Beth Darnall, PhD, is an advocate for patient-centered evidence-based pain treatment and policy. She and her team’s work have been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, ABC News, Forbes, Scientific American, BBC Radio, NPR Radio, Nature, and TIME Magazine.

Recent Press Coverage

Read the Article

Our 'Fundamental Misunderstanding' of Pain

December 2023: WebMD includes commentary from Beth Darnall and features Empowered Relief® in this article exploring misconceptions about pain and the surprising power of behavioral interventions.

By Paul Frysh

Read the Article
Read the Article

New Cases of Chronic Pain Outnumber Those of Diabetes or Depression, Study Shows

May 2023: The New York Times includes Beth Darnall’s perspective on a new JAMA Network Open study showing rising incidence of chronic pain in the U.S.

By Dani Blum

Read the Article
Read the Article

VR-Based Training Conferred Long-Term Relief From Back Pain

February 2023: Pain Medicine News features Beth Darnall’s comments on AppliedVR’s extended durability results for its virtual reality device that treats chronic low back pain.

By Kenneth Bender

Read the Article
Read the Article

Will the New CDC Opioid Prescribing Guidelines Help Correct the Course in Pain Care?

December 2022: JAMA Network includes Beth Darnall’s comments in the news and perspective article entitled “Will the New CDC Opioid Prescribing Guidelines Help Correct the Course in Pain Care?”.

By Rachel Rabkin Peachman

Read the Article
Read the Article

What is pain, how does it work and what happens when it goes wrong?

November 2022: New Scientist article includes Beth Darnall’s thoughts on pain, psychology and placebo effects.

By Stephani Sutherland, PhD

Read the Article
Read the Article

Artificial Intelligence, Mobile Health Tools Comparable to Teletherapy for Chronic Back Pain

November 2022: Pain Medicine News includes Beth Darnall’s commentary on new pain treatment research that studies artificial intelligence supported text messaging alongside telephone CBT.
Read the Article
Watch the Video

Pain: The Great Motivator

November 2022: MedPage Today publishes a print and video interview featuring Beth Darnall and Sean Mackey: “Pain: The Great Motivator.”

Edited by Genevieve Friedman and Emily Hutto

Watch the Video
Read the Article

The Power of Brief Mental Health Therapies

October 2022: The Wall Street Journal includes Empowered Relief® in the this article about the benefits of targeted, time-limited programs for people struggling with anxiety and other problems.

By Dr. Jenny Taitz

Read the Article
Read the Article

Reforming Pain

August 2022: Stanford Medicine Magazine includes Beth Darnall’s work and the science of Empowered Relief® in the pain treatment feature article “Reforming Pain.”

By Gordy Slack

Read the Article
Watch the video

Revolutionizing Digital Pain Management

June 2022: MedPage Today publishes a video interview with Beth Darnall about her colleagues’ and her research on My Surgical Success and implications for the broader field of digital innovations in pain management.

Edited by Emily Hutto

Watch the video
Read the article

Can Virtual Reality Help Ease Chronic Pain?

April 2022: New York Times Magazine quotes Beth Darnall and describes her role in the development of the AppliedVR virtual reality treatment in the article, "Can Virtual Reality Help Ease Chronic Pain?”

By Helen Ouyang

Read the article
Read the article

A single-session class offers chronic low back pain relief

December 2021: Harvard Health features Empowered Relief in the story, “A single-session class offers chronic low back pain relief.”

By Matthew Solan

Read the article
Read the article

Pain Secrets: The Science of Everyday Pain

November 2021: Public Broadcasting System (PBS) features Beth Darnall and Empowered Relief in a documentary titled “Pain Secrets: The Science of Everyday Pain”. Broadcast in November and December throughout U.S. television markets.
Read the article
Read the article

Virtual Reality for Chronic Back Pain Wins FDA Nod

November 2021: MedPage Today mentions Beth Darnall’s role in the FDA approval of AppliedVR’s virtual reality treatment for chronic pain.

By Judy George

Read the article
Read the article

How Psychologists Can Help Treat Chronic Pain

November 2021: The New York Times includes Beth Darnall’s perspective and includes coverage of Empowered Relief in the story “How Psychologists Can Help Treat Chronic Pain.”

By Sushma Subramanian

Read the article
Read the article

Opioid crackdown had 'tremendous fallout,' with more suicides, drug overdoses among patients

November 2021: Tulsa World covers Beth Darnall’s Nov. 1 testimony to the Oklahoma State Legislature on the topic of iatrogenic harms from opioid deprescribing and needed patient protections.

