United States

I am a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with a private mental health therapy practice in Minneapolis, MN. I offer in-person and telehealth sessions for those living in MN. If you live outside of MN, I can provide consultation or coaching sessions around minimizing the impact of misophonia on your life and/or household. While sessions are primarily one-on-one, I welcome working with as much of the family/household as possible to ensure everyone is educated about misophonia and engaged in the efforts that will help the miso and family best navigate this condition.

APPROACH:

I create a safe space for my clients to process the difficult emotions that come with misophonia, help them explore influential thoughts/beliefs around the condition, brainstorm strategies for dealing with triggers and find ways (and the confidence) to advocate for oneself/one’s child. I encourage my clients to take a multidisciplinary approach (i.e. getting support from multiple helping professionals such as an audiologist, psychiatrist, OT, etc.).

My treatment approaches include: psychoeducational (understanding misophonia and how to manage it, understanding the nervous system); physiological (helping the miso increase their agency over their nervous system, primarily through Somatic Experiencing method techniques and use of polyvagal theory), cognitive and emotional(addressing problematic thoughts and emotions related to misophonia), behavioral (developing new behavioral patterns of responding; self-advocacy) and relational (having a shared understanding in the household, addressing dynamics that interfere with a sense of safety in the miso's primary relationships, use of healthy co-regulation strategies).

I have three years of specialized training in Somatic Experiencing, which I use to help clients learn how to be the operators of their nervous system. It is also a powerful approach for releasing trapped trauma/stress in the body, resulting in one having a greater “window of tolerance” for stress and triggers.

As someone who has had misophonia since the age of 12, I have a unique understanding of what it’s like to live with misophonia and passion for helping this population.

TESTIMONIALS:  

All of my miso clients have said I'm the first therapist they have seen that "gets it" and how valuable that is when it comes to trusting the therapy process, addressing shame they carry about misophonia, etc. As a result of therapy, several of my miso clients have taken steps to advocate for themselves at school or work and have experienced improved functioning as a result. Many of my clients have grown in their awareness of what's regulating/calming to their nervous system and as a result have increased their window of tolerance for triggers. I make it a practice to connect with the partners (or other household members) of my misophonia clients, which they have expressed as beneficial in terms of (not) taking the triggering personally and learning how to best support their miso partner (or family member) without walking on eggshells themselves.

CREDENTIALS:  

Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (Minnesota #1714); Advanced Level Somatic Experiencing Trainee, Member and Former Executive Director for the Minnesota Association for Marriage and Family Therapy.

In-person and teletherapy sessions available for those in Minnesota.  Online misophonia consultation available for those outside of Minnesota.