Tia Steyn Occupational Therapist

Sensory modulation theory explores a mental health framework that broadens the application of occupational therapy from illness to wellness. Integrating a sensory processing approach provides significant results to support mental health and individuals living with mental illness.

Register for our upcoming Level 1 and Level 2 workshops on sensory intelligence and occupational therapy to learn how to co-create sensory regulation strategies with adolescents and adults.

The Level 1 workshop will focus on an overview of sensory modulation, sensory processing assessments, and strategies to support self-regulation. The Level 2 workshop will delve further into application with PTSD, autism, ADHD, anxiety, and depression.

➡️ Sensory intelligence and occupational therapy - Co-creating self-regulation strategies with adolescents and adults (Level 1)
March 18 to 25, 2026 on your own
📆 March 26, 2026 live
🕘 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. (Eastern Time)
Presented by occupational therapists Dr. Annemarie Lombard & Tia Steyn
Register now- https://caot.ca/client/event/roster/eventRosterDetails.html?productId=11800&eventRosterId=10

➡️ Sensory intelligence and occupational therapy - Application to adolescents and adults with mental illness (Level 2)
May 28 to June 10, 2026 on your own
📆 June 11, 2026 live
🕘 11:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. (Eastern Time)
Presented by occupational therapists Dr. Annemarie Lombard & Tia Steyn
Register now- https://caot.ca/client/event/roster/eventRosterDetails.html?productId=11816&eventRosterId=10

Occupational therapy - impacting lives at every turn 💛

Here is a great explanation of misophonia by an Australian occupational therapist colleague. Awareness about misophonia has increased. I quite often see clients who struggle with this. As a Sensory Intelligence licensee I help those clients manage their symptoms in their daily activities.

Misophonia – more than just dislike of sounds and how OTs can help

Most people can relate to the experience of certain noises or sensations as being really unpleasant. For example, the thought of nails scratching down a blackboard can make the hairs on your arms to stand up, your teeth feel ‘on edge’ and the strong impulse to quickly cover your ears to stop the noise!

The term “misophonia” (hatred of sound) was first used in the early 2000’s to characterise the experience of an extreme emotional and physical response to certain ordinary, often repetitive, day to day sensory input. It is reported to occur in up to 20% of the population and equally in men and women. The input that evokes the most intense responses tends to be human created orofacial noises like breathing, swallowing, chewing, sniffing, throat clearing and lip smacking. Noises such as tapping and pen clicking have also been reported to be problematic. For people with misophonia, these experiences can evoke intense responses that may not seem in keeping with the circumstance such as disgust, irritation, anxiety, distress, anger and an overwhelming desire to remove themselves or remove the input from their environment.

Rather than misophonia being a hearing problem, it is now proposed to stem from attentional or emotional processing issues later in the brain’s auditory system. In examining brain activity while listening to a variety of sounds (including neutral, unpleasant and known misophonia triggers) Kumar et al (2017) found the following:
• the misophonia group rated the trigger sounds as more distressing than the other sounds.
• the research control group rated trigger and unpleasant sounds as similarly annoying.

These results support the theory that people with misophonia experience selective intolerance for trigger sounds (Kumar et al, 2017).
When hearing trigger sounds, Kumar also found people with misophonia demonstrate increased insula activation compared to controls, with higher levels of insula activity being correlated with greater reports of distress. The experience of trigger sounds for misophonics showed altered functional connectivity between the insula and other brain regions for attention and emotion. Given the insula plays an important role in internal awareness of body and emotional states, these findings suggest people with misophonia experience altered activation of interoceptive brain networks. Further, it has been proposed that this altered brain connectivity may have similarities to that which occurs in conditions like synesthesia, which is the experience of sensory crossovers (Edelstein et al, 2013)

A study by Kaufman et al (2022) showed people with misophonia have increased sensory responsiveness in the areas of adversive, hedonic, auditory and smell subscales. However they were not identified to have a sensory over-responsiveness type of sensory modulation dysfunction, which suggests that misophonia and SOR, while having some similarities, are actually separate conditions.

