Greetings, I hope 2024 is off to a great start for you. Some exciting updates to share with you related to our mission to alleviate human suffering and reduce pain disparities. As you know, mainly we come at this through the angle of improving access to pain care. We also seek to integrate the patient voice, as well as their needs and wants into all projects and studies: ↠ What’s New: PROGRESS Study Updates: Our $11.2M [...]
Dear Friends, I hope this message finds you in good health and spirits. It’s been a while since I shared a message with you and that’s a reflection of being busy doing the work! As 2022 comes to a close, this update is focused on Empowered Relief. Status updates: Empowered Relief is being delivered in 22 countries and in 7 languages. Empowered Relief is being studied in nationally-funded research in the U.S., Canada, and Denmark. Three [...]
Many of you know I am the chief science advisor at AppliedVR, a digital therapeutics company. My role at AppliedVR aligns with my dual core missions of expanding access to effective pain care and reducing treatment burden for people who have pain. At AppliedVR, we target both missions by translating evidence-based behavioral medicine skills and principles into virtual reality (VR) treatment for chronic pain. We created an immersive, 3D experience that optimizes learning, experience, and chronic [...]
More than 100 million Americans experience ongoing pain. According to one Congressional report, "for every physician certified in pain care, there are more than 28,500 Americans living with chronic pain," suggesting that the U.S. has poor ability to meet demand for expert pain care. Similarly, colleagues and I previously reported that access to behavioral pain care in the U.S. remains poor for a variety of reasons, including few trained and available local therapists and insurance [...]
I was pleased to have my thoughts on opioid tapering featured in The Guardian feature story on “Life After Opioids” by author Celina Ribiero. I am here to help people understand how and why scientific evidence and patient-centered approaches are critical elements of compassionate and ethical pain care, and why ignoring either of these puts patients at risk for poor outcomes and even grave harms. And lastly, we must remember that being truly patient-centered means recognizing, [...]
I was pleased to be invited by Nature to give my thoughts on what is needed in pain research and care ("To treat pain, study people in all their complexity"). Too often, the person is forgotten while the symptom is treated. Our systems must account for the individual variability in the experience and treatment of pain, and to address the unique needs of each person. Psychology is fundamental to the experience of pain, regardless of the [...]
The April 2018 issue of O Magazine includes a few of my comments in an article that addresses addiction risks for opioids ("Why prescription opioids are so addictive" by Peg Rosen). What's not stated in this article is my belief that opioids can and do help some people living with chronic pain. This is a nuanced issue that requires individual consideration and treatment planning. Right now the national focus is on opioid risks, and while I [...]