencing OCD, anxiety, interpersonal concerns, mood difficulties, body image concerns, and emotion dysregulation. She has also conducted assessments for adults and adolescents with various concerns, including trauma, anxiety disorders, eating disorders, and neurodivergence, including learning disorders and ADHD. Abby uses validated assessment tools to gain an understanding of clients’ presentations, while remaining mindful of clients’ time and resources.
Abby has worked with individuals presenting with a variety of different OCD-related issues. These include individuals experiencing obsessions and compulsions related to causing unwanted harm, thoughts and behaviours being ‘just right’, checking behaviours, and experiencing distressing taboo thoughts that go against one’s personal values. Her approach is based on ERP-based CBT, and she is able to deliver ICBT for OCD as well.
Abby’s research focuses on understanding the various personal reasons individuals engage in ‘maladaptive’ behaviours, such as eating disorder behaviours, self-harm, and substance misuse. She understands that these behaviours may arise for many different reasons that have to do with one’s unique history and environment, and that treatment may need to be adapted in evidence-based ways to meet clients’ individual needs.
Abby always aims to collaborate with clients in order to achieve their goals, and she prioritizes being compassionate towards clients and building a strong relationship foundation while using empirically supported treatments. Abby believes that individuals often need to feel heard and understood before feeling safe to make changes, so she strives to balance validation and support with encouragement for change.
Abby appreciates the ways that culture and life experiences impact individuals, both in and outside of therapy. She welcomes clients from all cultures and backgrounds, including individuals from all racial and ethnic identities, religions, and 2SLGBTQIA+ communities. Abby understands the importance of affirming, non-judgmental care and is committed to continuous learning to ensure she can provide this care for a wide and diverse range of people. Abby invites clients to explore how culture and identity may shape their experiences, should this feel meaningful to their therapy journey.
In her spare time, Abby enjoys hiking, time with friends, attending concerts, reading in her hammock, and taking care of her many houseplants.
Abby Kinnear’s practice includes the following services:
Please note that our associates work with many presenting issues, some of which are not listed in this biography.
Email our intake team at [email protected] for more information.
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Publications
Bianchini, G., Kinnear, A., Bodell, L.P. (2024). Changes in sexual, romantic, and gender identities across the COVID-19 pandemic: A mixed methods study. Sex Roles: A Journal of Research, 90(12), 1912-1922. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-024-01532-8
Kinnear, A., Siegel J.A., Masson, P., & Bodell, L.P. (2023). Functions of disordered eating behaviors: a qualitative analysis of the lived experience and clinician perspectives. Journal of Eating Disorders, 11. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40337-023-00854-4
Dhadly, P. K., Kinnear, A., & Bodell, L. P. (2023). # BoPo: Does viewing body positive TikTok content improve body satisfaction and mood?. Eating Behaviors, 50, 101747. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eatbeh.2023.101747
Withnell, S. J., Kinnear, A., Masson, P., & Bodell, L. P. (2022). How Different Are Threshold and Other Specified Feeding and Eating Disorders? Comparing Severity and Treatment Outcome. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 784512.https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.784512
Kinnear, A., Withnell, S.J., Witte, T.K., Smith, A.R., Szczyglowski, K., & Bodell, L.P. (2021). Weight misperception and its associations with eating disorder symptoms over the course of residential eating disorder treatment. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 54(10), 1810-1818. https://doi.org/10.1002/eat.23592
Presentations and Talks
Kinnear, A. & Bodell, L.P. (2026, April 27). Convergent and discriminant validity of an eating disorder behaviour functions measure [Poster session]. The Eating Disorder Association of Canada (EDAC) Conference, Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Hostland, A., Tyler-Smith, A., Lindsay, J., & Kinnear, A. (2024, July 9). Eating disorders in university residence. Talk for Western University Residence Life Leadership Team.
Kinnear, A. & Bodell, L.P. (2024, February 28). Eating disorders in a community clinic. Talk for members of the Canadian Mental Health Association.
Kinnear, A. (2023, December 13). Acceptance and commitment therapy for substance use disorders. Talk for the Canadian Mental Health Association Rapid Access Addiction Medicine Clinic.
Kinnear, A. & Bodell, L.P. (2023, June 1-3). Development of an eating disorder behaviour functions assessment [Poster session]. The International Conference on Eating Disorders (ICED) Annual Conference, Washington D.C.
Kinnear, A.* & Meddaoui, B.* (2023, February 24). Social media and mental health. Public talk at Western Clinical Psychology’s 2023 Advocacy Through Action Virtual Lecture Series.