The intense adverse response to mouth noises (like chewing) are proposed to be due to heightened sensitivity in the connections between the auditory cortex and orofacial motor control areas. However a research study by Hansen et al (2022) has demonstrated strong connections also between brain regions associated with finger movement & sensation (ie tapping) and the insula.

Further research by Kumar et al in 2021 found that misophonics show increased activity between the auditory cortex and motor control areas related to the face, mouth and throat. Motor regions were not only strongly activated by trigger sounds (not other sounds), but also between visual and motor regions. These findings suggest that discrete visual cues/sensory input can also trigger misophonic responses, possibly due to an involuntary overactivation of the brain’s mirror system resulting in a perception that external trigger sounds are impacting on our bodies without our control.

Samermit et al (2022) investigated whether pairing of different visual stimuli with orofacial sounds (eg a visual of paper tearing paired with the sound of chewing) could alter the misophonic adverse response. Results indicated that this pairing increased the pleasantness of the sound, with the degree of pleasantness further improved if this pairing was presented first. This may indicate that the belief/prior about the sound source might impact on the level of adverse response. Kumar (2021) also suggests that some people can lessen symptom intensity by mimicking the action that generates the trigger sound, possibly by providing the brain with a prediction cue thus reducing novelty and increasing a sense of control.
This research further reflects the complexity of misophonia, including range of triggers and neurological pathways and networks involved, symptoms and functional implications.

The impact of misophonia can be widespread and result in people experiencing many challenges with a range of occupational and functional roles, for example:
• Eating meals with family & in public dining spaces (food courts, restaurants, hospital dining rooms)
• Studying in libraries and open classrooms
• Participating in examination conditions with a group of people
• Shared sleeping arrangements
• Using public transport
• Busy public entertainment venues (cinemas, theatres, concerts)
• Being around others in cold and flu season or being in a health clinic waiting rooms

Continued research and the findings discovered can help us better understand the mechanisms of misophonia and provide clues and recommendations to help in its management.
OTs can offer a range of different tools and strategies to assist people to better understand and manage their unique experience of misophonia, including:
• Education and support to increase people’s understanding and awareness of their experience of misophonia, including –
o specific sensory triggers
o resultant emotional and body responses
o the role that heightened interoceptive (internal body sensory) signals play in misophonia
o the impact of sensory overload on functioning and the importance of energy conservation principles including pacing, taking regular rest breaks, task modification & adaptation to reduce adverse sensory input.

• Sensory modulation strategies to help eliminate or dampen down the experience of the sensory trigger, such as –
o Earplugs such as ear defenders or ear loops
o Modify distance from/ proximity to the trigger (eg – position self further away)
o Adapt the task to alter engagement with the trigger (eg – sit somewhere else or an adjoining room to eat meals, consider a different activity for family connection time like an outdoor walk or board game instead of combined evening meal)
o Strategies to compete with the sensory trigger (use of masking sounds like music, nature sounds or white noise)
o Blue tooth headband for sleep

• Tailored sensory modulation strategies to help reduce stress and manage the emotion dysregulation that can be caused by the experience of misophonia, for example –
o Preferred sensory input
o Sensory routines embedded in day to day activities

• Address/update the brain’s prediction of the sensory input using an intervention combining sensory modulation, predictive processing strategies and sensory health principles

To learn more about Functional Brain Networks for Mental Health:
https://sensorymodulationbrisbane.ticketspice.com/functional-brain-networks-mental-health-and-sensory-processing

To learn more about Predictive Processing for Mental Health:
https://sensorymodulationbrisbane.ticketspice.com/predictive-processing-mental-health-and-sensory-processing

See website for References
https://sensory-modulation-brisbane.com/sensory-modulation-blog/misophonia-sensory-strategies

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If I could get a dollar for every time I have answered the question “What is occupational therapy?” in my career, I would be rich. The answer differs quite a bit, depending what setting we work in, but I think fellow OT Sarah explains it quite well!

