https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xX4kIBdPToU I was pleased to be invited by Scientific American to post a blog describing our work on targeted mindset interventions for pain relief and opioid reduction. This work holds promises for dismantling common barriers to pain psychology treatment in outpatients and surgical settings because the interventions are brief, low-cost, and some are even online! Read the blog post here.
Chronic pain affects up to one-third of the world population. We recognize that an individual approach to treating pain is needed and that for some patients, prescription opioids are necessary. However, the overemphasis on treating chronic pain with opioids has been associated with substantial morbidity and mortality. With 6.8% of the U.S. population now taking long-term opioids, there is an urgent need to reduce opioids and patient risks and to treat pain better. In my team’s [...]
I was honored when Stephen Kiesling, the editor of Spirituality & Health, asked me to contribute content on addressing chronic pain with psychological strategies for the magazine. I ended up having a lot to say, and compiled it into a 5-page feature for the Jan/Feb 2018 issue! In the feature I describe the role of psychology in the experience and treatment of pain, and most importantly -- how pain can serve as a useful teacher that guides [...]
Dr. Emma Seppälä and I were pleased to publish in Time Health "3 Science-backed Ways to Relieve Pain and Stress"! We focus on natural, empowering relief techniques that can help you feel better. Stress and pain are inevitable parts of life. As many as 1 in 3 individuals lives with ongoing pain, and everyone is likely to experience it at some point in their life. While you cannot always control what happens to you, you can [...]
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is evidence-based medicine for reducing the detrimental effects of negative mindset in the context of pain. Transforming negative mindset is shown to reduce pain and improve pain treatment outcomes. The best part is that psychological treatment is non-pharmacological and very low risk. In fact, treating negative mindset in the context of pain can help pain medications work better – which may lead to fewer pills. Click here to read Beth Darnall’s full story [...]
Please join me and the President of the American Academy of Pain Medicine, Dr. Steve Stanos, on May 9, 2017, from 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM CST, for a lively discussion on reducing opioid use in the treatment of chronic pain. Discussion topics include: The psychology of pain and its role in determining a path to treatment Leading non-opioid treatment modalities to address chronic pain and the latest research on pain catastrophizing The need to support [...]
The opioid crisis is forcing doctors to take different approaches to treating pain. In some cases, patients who have been prescribed opioids for years or decades are being abandoned or forced to quickly taper off opioids -- two poor approaches. Other patients are being steered in new directions that can improve pain and function with lower risks. I was honored to be featured in this Scientific American story (May 2017, Author: Stephani Sutherland, Ph.D.) in which the [...]
At the Stanford Systems Neuroscience and Pain Lab, one of our active research studies is focused on how to help prepare people who are heading to surgery. We are equipping them with the information and skills they can use to reduce their own distress and discomfort after surgery. Ideally, this helps people need less pain medication. The program is called "My Surgical Success," and we are testing in women undergoing surgery for breast cancer at Stanford [...]
Optimize your mind-body connection with information and resources that empower you to reduce pain and its impact on your brain and body. Understanding Pain in less than 5 minutes, and what to do about it! (5:00) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_3phB93rvI Learn out Pain Psychology (12:47) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEPCjJfhs_8 What Is Pain Catastrophizing? (6:53) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fnNAF4EPFzc Free Online Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) 8-week course. Learn more here. Free Mindfulness App and Guided Meditations. Download here. Free Mobile Relaxation App: Breathe2Relax (from the Department of Defense) Download here.
Clinical Psychiatry Advisor features Beth Darnall and the work of the entire Pain Psychology Task Force of the American Academy of Pain Medicine in the August 2016 article "The Importance of Pain Psychology Curricula in Training and Education." (Author: Tori Rodriguez, MA, LPC). Read about the national needs assessment that was conducted in almost 2,000 individuals across 6 key stakeholder groups in the U.S., and published in Pain Medicine earlier this year. Learn why a major solution to the pain treatment [...]
