Sunny Liao

I ’m a bilingual and bicultural licensed mental health counselor who provides therapy in English and Mandarin. As an immigrant who has built my life in New York City, I understand the challenges of adjusting to a new culture, navigating family expectations, and balancing different roles and identities.

I work with children, teens, and adults experiencing anxiety, depression, adjustment difficulties, immigration and generational stress, parent-child conflict, parenting challenges, and work and life stress. I also have a special interest in supporting women during pregnancy and the postpartum transition. I have completed training in perinatal mental health and postpartum mood and anxiety concerns and enjoy supporting new mothers through this meaningful yet sometimes overwhelming stage of life.

I strive to create a warm, safe, and nonjudgmental space where you can feel heard, understood, and supported.

My approach is collaborative, compassionate, and tailored to each client’s individual needs, experiences, culture, and goals. I integrate psychodynamic therapy, personal support therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), mindfulness, and child-centered play therapy depending on what feels most helpful for you.

I believe our early experiences, relationships, culture, and family environment can shape how we understand ourselves and respond to challenges. Together, we can explore these patterns while also developing practical coping strategies and building on your existing strengths.

My goal is not simply to help you manage difficult emotions, but to help you better understand yourself, strengthen your coping skills, and create meaningful and sustainable changes in your life.

Your first session is an opportunity for us to get to know each other and begin understanding what brings you to therapy. We’ll talk about your current concerns, relevant background and experiences, and what you hope to gain from therapy.

I’ll also explain how I typically work and invite you to share what feels important to you. We can begin identifying goals together and discuss approaches that may be helpful moving forward.

Most importantly, you don’t need to have everything figured out before your first session. My goal is to create a comfortable, supportive space where you can speak openly and begin at your own pace. Building a trusting therapeutic relationship is an important part of the process, and we’ll work together to determine what feels most helpful for you.