Hello there!
I know finding the right therapist can be really difficult.
You look at website after website, trying to find someone who speaks to you, and after scrolling through so many therapists (many of whom aren’t taking new clients), you forget who you emailed and who you called.
While my practice is often at capacity, I want you to know as much as possible about me ahead of time, because when you are trusting a therapist to explore the hardest things in your life, you shouldn’t have to wonder what your therapist stands for and how they’ll treat you.
I believe in lifelong learning and growth. I believe that people can change. I believe in forgiveness, repair, healing, and accountability.
We do not exist in a bubble. We are our ancestors, our communities, our experiences, our families. Our emotions and experiences are co-created within these systems. Once we figure out all the ways we are oppressed, we can find our liberation. This doesn’t exclusively mean the overt systems of oppression we face in society; it can also mean our guilt, generational shame, conflicting expectations, or anything else that causes us to feel tangled. Let's find those knots and untie them.
I welcome, honor, and value diversity
People and relationships present themselves in a full spectrum, as do religions, gender, sexuality, and ethnic and racial connection. While I may have clinical expertise, you are the expert on what it’s like to be you. I am invested in learning; I work towards creating a space that is open, inviting, and safe to explore how your experiences, along with the unavoidable systems within our cultures, have shaped your present reality. The broad scope of our identities impacts our lives and therefore our therapy. I’m committed to holding space for you as you are, in the many ways that you are.
I’m SuMing Sullivan
I’m a licensed clinical social worker and certified EFT Therapist in Arlington, MA and I work with adults of all ages as well as with relationships and couples.
I am also a CrossFit trainer and have advanced training in perinatal fitness. Through these complementary disciplines, I also provide integrative mind-body and body-based interventions (such as walking psychotherapy) to interested clients.
I have two children, a husband, a dog and two cats. I am heterosexual and a cisgender woman.
the boring stuff
I am a Certified Emotionally Focused Therapist and an EFT Supervisor-in-Training. I have completed the EFT Externship, Core Skills, EFIT, EFFT, and many other advanced practice courses. I am also in regular supervision and consultation with Clinical Supervisors in Emotionally Focused Therapy.
I am a disrupter and social and racial justice activist. I facilitate groups (therapeutic, ERG, etc.) and gives talks on racial trauma and healing, and Asian American identity. I believe everything is political and we are always perpetuating or challenging the systems we live in.
I am adjunct faculty at Boston College’s MSW program.
I earned my Masters of Social Work (MSW) from Boston College in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts and my Bachelors of Science from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland.
I am a doctoral candidate at The University of Pennsylvania in the Doctor of Social Work program and currently doing research on family estrangement in Asian American families.
I have worked for a number of organizations including Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates, Massachusetts General Hospital, DOVE, Jhpiego, the International Health Affiliate of Johns Hopkins University, and World Relief – Cambodia.
“The most precious gift we can offer others is our presence. When mindfulness embraces those we love, they will bloom like flowers.”