Beth Darnall, PhD, is a Stanford pain scientist, international speaker, evidence-based psychologist, and author.
Dr. Beth Darnall, PhD
Beth Darnall is Clinical Associate Professor in the Division of Pain Medicine at Stanford University. A pain psychologist, she has treated patients with chronic pain for 15 years. She serves on the boards of directors for several national pain organizations, editorial boards, is a section editor for Pain Medicine, and served as the 2012 President of the Pain Society of Oregon.
Her research — conducted mainly on women with chronic pain — includes investigations of pain catastrophizing and its impact on neural functioning, the immune system, and sensory perception. She is focused on broadening access to low-cost, high-quality pain psychology treatments. She is currently studying how optimizing psychology prior to breast cancer surgery may improve pain and recovery in women.
She serves as the primary investigator on more than $5 million in NIH funding. She is currently investigating mechanisms of catastrophizing and the single-session catastrophizing treatment she developed.
She is Co-Chair of the American Academy of Pain Medicine’s Task Force on Pain Psychology, and in 2015 received a Presidential Commendation from the American Academy of Pain Medicine.
Her main passion is empowering people with chronic pain to harness the power of their mind-body connection to reduce symptoms and optimize health. She is author of Less Pain, Fewer Pills: Avoid the Dangers of Prescription Opioids and Gain Control Over Chronic Pain © 2014 and The Opioid-Free Pain Relief Kit © 2016.
