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In The Mask, Ipkiss at one point goes to Dr. Neuman's office to get his opinion on what the mask is and how and why it works
Dr. Neuman thinks that Ipkiss is crazy, and when Ipkiss puts on the mask to show him that he's not, the mask just doesn't work
Why didn't the mask work at that point? Ipkiss says that maybe the mask only works at night (since it had Loki's power in it, and Loki was a god of night) but is that the real reason? Is there a better, more official reason?
The only time Stanley tries the mask on during daylight is at Dr Neuman's. That and the fact that he always woke up without the mask (which he most certainly did not actively remove) suggest his explanation is indeed correct.
Assuming that you are talking about the movie, there is an admittedly speculative theory.
It is possible that the environment of Dr Neuman's office made the effects of The Mask redundant.
In the first Mask movie, there is a theme of masks (duh) and how we all wear masks metaphorically speaking. We suppress our id (as in id, ego and super ego) by hiding our true selves from the world behind a mask.
Stanley Ipkiss, an incredibly repressed individual, finds The Mask and by wearing it he is able to express his deepest desires. The Mask essentially reveals his id.
Now, in a therapist's office, one can find oneself admitting things that one cannot even admit to oneself. One of the key skills a therapist has to learn is how to get their clients to open up and speak honestly to them. To drop their mask (metaphorically speaking).
It is possible that in that office, where Stanley feels free to express himself fully, that The Mask has no effect because there is nothing more to reveal.
Please remember that this answer is speculative, but based on the content of the first movie. This answer would not apply to the comic series, and I doubt it would apply to the sequel movie (I have not subjected myself to that yet).
Additional Information: I recently remembered that this theory may be canon with the cartoon series (for what that is worth). There is an episode in which Stanley decides to throw away his inhibitions and act as he pleases, and then discovers that The Mask refuses to work when he puts it on.
According to TV Tropes.com, the mask has its own personality/intelligence and can work in the daytime but wanted Stanley to look like a buffoon in front of the doctor, so didn't change at that moment (this page was from the cartoon adaptation, but it supposedly takes up where the movie left off- though why Stanley got the mask back when he threw it away at the film's end is left unexplained).
