Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia

I am trained in cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I). The American College of Physicians recommends that all adult patients receive CBT-I as a first-line approach to treat insomnia.

What is CBT-I?

Cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) is a short, structured, and evidence-based approach usually completed within 4-6, every-other-week, sessions.

How effective is it?

Most people with chronic insomnia who receive this treatment will see great benefits - as many as 70% to 80% of patients with insomnia experience improvements, including less time to fall asleep, more time spent asleep, and waking up less during the night. These results are often longlasting. 

Cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia has been proven to:

  • Help clients who have taken sleep medication for years

  • Be as effective as pharmacotherapy in the short term, and more effective in the long term

  • Effectively treat the root causes of insomnia, not just the symptoms as medication does

How does it work?

In CBT-I, we work on both cognitive and behavioral interventions. Through cognitive interventions, we look at and restructure unhelpful and inaccurate beliefs about sleep. Through behavioral interventions, we change behaviors around sleep and bed to improve sleep. This multi-faceted approach helps us to improve your quality and efficiency of sleep.

This is a short-term treatment that we can usually complete in just a handful of sessions. We start by tracking your sleep using a sleep diary for 2 weeks and assessing your experience of insomnia. From there, we go over psychoeducation of the components of insomnia and we develop a plan for treatment together. Usually in just a few weeks you will start to feel relief from insomnia.

One of the most exciting parts about CBT-I is that it can also help relieve symptoms of other conditions, like anxiety and depression, with little to no adjustments needed to the approach. By addressing insomnia effectively, relief for other symptoms can follow.

You can learn more about CBT-I here:

https://www.sleepfoundation.org/insomnia/treatment/cognitive-behavioral-therapy-insomnia