Patricia Mejia

Graduate Research Assistant

Physical Health; Pain; Somatic Healing; Psychological Flexibility; Behavioral Medicine; Integrated Care; Community Interventions

Patricia Mejia is a part of the Psychological Fitness Lab. Prior to attending GMU, she was a Monarch 𓃬 (ODU) and a Ragin' Cajun ⚜️ (ULL).

Her current research focuses on the intersection of psychological health (e.g., mood, trauma) and physical health (e.g., pain, inflammation), with a particular interest in the underlying mechanisms (e.g., emotion regulation, psychological flexibility) that may help explain these relationships. She is especially interested in multi-method research integrating quantitative and qualitative approaches, physiological measures (e.g., cortisol, HRV), and behavioral interventions (e.g., acceptance-based approaches, exercise) to better understand factors involved in the development, maintenance, and treatment of psychological and physical health concerns.

In addition to her research, Patricia provides therapy and psychological assessment services to children, adolescents, and adults at GMU’s Center for Community Mental Health, with services available in both English and Spanish. Her broader clinical training spans academic medical centers, federal healthcare and clinical research, rehabilitation, community mental health, and residential treatment settings across Virginia, Maryland, Washington, D.C., and Louisiana.

In her free time, Patricia enjoys talking to dolphins𓆞, eating doughnuts⛾, and thrifting☘︎.

Pronouns: She/Her/Ella ૮₍´˶• . • ⑅ ₎ა

Languages: English (Fluent), Spanish (Fluent), French (Basic)

Current Research

Patricia is actively involved in the Mason: Health Starts Here transdisciplinary student cohort study to understand and improve the health and well-being of university students.

Courses Taught

Education

M.A. in Psychology, George Mason University

M.S. in Psychology, University of Louisiana at Lafayette

B.S. in Psychology, Old Dominion University

⋆ 𖤓 ⋆˚࿔°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･°‧ 𓆝 𓆟 ·｡𓆈⋆.˚ ☾⭒.𐂂⋆｡𖦹 ｡⋆𓏲ּ𝄢☀︎.࿔*:･⛧°. ⋆༺☾𖤓༻⋆. °⛧𓇢𓆸

“And I said, ‘The sun doesn’t care about my pain.’ But then eventually, I realized it was my pain that didn’t care about the sun.”
— Guillermo del Toro

⋆ 𖤓 ⋆˚࿔°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･°‧ 𓆝 𓆟 ·｡𓆈⋆.˚ ☾⭒.𐂂⋆｡𖦹 ｡⋆𓏲ּ𝄢☀︎.࿔*:･⛧°. ⋆༺☾𖤓༻⋆. °⛧𓇢𓆸