Acceptance and commitment therapy versus progressive relaxation training for misophonia: A randomized controlled...

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Audiology
• Psychotherapy Research

Background:

• Misophonia is a condition causing distress due to specific sounds.
• No in-person psychotherapies for misophonia have been rigorously tested against active controls.
• Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and progressive relaxation training (PRT) are potential interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To test the preliminary efficacy of ACT, enhanced with audiological strategies, against PRT for adults with misophonia.
• To compare two distinct psychosocial interventions for misophonia in a randomized trial.

Main Methods:

• A randomized trial involving 60 adults with misophonia.
• Participants received 12 sessions of either ACT or PRT.
• Assessments included misophonia severity, well-being, and psychological flexibility at baseline, post-treatment, and at 3- and 6-month follow-ups.

Main Results:

• Both ACT and PRT were perceived as credible and acceptable treatments.
• Large within-condition effect sizes were observed for both treatments on assessor-rated misophonia.
• No significant between-condition differences were found for misophonia severity, global severity, well-being, or psychological flexibility.

Conclusions:

• ACT and PRT demonstrated medium to strong within-condition effect sizes for misophonia.
• Psychosocial interventions show promise for improving outcomes in adults with misophonia.
• Further research is warranted to explore the efficacy of these interventions.