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Childhood misophonia as a family-impacting CBT-amenable syndrome

In a 2024 study, Guzick investigated the clinical presentation and functional impairment of childhood misophonia by conducting and thematically analyzing focused interviews with 20 youth-parent dyads. They found transdiagnostic cognitive behavioral processes including avoidance, anticipatory anxiety, hypervigilance, automatic negative attributions, escape urges, and aggression, alongside secondary emotional consequences and significant impairment in family, school, and social domains. From this they concluded misophonia is an emotionally exhausting syndrome affecting entire family systems, with several promising CBT treatment targets best delivered through modular or process-based frameworks emphasizing family-based components (Guzick et al., 2024).

Modular, process-based CBT as the recommended treatment framework for childhood misophonia

Guzick et al. (2024) thematically analyzed focused interviews with 20 youth-parent dyads and identified candidate CBT targets including distress tolerance, mindfulness, acceptance and reframing, gradual exposure, and supportive communication. The authors concluded that these targets are best delivered through modular or process-based CBT frameworks rather than multicomponent packages, which risk diluting central techniques, and that family-based components should be emphasized given the disorder's family-system impact (Guzick et al., 2024).