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Emily Bowers

Doctoral Student
MS
Utah State University
Logan, UT

Digital ACT Intervention for Adults with Misophonia: Expanding Access to Care through Online Self-help

Virtual

About the Session

Many people living with misophonia experience significant distress and interference in their daily lives, yet finding specialized treatment can be difficult due to cost, location, and limited provider availability. Digital interventions, or fully automated self-help programs, may offer a more accessible way to receive support. This presentation will describe a randomized controlled trial evaluating an online acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) program for adults living with misophonia. Participants were assigned to either the eight-module ACT program or a waitlist condition and completed assessments throughout the study. Study outcomes include misophonia symptoms, psychological flexibility, well-being, and distress, assessed at baseline, mid-intervention, post-intervention, and at one- and two-month follow-up. The presentation will provide an overview of the digital intervention, explain how ACT may be applied to misophonia, and share insights into the potential of digital interventions to expand access to care.

About the Presenter

Emily Bowers, MS, is a fifth-year doctoral student in the combined clinical/counseling psychology program at Utah State University. Her research and clinical work focuses on acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) for anxiety and related conditions. Over the past four years, she has worked as a therapist and researcher on a clinical trial comparing ACT and progressive relaxation training for adults living with misophonia. She is currently the principal investigator of a randomized controlled trial evaluating an online ACT self-help program for misophonia, supported by the Misophonia Research Fund. Her work focuses on developing and testing accessible treatment options to help more individuals living with misophonia receive effective care.