What is occupational therapy in 2024? This is the topic of next week’s podcast. And, in preparation, created this 60 second explainer video. This description sparked a bit of internal debate in our community…and some of that spirited debate made it into our upcoming podcast! Tune in next week for some lively conversation around what OT really is — and in the meantime, be sure to let us know what you think of the video! #occupationaltherpay

I am very proud and excited to help bring Dr. Annemarie Lombard of Sensory Intelligence to a Canadian occupational therapy audience for the first time ever. Annemarie is incredibly knowledgeableable and passionate about sensory regulation and have trained hundreds of practicioners.

This short workshop will be jam-packed with useful information on sensory self-regulation for mental health strategies with adolescents and adults.

Join our online workshop to increase your knowledge and skills in assessing and co-creating sensory self-regulation strategies with adolescents and adults- https://caot.ca/client/event/roster/eventRosterDetails.html?productId=11469&eventRosterId=5

You will have the opportunity to learn about an education framework that incorporates insights from neuroscience and empowers mental health clients to understand their sensory thresholds and triggers, facilitating self-regulation to reduce distress and to promote participation in meaningful occupations.

➡️ Sensory intelligence and occupational therapy - A practical guide to co-create sensory self-regulation for mental health strategies with adolescents and adults
📅 April 5 to 11, 2024 (on your own)
📅 Live online April 12, 2024 from 11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. (ET)
Presented by occupational therapists Dr. Annemarie Lombard & Tia Steyn

Save $50 when you register by January 24th. Sign up now!

Do you work in a hybrid environment or know someone who does? As a Sensory Intelligence licensee I can help you with your setup and habits to optimize your focus, flow, comfort and ultimately, productivity.

Struggling with your hybrid work setup?
Learn practical tips to create a comfortable and productive environment with Sensory Intelligence Consulting's expert insights.
https://ow.ly/EuYZ50Q3rhw

Occupational therapists can help clients return to challenging work situations and other activities. Every client has their own journey and it’s a privilege to share it with them, providing some guideposts and solutions along the way.

After witnessing a traumatic incident at work, this social worker went from helping those with psychological injuries to working with an occupational therapist and rehabilitation assistant. Learn how Aniko learned grounding strategies to overcome fear and anxiety to confidently return to work. http://ms.spr.ly/61899LGOD

Tia Steyn Consulting provides OT mental health services to Veterans for Veteran Affairs Canada. Thank you VAC for acknowledging OT during OT month!

From rehabilitation services to playing an essential role in your mental health care, occupational therapists are key players on the team of VAC healthcare professionals.

If there’s one OT who has made a difference in your life, make sure to tell them, as it is

For more on our Treatment Benefits Program: https://bit.ly/3RWK17q


Canadian Armed Forces
Royal Canadian Mounted Police

Welcome to my Tia Steyn Consulting page! I recently start a solo occupational therapy practice, focusing on mental health. I have approx. 25 years experience as an OT. I work with adults and older teens. I accept referrals from other professionals, third parties, and self-referrals. I also work with employers to address the needs of individual employees or groups, focusing on wellness through sensory modulation.

OT focuses on function and help clients to reach their personal goals, whether it be returning to work in the midst of depression or trauma, or managing chronic pain or ADHD to continue living your best life.

My areas of specialization include:
* Sensory modulation to manage sensory sensitivity, to regulate emotions like anxiety or depression, or to increase productivity and focus in work or studies.
* Exposure therapy to help you return to an activity or environment you have been avoiding due to PTSD or social anxiety.
* Gradual return to work and other activities.

I meet with clients in my office in a lovely heritage house in East Hill, in the community in Central & North Okanagan (home visits, job site visits and more) or virtually. Virtual sessions make it possible to work with clients outside my geographical area.