Media

Often I am interviewed and have the opportunity to teach online or in the press about highly sensitive people – adults and youth. Some of these resources are available on this page.

I hope you enjoy the opportunity to learn more about me and the mission I share with my mentor, Dr. Elaine Aron: Educate, help, and improve the lives of highly sensitive people everywhere.

Differential Susceptibility – that scientific term that means improving the environment and experience of HSPs and HSCs (orchids) will improve their lives dramatically – makes EDUCATION all important.

Please accept these offerings as a taste of our work. And… go out and spread the word. Talk about sensitivity in your community and especially watch out for sensitive youth who need our help to find their superpower through the shame and criticism they are likely experiencing from our culture..

Am I OK? Podcast

HSPs as Animal Lovers and the Value of Equine Therapy, with Alane Freund

Listen to Alane Freund on Lisa Lewis’ podcast, Am I OK? In this episode, Alane talked about the relationship between HSP sensitivity and equine therapy. We discuss sensitivity in the equine world and how HSPs can practice more mindfulness.

Alane Freund, LMFT Honoring and managing your Sensitivity

Read more about my talk with Julie In Conversation.

Alane Freund on being a Highly Sensitive Person in uncertain times.

Listen to Alane Freund, for the 2nd time on Julie Cusmariu’s podcast, “Julie in Conversation”, help us navigate these uncertain times, back to school season and living with uncertainty, so that we can manage, normalize and honour our sensitivity and even thrive. Read the full post from Julie’s website here.

Magic of Equine Assisted Psychotherapy with HSP

by Nicole Burgess – Featuring Alane Freund

Listen to Alane Freund on Nicole Burgess’ podcast, Soulfilled Sisterhood Podcast. In this episode, Alane shares her journey of being a horse woman since she was a child to creating her equine assisted psychotherapy business. Read more here.

Motherhood: It Takes a Village with Alane Freund, LMFT

By Julie Cusmariu – August 29, 2018

There is so much value to gain and research shared from Alane Freund, LMFT, in this conversation that impacts us all. The people we meet daily, people like you and me. Teachers, parents, physicians, therapists, caregivers, neighbors, friends, and of course, our children in their classrooms, with their friends, in their community, and at home.

May you receive much benefit and share it with those you know who will also gain from hearing about this topic.

In this conversation Alane shared the 5 things HSPs (Highly Sensitive People) need to do to flourish (the FIVE to THRIVE,) how high sensitivity is often a misunderstood trait and is often misdiagnosed, and Alane even took us through a 20 second experience to lower our arousal level and help our children do the same.

Here’s to honoring your sensitivity, and the sensitivity in the children you know and nurture.

On Boys Podcast

Highly Sensitive People Can Thrive

Highly sensitive people — boys & parents alike — are prone to overwhelm. 

They’re also likely to be misunderstood (and, perhaps, misdirected) by parents, teachers, coaches, and others.

“I was told my entire life, ‘You’re too damn sensitive,’” says Alane Freund, a licensed psychotherapist, highly sensitive person (HSP), & parent a of highly sensitive son.

New York Times

Is Your Child an Orchid, a Tulip or a Dandelion?

 

By 

August 6. 2020

Read the entire article here

Alane Freund, a family therapist in San Rafael, Calif., has pioneered a form of equine-assisted therapy to help highly sensitive teenagers better appreciate their own traits. Horses are highly sensitive by nature. “A horse can sense your muscle tension from the far side of the corral,” Ms. Freund said. “They know if your breathing changes, they can smell your perspiration. That extreme sensitivity is how they stay alive in the wild.”

Like horses, highly sensitive children will tend to enter new situations more slowly. “Horses model for the children that caution is healthy,” Ms. Freund said. “You don’t know these people, you’ve got to get the lay of the land first.”

Recently, she received a text message from a highly sensitive 16-year-old client saying, “I suck at making friends.” Ms. Freund wrote back: “You don’t suck at making friends. You make friends in a different way, you are actually better at it because you take time, choose the right person, forge deeper friendships in the end.

