Misophonia Matters is an advocacy-based coping skills approach for adults, teens, and clinicians by long-time advocate Shaylynn Hayes-Raymond. Shaylynn has been advocating for misophonia since 2015 and moved to a career in counselling based on her experiences as a misophonia advocate and sufferer of the disorder. The Misophonia Matters approach includes advocacy, psychoeducation, sensory-based skills, and cognitive and psychological skills. Worksheets are presented throughout the book. Central to Misophonia Matters is the idea that while we cannot treat and prevent misophonia, we can learn to navigate and adapt to our world through accommodation, coping skills, and an empathetic advocacy-based approach. A class based on the Misophonia Matters book will be offered through The International Misophonia Foundation.
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Audiobook, digital class, and clinical workbook are coming soon.
The Misophonia Matters Course of Action
- The use of an assessment tool for misophonia such as the Duke Misophonia Questionnaire to determine clinical implications of misophonia and level of impairment.
- Psychoeducation resources and education for either the family or for the individual. This psychoeducation must include an explanation of the expected change and inform sufferers that they should not expect 100% mitigation of symptoms.
- Goal-taking with the client to check in and see how they feel after learning. Guidance on the next steps of the therapy. Possible paths are likely to be followed in any order during the treatment progression but are likely to be used at some point.
- Pathways:
- Advocacy and explanations.
- Accommodations and negotiations which are focused on both self (client) and therapist (accessibility plans/etc.), and which are complemented by communication skills for situations with misophonia triggers (worksheets and homework).
- Sensory-based coping skills for the misophonic moment (worksheets and homework, can vary from therapist to therapist and from client to client).
- Cognitive and psychological (including narrative) approach to self-dialogue of misophonia and what this means for the world.
- Measure seeing if there was change throughout this process such as using the Duke Misophonia Questionnaire or another measure once more.
- Follow-up which specifically seeks sufferer perspectives and family perspectives on the experience.
At this time, the Misophonia Matters Approach has not been verified through academic research and is thus used in a “at your own risk” form of intervention. However, in the future, there are plans to test the Matters Approach through vigorous academic research. That, of course, takes time.
Section D, which highlights the types of interventions for misophonia, should be noted as an eclectic approach. No one path is more important than another. It is also important to realize that for each person with misophonia, their own history, needs, and opinions will be of great importance when deciding how to implement these steps. What is important is that the person with misophonia is experiencing meaningful changes from this advocacy-based approach.
Example Use of the Misophonia Matters Approach
Session 1: Initial appointment. Psychoeducation mixed with learning about the client.
Session 2: Misophonia assessment followed by debriefing and seeing the client’s perspective on the assessment.
Session 3: Begin psychoeducation and presenting materials. This step could take several sessions, or as few as one, depending on the prior knowledge of the client.
Session 4: Discussing misophonia with the client and figuring out what their main concerns involve. Useful to share the potential Misophonia Matters pathways and see which they choose.
Session 5: Engaging in the chosen activities with the client. Room should be left for an open discussion on the path and how the client feels about this chosen activity.
Session 6: Repeat pathways until all chosen pathways have been followed. Debrief after each step.
Session 7: Misophonia assessment and debriefing on the therapy process. This might be in later sessions, depending on the specific needs of each client.