By Randy Krehbiel

Read the article
Read the article

One Pain Relief Skills Class Found Effective for Chronic Low Back Pain

October 2021: Pain Medicine News features Empowered Relief and interviews Beth Darnall about the newest publication in JAMA Network Open.

By Bob Kronemyer

Read the article
Read the article

Dose Tapering in Patients Prescribed Long-Term Opioids: More Harm Than Good?

October 2021: Pain Research Forum features Beth Darnall’s perspective in the story, "Dose Tapering in Patients Prescribed Long Term Opioids: More Harm Than Good?"

By Lincoln Tracy

Read the article
Read the article

Tapering Opioids May Drive Overdose, Mental Health Crises

September 2021: Practical Pain Management publishes a feature interview with Beth Darnall for the story “Tapering Opioids May Drive Overdose, Mental Health Crises.”

By Heidi Splete

Read the article
Read the article

Single-Session Skills Class Provides Chronic Pain Relief

August 2021: MedPage Today features the JAMA Network Open study and Dr. Darnall’s thoughts on the Empowered Relief clinical trial and its significance.

By Judy George

Read the article
Read the article

New approach effectively relieves chronic low back pain

August 2021: Stanford University publishes a Scopeblog on the new Empowered Relief clinical trial results that published in JAMA Network Open.

By Jennifer Huber

Read the article
Read the article

NIH-funded study suggests a single skills-based session on pain management packs a punch

August 2021: The NIH issues a press release on the Empowered Relief clinical trial results that published in JAMA Network Open.
Read the article
Read the article

Abrupt Cessation of Long-Term Opioid Prescribing Common

February 2021: MedPage Today interviews Beth Darnall for a discussion of other scientists’ new research in the article “Abrupt Cessation of Long-Term Opioid Prescribing Common.”

By Judy George

Read the article
Read the article

Breakthrough Virtual Reality Therapy Targets Fibromyalgia and Chronic Low Back Pain

January 2021: Practical Pain Management interviews Beth Darnall for the feature article on the virtual reality treatment she co-developed and investigates.

By Avery Hurt

Read the article
Read the article

Staying Sane and Current on COVID-19 — Advice and resources, by specialty, for those caring for patients

April 2020: MedPage Today features Beth Darnall’s COVID-19 strategies for coping and wellness.
Read the article
Read the article

Life after opioids: 'We have not served our patients well'

February 2020: The Guardian features Beth Darnall’s thoughts on iatrogenic harms caused from opioid tapering.

By Celina Ribeiro

Read the article
Read the article

How to Break the Bonds of Opioids

January 2020: Scientific American features the EMPOWER study and advocacy and research efforts led by Beth Darnall and colleagues in the article "Breaking the Bond of Opioids."

By Claudia Wallis

Read the article
Read the article

Stanford Offers a Mindful Approach to Pain Relief

December 2019: The Mercury News publishes front-page story on Beth Darnall and colleagues’ "My Surgical Success" research in the article "Stanford Offers a Mindful Approach to Pain Relief."

By Jonathan Wosen

Read the article
Read the article

Patient-centered pain management

September 2019: Monitor on Psychology includes Beth Darnall’s comments on behavioral pain management in America, discusses her APA press book, and treatments that expand access to acute and chronic pain care ("My Surgical Success" and "Empowered Relief").

By Deborah Bailey

Read the article
Listen to the podcast

How the Brain Shapes Pain and Links Emotion with Ouch

May 2019: National Public Radio includes Beth Darnall among pain experts on "Morning Edition" national broadcast entitled "How the Brain Shapes Pain and Links Emotion with Ouch."

Host Jon Hamilton

Listen to the podcast
Read the article

Real Pain Relief, Now!

May 2019: Consumer Reports includes Beth Darnall’s expert opinion on behavioral pain management in the article entitled "Pain Relief, Now!"

By Teresa Carr

Read the article
Read the article

Rapidly taking patients off opioids might not be a good idea, experts say

December 2018: Reuter’s Health wire service publishes this article featuring the international stakeholder letter effort led by Beth Darnall, submitted to HHS, and published in Pain Medicine: "Rapidly taking patients off opioids might not be a good idea, experts say." This wire article was picked up by 10 news outlets in Asia, Europe and North America.

By Tamara Mathias

Read the article
Read More News