Misophonia - an intense, involuntary reaction to specific sounds - is often dismissed as oversensitivity. But for those living with it, it’s anything but minor. Common triggers like sounds of chewing, breathing, sniffling, or dogs barking can provoke a flood of rage, panic, or deep distress. The reaction is automatic. And unrelenting.
But misophonia doesn’t just affect the person experiencing it - it deeply impacts the entire family. I’ve worked with parents who haven’t spoken out loud to their child in years, and teens who live in total isolation, never leaving their bedroom. I’ve supported adults who are no longer able to work or attend school, and I’ve seen relationships fall apart under the weight of trying to navigate this invisible landmine. For many families, the trauma becomes a shared experience—siblings may develop secondary PTSD, and everyone begins to live in fear of triggering the next reaction.
Sometimes, this struggle extends beyond sound. Misokinesia—an intense reactivity to visual stimuli like leg jiggling, chewing, or fidgeting—often accompanies misophonia. These reactions are every bit as real and distressing, and they arise from the same root cause: a nervous system that’s stuck in a chronic state of threat.
That’s where the Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP) can offer hope.
Created by Dr. Stephen Porges, SSP was developed to support improved nervous system regulation, especially in relation to auditory processing and social engagement. But it’s important to be clear:
While I’ve seen remarkable outcomes, it’s important to understand that the Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP) is not a treatment for any specific condition, including misophonia. Instead, SSP supports overall nervous system regulation, helping the body and brain shift out of chronic threat states and into greater safety and connection.
When our nervous system feels safer in the world?A whole range of things can begin to improve.
Clients often report reduced anxiety, increased enjoyment of social connection, improved ability to read social cues, greater emotional resilience, improved digestion, reduced chronic pain, and even enhanced sensory processing.
Sometimes misophonia improves right away—but even when it doesn’t resolve in the first round, other things almost always begin to shift.
In some cases, it may take more than one round of SSP for misophonia to resolve - especially if it’s been present for many years. I’ve come to believe that in some people, the nervous system needs to work through certain foundational “building blocks” before it can address the sound sensitivities. It may prioritize safety, digestion, or emotional regulation first—and only then begin softening the misophonia response.
That’s why for teens and adults I am happy to combine SSP with other modalities such as:
• Somatic Experiencing (SE) – to support the body in discharging survival energy and increasing capacity to tolerate sound or movement triggers.
• Brainspotting – to directly process the emotional roots of specific triggers, associations, or past traumas that may be holding the misophonia and/or misokinesia in place.
This integrative approach can be deeply healing. Together, these tools help people reclaim choice, flexibility, and connection, often after years of disconnection, shutdown, or reactivity.
More recently, I’ve also been integrating the Rest & Restore Protocol (RRP)—a newer protocol that uses slow, patterned auditory input to support deep settling. A few clients have shared that RRP seemed to ease their misophonia. While SSP is often the more direct route, RRP can be a powerful foundation - especially for highly sensitive or easily overwhelmed systems. Sometimes doing RRP before SSP may allow SSP to be gone through at a slightly faster pace.
That said, the provider you choose matters. A lot.
It’s especially important that those with misophonia or misokinesia work with someone who deeply understands how to titrate SSP carefully to the individual nervous system. If SSP is delivered too quickly—or in the wrong way—it can worsen misophonia temporarily, or overwhelm an already overburdened system.
When I first began receiving over a dozen inquiries a day from the misophonia community, when I tried to find other providers with similar success rates to refer to, I was surprised when many SSP providers told me that they do not tend to see misophonia improve in their clients.
Eventually, I realized something - some of the unique modifications and gentle delivery strategies I use with SSP are a big part of why my clients often experience particularly dramatic results - not just with misophonia, but across many of their areas of concern.
I’ve also developed some methods that I believe if may potentially help us to intentionally target specific areas to increase the likelihood of improvement. While there are never certainties, these tools give us more ways to support the nervous system in doing what it already knows how to do: move toward healing.
One of my favorite moments as a provider is getting an email with the subject line:“A picture is worth a thousand words.” And attaches is a photo of their family sitting together at the breakfast table - smiling, relaxed, and connected. Something they never thought would be possible.
Another parent wrote:
“She just sat beside me and smiled. I didn’t have to tiptoe. I didn’t have to hold my breath.”
And another:
“I coughed...and my son didn't even notice!”
These are the moments that remind me what’s possible.
Whether you begin with SSP alone or take a more layered approach with RRP, SE, and/or Brainspotting, the journey begins the same way: with attunement, pacing, and deep respect for what your nervous system has been through.
Healing from misophonia or misokinesia is absolutely possible.And it begins, gently, with the right kind of support.
Click here to read about therapy options with me, available to those aged 16 and up
Click here to learn about (mostly) flat rate Independent Listening SSP or RRP Packages