M E I J U N
Behavioral Sleep and Pain Medicine
Patricia Wong PhD LLC
In-person in Greater Boston (Sharon, MA) | Telehealth across Massachusetts
Coming to Houston, Texas this Fall!
Breaking the Cycle: Evidence-Based Care for Sleep and Chronic Pain
When sleep difficulties or pain become entrenched, they require more than general support.
As a specialist in Health Psychology/Behavioral Medicine, I help you implement personalized interventions to recalibrate your system and restore your quality of life.
Dr. Patricia Wong, Clinical Health Psychologist
The Science of Why You’re Stuck
If you are struggling with sleep or persistent pain, you aren’t "just stressed"—you are navigating a complex physiological feedback loop within the mind-body relationship. And you're not alone. In the U.S., over 50 million adults live with chronic pain, and 30% of the population experiences insomnia.
Understanding the Mechanism
For many people, the frustration partly lies in not understanding why the body won't reset or how to break out of the cycle.
In Chronic Pain: The brain can become overly sensitive, treating benign body signals as "danger," a process known as central sensitization. Over time, your nervous system learns to stay in a state of high alert, creating a feedback loop where even minor triggers lead to intense discomfort. Pain stops being a reliable indicator of physical injury and instead becomes an exhausting 'false alarm' that keeps your body defensive, preventing you from being at ease.
In Insomnia: The natural "sleep drive" often becomes decoupled from the body's internal clock, and after repeated sleepless nights, the body has learned to think of nighttime as the time to be awake, frustrated, hypervigilent. Sleep starts to feel like a strenuous nightly performance rather than a natural, restorative process.
A Path Forward
Specialized Support for Sleep, Chronic Pain, and Chronic Illness
Effective treatment for sleep difficulties and chronic pain requires a shift in perspective and goals. Behavioral Medicine addresses the intersection of biology, behavior, and psychological well-being. By targeting the specific neural and behavioral patterns that keep symptoms in a loop, these interventions move beyond passive management and toward regaining a true sense of agency in your body.
Meet Dr. Patricia Wong
Many of my patients arrive with the frustrating sense that they’ve ‘tried everything.’ If you feel that way, it’s usually because your symptoms have been treated as separate parts rather than a connected system. Rather than telling you to "just try harder" or "relax," I work with you to effectively recalibrate your sleep and shift your body's interpretation of pain. I am a licensed Clinical Health Psychologist specializing in Behavioral Sleep Medicine and Chronic Pain Therapy, and I work with individuals across the lifespan, ranging from children to older adults. My expertise stems from specialized training at the University of Pittsburgh and Brown University, focusing on sleep and the profound intersection between physical and psychological health. I take pride in translating this science into accessible, effective, and personalized care for each client. My approach isn't general talk therapy, it's collaborative, structured work that goes beyond surface symptom management. We take what we know about sleep science and the mind-body relationship and develop personalized tools to help you target what drives your symptoms. We tailor our work to fit your needs so that you can shift away from what's keeping you stuck and get back to what matters most in your life.
A Note to Prospective Clients
Thank you for visiting. I welcome you to explore this site to learn more about my background and specialized services. To ensure dedicated, individualized care—unencumbered by the constraints of insurance—I maintain a private pay practice. If you have out-of-network benefits, I am happy to provide documentation to assist you in seeking reimbursement. I encourage you to contact your insurance carrier to verify your specific coverage, and I am available to help you with this process further. Choosing a psychologist to partner with on your health journey is a significant step. I welcome you to reach out with any questions so we can determine if my clinical framework and collaborative style align with your goals. I look forward to the possibility of partnering with you on your path toward restoration and health. -Patricia Wong, PhD