Sunil Mehta, MD, PhD

Dr. Sunil Mehta went to medical/graduate school in Houston and completed his adult psychiatry residency in Dallas, TX, then moved to Los Angeles and completed his Child and Adolescent Fellowship along with research training at UCLA. Dr. Mehta stayed on as faculty at UCLA for four years before moving to Mayo Clinic and Rochester in 2016. He’s delighted to now be at PrairieCare.

Since medical school, Dr. Mehta has been interested in brain development and his research has been aimed at understanding what factors lead to Autism Spectrum Disorder. Helping patients with neurodevelopmental disorders has been his primary focus throughout his career. Dr. Mehta’s view of childhood mental illness, in general, is that it is a result of mismatches between a child’s needs/skills/abilities and their environment. He believes that improvement in a child’s mental health will occur through a combination of modifying a child’s abilities and their environment.

His role as a psychiatrist is to serve as an advocate for the patient and a guide to families as they make these changes. Medication management can often provide families with breathing room and “level the playing field” for children as they engage with therapy and make changes at home and at school.

When not working, Dr. Mehta likes going on walks with his dog, spending time with his family, and practicing Kendo.