Kinnear, A. & Monaghan, G. (2022, November). Fostering healthy body image in teens. Invited talk at the Guelph Youth Dance Training Program’s Fall Dancer Wellness Workshop.
Kinnear, A. & Bodell, L.P. (2022, September 15-17). Initial validation of an eating disorder behavior functions assessment [Poster session]. The Eating Disorder Research Society (EDRS) Annual Conference, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Kinnear, A.* & Meddaoui, B.* (2022, February 18). Social media and mental health. Public talk at Western Clinical Psychology’s 2022 Advocacy Through Action Virtual Lecture Series.
Kinnear, A., Bianchini, G., & Bodell, L. P. (2021, June 10-12). Functions of eating disorders during COVID-19: A qualitative study of individuals with eating disorder behaviours and clinicians who treat eating disorders [Poster session]. The International Conference on Eating Disorders (ICED) 2021. Virtual conference.
Kinnear, A.* & Withnell, S.J.* (2021, February 13). Our focus on weight is bad for our health. Public talk at Western Clinical Psychology’s 2021 Advocacy Through Action Virtual Lecture Series.
Kinnear, A., Szczyglowski, K., Bodell, L. (2020, July 6-August 28). Presence and impact of weight misperception in women seeking eating disorder treatment. Paper within a symposium at the Canadian Psychological Association’s 2020 Virtual Series.
Milovanov, A., Tran, E., Kinnear, A., Daljeet, S., Finch, K., Capobianco, K., Keleher, B., Mittelstaedt, W., & Oakman, J.M. (2020, May 21-24). Personality predictors of psychotherapy preferences in depressed undergraduate students [Poster session]. APS 2020 Annual Convention, Chicago, IL, USA. (Conference cancelled).
Kinnear, A., Romano, M., Moscovitch, D.A. (2019, May 3-4). The effects of social threat on physical appearance concerns in social anxiety. Poster session presented at the annual meeting of The Canadian Association of Cognitive and Behavioural Therapies – CACBT, Montreal, QC.
Recent Clinical Trainings
Overcoming Common Treatment Challenges in OCD by Dr. Christine Purdon, May 2026
Psychopharmacology by Brandon LeBlanc, April 2026
Competency-based Supervision by Dr. Carol Falender, May 2025
Family Therapy by Dr. Kimberly Harris, April 2025
ACT Skills for Caregivers of Children with Neurodevelopmental Disorders by Dr. Johanna Lake and Lee Steel, December 2024
Re-Igniting a Sense of Meaning and Purpose: Using ACT and the ACT Matrix to Address Professional Burnout with Evidence-Based Skills by Dr. Dayna Lee-Baggley, May 2024
Emotion Focused Therapy in Clinical Practice by Dr. Carey Anne DeOliveira, April 2024
Project Management: Essential Elements with certificate by Tina Cerulli, B.Eng, PMP, March 2024
Foundations of Culturally-Informed Clinical and Counselling Practice: An Introduction by Dr. Ben Kuo, March 2024
Motivational Interviewing by Dr. Henny Westra, December 2023
Couple Therapy Workshop: Broad Overview, Live Demonstration, and Opportunity for Practice by Dr. Lisa Destun, December 2022
Psychedelic-Assisted Psychotherapy by Dr. Terence Ching, April 2022
Training in Cognitive Processing Therapy by Dr. Genevieve Monaghan and Dr. Danielle Kofler, May 2022
Dealing with grief and loss – specific skills by Dr. Serena Wong, April 2022
Working with Indigenous Peoples by Dr. Chris Mushquash, December 2021
Brief therapy and Single Sessions, by Drs. Naomi Wiesenthal and Jared French, April 2021
Emotion, Spirituality, and Psychedelic Medicine by Drs. Adele Lafrance & Joe Tafur, February 2021
Suicide Assessment by Dr. Marnin Heisel, December 2020
Indigenous Canada Course by University of Alberta with certificate, July – September 2020
Knowledge Exchange School Expanded Workshop: Tips for Improving Writing for Academic Publications by Dr. Mark Goldszmidt, July 2020
Constructing Your First Peer Review by Dr. Blake E. Butler, May 2020
Exposure Therapy for Eating Disorders by Dr. Glenn Waller, January 2020
Brief Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Eating Disorders by Dr. Glenn Waller, January 2020
Emotion-Focused Therapy by Dr. Carey Anne DeOliveira, December 2019