Mary Sun, MD
Areas of focus
What I work with most.
Diagnoses matter, but they are constructed to be descriptive rather than explanatory. Rarely do labels or categories tell the story of the whole person. When I work with someone, we look for the “why” together. With that in mind, I have listed areas here rather than the many conditions and diagnoses they can contain. These pages are meant to give you a sense of what I work with most, though I also treat a wide range of concerns. Many people see themselves in more than one area below, and others simply find their way here in search of in-depth, integrated treatment.
For those whose earliest relationships shaped how safe the world feels and how they connect. You might have spent years feeling something was off, and loving the people around you in complicated ways. I help make sense of what is usually an accumulation of events.
→For high achievers who were the first or the only — by class, race, immigration status, or other parts of their identities. Doing well and being useful often became the safest way to belong. I work with people who are successful by every outside measure, and still not quite able to rest.
→For teenagers, college and graduate students, and young adults just starting out. So much is shifting in these years, from who someone is to where they’re headed. I help sort out what is part of finding your way, what needs real attention, and where the two overlap.
→For anyone who has lived with expectations about their roles and bodies, including how much to give, and whether to have children. Periods, pregnancy, and peri/menopause are an important part of this work. I consider each of them from the very first visit.
→For people of every orientation and gender who want a more fulfilling sex life on their own terms, alone or with partners. Sex is often where other things show up. As a sex therapist and psychiatrist, I treat sexual health as part of your mental health, not separate from it.
→Working on this with a partner? See Sex Therapy for Couples.