Parenting with Ease Webinar

Attention Parents of Highly Sensitive Children (HSP)! Check out the Parenting with Ease Summit hosted by Kelly Lash to hear parenting expert Alane Freund, LMFT, speaking about how to support your highly sensitive child (and the parents who live with them!)

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?t=7&v=1015835921886921

Passion Harvest

 

Listen to Alane on this Passion Harvest podcast episode on “4# Traits to Identify Highly Sensitive People & 5# Things HSP Need to Do to Thrive”.

Alane talks about optimal levels of stimulation, and she believes that prevention for anxiety is the key. Overstimulation can look like anxiety, and HSPs can be misdiagnosed with anxiety & depression.

You can also watch the video here.

Sensitive and Strong Podcast

A conversation with Alane Freund and Brian Torres about the LGBTQ+ community.

We talked about the importance of community for HSQ’s (Highly Sensitive Queer), the LGBTQ+ community. How it is experienced and how to find your tribe. Alane and Brian are organizing a free online event on Sunday July 24. They are starting a community so if you are interested be sure to join it.

The Jefferson Exchange

Therapist talks about handling senses that work overtime

Just getting through daily life involves not noticing many things going on around you. You just can’t notice every sight, every sound in the vicinity.

But some people are more prone to be aware of little things that the rest of us screen out; the term is Sensory Perception Sensitivity (SPS). And while the extra sensitivity can be distracting and upsetting, it can also lead to some intense euphoric experiences.

Alane Freund is a therapist practicing in the Bay Area who works with people with SPS. We talk about the traits and the treatment.

PHOENIX HELIX EPISODE 74: HIGHLY SENSITIVE PEOPLE AND AUTO
IMMUNE ISSUES WITH ALANE FREUND

What Does It Mean to Be Highly Sensitive?

Are you easily overwhelmed by bright lights and strong smells? Do you get rattled when you have a lot to do in a short amount of time? Do you make a point of avoiding violent movies and TV shows? When you were a child, did your parents or teachers see you as sensitive or shy? Then you might be a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP), along with 20% of the general population. Dr. Elaine Aron started researching this trait in the 1990’s, and my hunch is that the percentage is much higher among people with autoimmune disease. I first heard this term when I saw a meme on the internet called Highly Sensitive Introvert Bingo. When I got “blackout bingo” I got curious.

(Note: introversion and HSP are two separate traits, and you can be a highly sensitive extrovert as well.) My guest today is Alane Freund, LMFT, a psychotherapist who specializes in working with highly sensitive people. She’s going to teach us what this term means, and if we fall into this category, how we can reap the benefits and overcome the challenges.

THE MARIN INDEPENDENT JOURNAL

San Rafael psychotherapist helps highly sensitive people in a chaotic world

By KATE FITZSIMMONS |

PUBLISHED: April 18, 2019 at 5:55 pm | UPDATED: April 21, 2019 at 7:59 am

Mental health is taking a beating lately, with all the conflicts around politics, health care, the climate, getting into the best schools, the list goes on. Alane Freund, a licensed psychotherapist with a practice in San Rafael, knows it can feel even worse for someone who is highly sensitive. According to estimates, 1 in 5 people are considered highly sensitive people. The sense of chaos or of being overwhelmed can lead to feelings of anxiety, PTSD and even depression.

Alane Freund at Heart & Mind Equine in Woodacre. (Mary Small/Mary Small Photography)

Freund explained: “Highly sensitive people have a finely tuned nervous system. It’s a trait that’s been documented in 100 species, from fruit flies to pumpkinseed fish to humans. In our species, a highly sensitive person would have been the one to smell the first ripe fruit as a gatherer, or hear the first twig snap to alert the village of invading danger. They became the shamans and healers. They made it possible for the tribe to function.”

