Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia is the first-line treatment for insomnia. This means it is the most effective treatment and should be offered first for the treatment of insomnia, even before medication. Unfortunately, this is often not the case. People come to CBT-I after years of trialing different medications and strategies that don’t work. The good news is that CBT-I is very effective and has decades of research to back up its efficacy. I’ve used it to treat my own insomnia, in fact! Most people start seeing results after the 3rd week and many people will need 4 sessions or less to resolve insomnia.
According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5-TR), insomnia disorder involves:
Difficulty falling asleep (sleep onset insomnia), and/or
Difficulty staying asleep (sleep maintenance insomnia), and/or
Waking too early and being unable to return to sleep
You can take an assessment here but please note this is not provide a diagnosis https://www.healthquality.va.gov/guidelines/CD/insomnia/CST-03-Insomnia-Disorder-Screening-Guide-Final-508.pdf
References:
What to expect with Brief CBT-I:
Screening: 20 min and free. I’ll ask you to fill out an insomnia screener and ask about any medical or mental health conditions that would make CBT-I an inappropriate fit.
1st session (60 minutes): Intake, go over initial sleep diaries, discuss cognitions around sleep and go over the basics of CBT-I
2nd and 3rd session (45 min each): review sleep diaries, discuss any issues that have come up with CBT-I treatment methods, trouble shoot any other issues
4th and final session (45 min): go over progress, discuss any concerns for maintaining changes, discuss maintenance and when to come back for treatment.
