CBT-Insomnia
Group Class or Individual Therapy
Next Online Group Class Starts:
Thursday, May 15, 2025 @ 10:30 am
Cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) is considered the first line treatment for insomnia. Why is that? Research widely supports the effectiveness of CBT-I. Too, it has been determined that sleep medications are problematic and ineffective when used long term.
CBT-I typically involves 6-8 weeks of weekly or bi-weekly therapy sessions that promote cognitive and behavioral changes resulting in regular, restorative sleep. In CBT-I we identify and target factors that interfere with getting to sleep and sleeping through the night. Predisposing, precipitating and perpetuating factors play a role in the development of insomnia. CBT-I targets the perpetuating factors: sleep related behavior and thoughts that can lead to chronic insomnia. Repeated experiences of pairing the sleep environment (your bedroom) with wakefulness, frustration and anxiety can create conditioned arousal leading to chronic insomnia. It's not your fault, conditioned arousal occurs naturally, but it is reversible using stimulus control methods.
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You may be a good fit for CBT-I if:
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you are willing to complete a daily sleep journal
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you are ready to make behavioral changes to your sleep routine and schedule
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you are ready to do work in session and between sessions to address sleep related thoughts
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Let's Work Together
Recommended reading:
What to expect...
1
Assessment and Sleep Science
We will start with assessments of your mood and sleep experience and review the current science around sleep and insomnia treatment.
2
Sleep Journal
Tracking your sleep daily for will give us a good baseline to understand your sleep patterns and create modifications to your sleep schedule. Once you are back to experiencing restorative sleep, you can confidently resume a more flexible sleep schedule, knowing you have the tools to get back on track any time you need to in the future.
3
Sleep Behaviors
We will review any environmental issues or sleep related habits that may be interfering with sleep and create a goal and action plan to promote the pairing of bed with sleep.
4
Cognitive Mood Management Tools and Relaxation Training
Research repeatedly demonstrates the effectiveness of CBT for reducing and resolving symptoms of anxiety, depression and insomnia. When insomnia has been chronic, an anxious pattern often develops around sleep, including many anxious thoughts. Together we will address any maladaptive or negative thoughts about sleep, insomnia or the consequences of poor sleep. Along with mood management tools, relaxation training, when done consistently, leads to overall reductions in base level arousal rates, creating a solid foundation for enjoying restful states. We will review options for creating your own practice of relaxation training.
Research
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