Leila Heelas

Full name

Leila Heelas MS BSc PG Cert
BSc Physiotherapy, MSc in Pain Management MCSP HPC
Registration Number: PH53068

Job title

Clinical Lead Physiotherapist in Physiotherapy Pain Rehabilitation

Year of first medical qualification

1997 (Bristol)

Biography

Leila is the Consultant Physiotherapist in the Optimise Pain Rehabilitation Unit and also contributes to the Physiotherapy Research Unit at the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre.

The Optimise service offers a number of group programmes, including a pain management programme and a compassion-focused group for persistent pain.

Psychologically-informed physiotherapy is used across the service. Leila has a personal interest in offering treatment to people who may have psychological barriers to group work.

Leila holds an MSc in Pain Management and has studied the graduate certificate in Psychology. She is interested in how to promote the benefits of pain management as a specialism and as such is the Research Officer of the Physiotherapy Pain Association and is a part-time PhD candidate with UCL Social Biobehavioural group.

Leila has published articles and presented at conferences, including The British Pain Society Scientific meeting. She is an honorary lecturer at Brookes University and lectures on the pain module of the MSc Musculoskeletal Sciences at the University of Oxford.

She has received training in Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy as part of an University of Oxford trial and has undertaken training delivered by psychologists in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Compassion Focssed Therapy, Motivational interviewing and CBT for pain.