Freund provides workshops and trainings for parents and teachers so they understand that highly sensitive people are different. They process information deeply, often reflecting on it before acting, experience emotions viscerally, can become overstimulated by noise and light, and feel deep empathy toward other people’s needs.

She is always striving, through workshops and presentations to ensure more parents and teachers recognize the signs of high sensitivity in children. “Children who are shamed for their sensitivity, by peers or others, need support in understanding their own reactions. If parents are taught to honor and understand their children’s sensitivities they will be far less likely to be seen as inhibited, fearful or stigmatized.”

“When something goes wrong, in a personal interaction,” Freund continued, “a highly sensitive child can experience it as personally painful. If we can teach them to recognize that it is a good thing to be empathetic, and that they need to practice self-care, they reduce the stress.”

For a horsewoman from Oklahoma, who trained her first pony at the age of six, Freund’s mission in life, to elevate knowledge and understanding for highly sensitive people, might seem an odd choice. In fact, through her 25 years in practice, she’s melded the two culminating in the Heart and Mind Equine program. Certified by the Equine Assisted Growth and Learning Association, Freund works with rescue horses, highly sensitive beings in their own right, to help children and adults recognize and better understand sensitivity, as well as their own strengths and challenges in social situations. To learn more: http://www.heartandmindequine.com/about-workshops/

The Weekend University: Thriving as a Highly Sensitive Person – Alane Freund

Watch Alane Freund on The Weekend University. In this episode, Alane explores the highly sensitive person’s tremendous capacity for thriving. Read more here.

Episode 214: Parenting Highly Sensitive Kids with Alane Freund

Listen to Alane Freund on the Tilt Parenting podcast. In this episode, Alane explains to us what high sensitivity is, how it shows up in children, teens, and adults, and gives her insights on how parents can help their highly sensitive kids flourish. Read more here.

Unapologetically Sensitive Podcast

Flourishing As A Highly Sensitive Person (HSP) During Times of Stress

During times of stress, the Highly Sensitive Person can fare better than the other 80% when we cultivate environments that help us flourish, as well as being mindful about what we consume. Overstimulation can look like anxiety, and HSPs can be misdiagnosed with anxiety & depression. Alane talks about optimal levels of stimulation, and she believes that prevention for anxiety is the key. She shares what she does to prevent anxiety.

What Doctors Don’t Tell You

Orchids and Dandelions

 

By 

April 2022

Read the entire article here

Alane Freund, a California-based marriage and family therapist, says she grew up being told she was far too sensitive. It’s a refrain familiar to highly sensitive people. “Both my parents are highly sensitive, but they wanted me to be okay. So they tried to drive it out of me, especially my dad, [saying] ‘You cannot go through the world like this, they’re going to eat you alive,’” she says.

Freund advises HSPs to design a life that balances the need for social interaction with the risk of overstimulation. That means scheduling time alone, making meditation or mindfulness a daily practice and being aware of their overstimulation triggers such as crowds. 

Women’s Health Magazine

All the Feels

 

By Lauren Del Turco

April 2022

Basically, they “have an emotional re- action to every little thing they notice, and think deeply about those feelings,” says therapist Alane Freund, LMFT, a consultant on high sensitivity.

Downtime is essential for the supersensitive. “The goal is one hour a day with zero stimulation or input,” says Freund. That means walking away from devices, obligations, and work. How you spend it is up to you— meditation (Freund loves the Insight Timer app’s guided practices), a workout, or cooking.

Soaking up the great out- doors improves everything from our sense of meaning in life to overall happiness and well-being, according to research, and experts believe these benefits are especially potent for highly sensitive people because of their receptivity to beauty. “We need to connect to nature in a meaningful way,” Freund says.

Ample (and quality!) sleep is the number one way to recharge—which is why seven or eight hours of shut-eye per night should be nonnegotiable, says Freund. But a tip for when that’s a little out of reach: “Eighty percent of stimuli comes in through your eyes,” says Freund.

Wondering if you are highly sensitive?

Listen to a short talk on it.