About
Sara Azarshahi is a doctoral candidate in Counselling Psychology at the University of Toronto, with an master’s degree in Counselling Psychology and an honours bachelor’s degree in Psychology. She works with OCD, borderline personality disorder, depression, anxiety, grief, relationship and identity concerns, and work/school stress. Her approach draws on cognitive-behavioural therapy, dialectical behaviour therapy, and acceptance commitment therapy, integrating self-compassion and relational approaches, and she tailors treatment to each client.
Sara has trained in hospitals, outpatient programs, and university/community clinics. At the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, she supported clients with complex mental-health needs and also worked at the OISE Psychology Clinic. She is currently a clinician at Sunnybrook Hospital treating varied presentations of OCD. Here, she is also developing the Aftercare Program, designing and implementing services for alumni who completed the intensive program.
Sara conducts research at Sunnybrook on facilitators and barriers to mental-health care to improve treatment access and engagement. She has presented at the International OCD Foundation and Canadian Psychological Association conferences and guest lectures in master’s and doctoral courses at U of T. She is committed to helping clients build meaningful, fulfilling lives and delivering the highest quality care.
Research & Presentations
Research
Dunn, N.S., McVittie, J., Ansloos, J., Azarshahi, S. (2023). First Nations and Inuit mental health and the Non-Insured Health Benefits program: Urgent priorities for evaluation. Canadian Journal of Public Health. https://doi.org/10.17269/s41997-023-00837-7
Moodley, R., Azarshahi, S., Raghunadan, S., Bojuwoye, O., & Zhang, Y. (2022). Beyond the Talking Cure: Global South Psychologies . In A. Kassan & R. Moodley (Eds.), Diversity and social justice in Counseling, psychology, and psychotherapy: A case study approach (pp. 369–387). Cognella Academic Publishing.
Ahmadian, S., Azarshahi, S., & Paulhus, D. L. (2017). Explaining Donald Trump via communication style: Grandiosity, informality, and dynamism. Personality and Individual Differences, 107, 49–53. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2016.11.018
Azarshahi, S., Saito, H., Paeth, N., Ayinor-Okafor, J., & Chen, J. (2016, April 7). The Impact of Mirrors on Sustainable Waste Behavior [R]. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.14288/1.0343071
Presentations and workshops
Azarshahi, S. (2024, February). Cultural inclusivity and safety in counselling psychology. [Invited Talk]. Humber College. Toronto, ON.
Rine-Reesha, N., Azarshahi, S., & Mangotich, H. (2023, June). The Rashomon Effect. [Oral presentation]. The 10th Critical Multicultural & Diversity Conference. Toronto, ON.
Chapman, L., Richter, P., & Azarshahi, S. (2022, November). Art Therapy with OCD – An experiential workshop. [Oral presentation]. The International OCD Foundation Conference. Virtual.
Ahmadian, S., Azarshahi, S., & Paulhus, D. (2016, June). Analyzing personality from campaign speeches: Donald Trump Stands out. [Poster presentation]. 77th CPA National Convention. Victoria, BC.
Columbia. Grewal, P., Azarshahi, S., Paulhus, D., & Ahmadian, S. (2016, June). Staring in a competitive context: prosocial and antisocial functions. [Poster presentation]. 77th CPA National Convention. Victoria, BC.