Leila McConnell Abbaszadeh
MSW, RSW
Leila is a registered Social Worker who offers psychotherapy to youth and adults. With a Master of Social Work from the University of Toronto and a Bachelor of Social Work from McGill University, Leila provides evidence-based therapy tailored to the unique needs of each client. She has supported individuals in a variety of settings, including community mental health, intimate partner violence organizations, and hospital-based programs.
At Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre’s Thompson Centre for Anxiety Disorders, a specialized outpatient program for individuals living with OCD, Leila provided individual therapy, group therapy, and exposure coaching. She supported clients in navigating a wide range of presentations. These included fears related to harm, contamination, “just right” obsessions, moral and religious scrupulosity, perfectionism, rumination, and sexually intrusive thoughts. Her therapeutic work at Sunnybrook focused on helping individuals reconnect with what matters most to them, whether that meant returning to hobbies, work, driving, or strengthening valued relationships with family and friends.
Leila integrates a range of approaches in her clinical work. This includes Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT), Mindfulness-Based Strategies and Motivational Interviewing. Her style is warm, collaborative, and strengths-based, rooted in the belief that trust and non-judgment are essential for meaningful therapeutic work. Leila works alongside clients to build insight into thought patterns and emotional responses, offering practical tools that foster resilience and support lasting change. She encourages her clients to consider how their relationships, environments, and the systems around them have impacted their thoughts, emotions, and overall lives.
Beyond her work with OCD, Leila also supports clients facing challenges related to anxiety, depression, emotional regulation, life transitions, and more. She brings experience helping individuals strengthen their self-esteem and develop more self-compassion. Her clinical work spans hospital, community, and outreach settings, always employing a trauma-informed, culturally sensitive lens. Leila helps clients develop skills and strategies to manage daily life and cope with emerging challenges, enabling them to clarify their goals and move toward a greater sense of agency and emotional balance.
Leila also has experience working with neurodivergent clients through a neurodivergent-affirming lens, focusing their unique strengths and experiences, while recognizing the barriers they may face. She is attentive to the ways neurodivergence can intersect with other identities and brings respect for each person’s lived experience into her therapeutic work.
Outside of work, Leila loves live music, looking for vintage pieces, and exploring different forms of art. Her creativity shows up not only in her personal life but also in the way she approaches clinical work with curiosity, flexibility, and care.
