By Natural Medicine Journal
The FDA recently held a meeting (July 10-11, 2017) to discuss ways to decrease the frequency and patterns associated with opioid misuse and abuse. In this interview, pain management expert, Beth Darnall, PhD, talks about the crisis of opioid addiction and how to create safe, effective non-opioid pain management strategies.
About the Expert
Beth Darnall, PhD, is clinical associate professor in the department of anesthesiology, perioperative and pain medicine at Stanford University. Past roles include president of the Pain Society of Oregon and cochair of the Pain Psychology Task Force at the American Academy of Pain Medicine. Her NIH-funded research investigates mechanisms of pain catastrophizing, cognitive behavioral therapy for pain, and a targeted intervention she developed. She is also investigating the impact of an online psychological intervention she developed on postsurgical pain and opioid use in various surgical populations, including cancer and orthopedic trauma. Finally, she is investigating effective opioid tapering strategies in community-based outpatients with chronic pain.
Darnall is author of The Opioid-Free Pain Relief Kit and Less Pain, Fewer Pills: Avoid the dangers of prescription opioids and gain control over chronic pain, and the forthcoming book from the American Psychological Association titled Psychological Treatment for Chronic Pain. She is owner of Optimized Psychology Consulting. Her work and viewpoint has been featured by multiple media outlets, including the San Francisco Chronicle, New York Magazine, MORE magazine, Forbes, and Scientific American. For more information visit her website at bethdarnall.com.