Education & Training
Mahsima earned her Masters in Social Work from the University of Toronto. She completed CBT, EFFT, and ASIST training while at the Child Development Institute where she works with children and their families who present with emotion regulation challenges from various familial backgrounds. She also has training in mindfulness-informed approaches from the University of Toronto. Mahsima additionally spends her time as a Walk-In Therapist at WoodGreen Community Services, and is a Research Assistant with the Krembil Research Institute, exploring harm reduction approaches in healthcare. Mahsima has also previously worked with individuals living with HIV/AIDS at Toronto General Hospital, and has worked with adolescents presenting with anxiety, suicidality, emotion dysregulation, and ADHD. She also supervises MSW students completing their Masters at the University of Toronto in their practicum placements.
Theoretical Approach:
Clients are experts in their own lives. Through client-centered collaboration, Mahsima strives to provide an open, non-judgmental space for clients to explore and work through their treatment goals while ensuring safety. As a social worker, Mahsima is specifically interested how an individual (i.e. one’s intersectionality) exists within its microsystems (e.g. family dynamics, peer relationships, work), macrosystem (e.g. sociocultural, economic, political factors), and everything in between.
Mahsima works from an anti-oppressive and intersectional lens. She provides treatment routed in an integrative approach, drawing from a multitude of theoretical orientations, including:
- Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
- Emotion-Focused Therapy (EFT)
- Mindfulness
- Dialectical-Behavioural Therapy (DBT)
- Narrative Therapy
- Motivational Interviewing
- Ecological Systems Theory
- Neuroscience-informed psychoeducation
Mahsima has experience working with clients with various presenting concerns, including:
- Emotion dysregulation
- Interpersonal conflict
- Parenting
- Stress Management
- Self-Esteem/Self-Worth
- Symptoms of Depression
- Symptoms of Anxiety
- ADHD
Personal Background:
Mahsima is a first-generation Iranian-Canadian. Growing up in an Iranian household in Toronto has allowed Mahsima to be mindful of how culture, race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and intergenerational stories can impact one’s worldview and experience in various spaces. This informs her therapeutic practice. Mahsima believes having the training and platform to be witness to a client’s story is a privilege, and endeavours to support clients as they undergo personal growth.
Languages:
English and Farsi (Persian)
Memberships:
Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers
Ontario Association of Social Workers