Misophonia is a debilitating medical condition in which a sufferer develops an extreme sensitivity to everyday noises, most commonly other people’s eating and breathing (“mouth”) sounds. Generally speaking, Misophonia is initially triggered in childhood, especially around the onset of puberty, but can affect children as young as four years old.

I wrote about this in more detail in my last article, What is Misophonia? Since then I've had the opportunity to find out a lot more about Sequent Repatterning. I've also treated clients using this new model of therapy. At the same time it seems as though the world has begun to wake up to Misophonia. 

Last year saw the third Misophonia Convention in Chicago, Illinois and the largest attendance so far with over two hundred delegates and a dozen speakers. In the UK we have seen coverage of the condition in Metro which was followed up on Fubar Radio. Chris Pearson was interviewed on the daily lunchtime news show. 

Chris, a Fellow of the US-based Misophonia Treatment Institute and is a Professional Member of the Misophonia Association, also spoke at the Chicago conference and introduced his audience to Sequent Repatterning which is one of very few therapies designed specifically to treat Misophonia. 

I mentioned in my previous article the countless young people virtually excluded from mainstream schooling by this condition. The incidence of home schooling amongst those with Misophonia seems much higher than in the general population. Adults, too, are maintaining an existence of isolation, often spending their time at home separated from their loved ones, wearing high-end, sound-cancelling headphones or simply suffering. 

We all know how effective hypnotic therapies can be in changing thinking and behaviour.  As a therapist my greatest satisfaction is seeing clients released from the grip of negative thoughts or upsetting behaviours. Misophonia has shown itself to resist many of the traditional approaches favoured by hypnotherapists. In short, Misophonia cannot be fixed by simple relaxation and suggestion. 

Sequent Repatterning is structured to address each of the three elements of Misophonia: stimulus, reflex and emotional response. So the therapy is structured to address each of these elements plus the links between each of them. It is then tuned to the individual client, choosing from a selection of formats that best suits their experience of the Misophonia condition and their own personality. 

Sequent Repatterning is also highly effective as an online therapy. For individuals who are unable to travel possible long distances there are opportunities to work with a qualified practitioner remotely. This is, of course, the wonderful benefit of having established a community of practitioners using a common methodology and working together for their clients.  It also leads to a network that currently has helped individuals in the UK and Europe and as far away as USA, Canada and Central America as well as Australia and New Zealand.

Qualified practitioners are registered by the Misophonia Treatment Institute. To ensure that the therapy experienced by individuals is always of the highest quality and provides the greatest benefits, practitioners are now able to take Sequent Repatterning training. Clients who are suffering from Misophonia can find a list of certified practitioners at www.sequent-repatterning.co.uk or www.misophoniatreatment.com