“Good mental health relies on the capacity for adaptation and change. We are like trees: our ability to adapt to the environment depends on roots sunk deep in the soil of personal history, biology, culture and genetics."
-Dr. Mary E. TheodoreMeet Dr. Mary Theodore:
Dr. Theodore was inspired to pursue a career in medicine at an early age. Beginning at the age of 13, while a freshman at a prestigious high school in New York City, Dr. Theodore began volunteering at New York University-Langone Medical Center’s pediatric cancer ward, helping children cope with their devastating diagnoses and arduous treatments.
Always committed to providing medical care to the less fortunate, Dr. Theodore provided clinical care and conducted public health research in the slums of Port au Prince, Haiti, while in graduate school at Harvard. In addition, she provided six months of medical care in a remote village, to which she trekked, in the Himalayas of Nepal. Throughout her medical career, Dr. Theodore worked in numerous refugee camps in Thailand and Vietnam, providing basic medical care to refugees.
Upon admission to medical school, she was immediately selected for an accelerated research track. Over the years in medical school and during her medical internship, she conducted extensive, epidemiologic research in Russia and Belarus. She graduated medical school with special distinction for her research and international public health.
Dr. Theodore undertook 10 years of rigorous training after graduating medical school. She completed two residencies and a fellowship at the prestigious medical universities of the Massachusetts General Hospital (affiliated with Harvard Medical School) in anesthesiology and critical care, the Cornell New York Hospital-Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in psychiatry and neurology, and the Columbia University Psychoanalytic Center in psychoanalytic psychotherapy.
During her residency in psychiatry, Dr. Theodore conducted research into the causes of genocide and ways to prevent it. She diligently worked in Estonia and the Czech Republic, and she published several articles based on her research, as well as presented at numerous international conferences.
Upon completing her training, Dr. Theodore worked extensively with the undomiciled population in New York City. She soon became the Director of Mental Health at a sprawling HIV center in Manhattan. While Director, she delivered care to HIV-positive children, adults, and their families, managed a large, multi-disciplinary team of mental health professionals, and conducted public health research.
Trained to respond in a crisis, Dr. Theodore was a first responder in “the Pit” when the Twin Towers fell on 9/11. In addition, she was tasked by the United States President’s Office to conduct a public health survey of the mental health needs of the traumatized residents in Kosovo, just two weeks after the Allied bombings.
For several decades, Dr. Theodore has practiced and taught Tae Kwon Do at her own school. She has achieved a third-degree black belt in the martial art and competed in numerous international and national tournaments. Her love of running has motivated her to train and complete eight NYC Marathons. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and two teenage children.
Founding her private practice in Portland, Oregon, and in Manhattan, Dr. Theodore maintains a commitment to provide exceptional care, to maintain the highest safety standards, and to get results.
Dr. Theodore approaches every relationship with warmth and a profound commitment to exceptional care that far supersedes the standard of care. All her training and experiences inform her care with her patients today.
We invite you to experience what truly distinguishes Dr. Theodore. She looks forward to warmly welcoming you to her practice.