What is CBT-I?

Cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) is the gold standard treatment for chronic insomnia. It has some of the strongest research support of any behavioral therapy. What is chronic insomnia you may ask? Chronic insomnia is defined as difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep and/or waking up too early for more than three months and three or more times per week. Even if you don't quite meet this threshold but your sleep problems are causing significant interference or distress in your life, you may find that the techniques CBT-I offers will help you too.

CBT-I is a behavioral treatment meaning that you learn new behaviors to address the issue of insomnia. Sleep medications are often prescribed for sleep problems, but the evidence shows that sleep medications are only indicated when insomnia is acute (i.e., sleep problems have lasted less than 3 months).

CBT-I can help you reclaim restful sleep

In CBT-I, you track your sleep and are provided with personalized recommendations on making changes to sleep schedule and other aspects of your sleep and wake routine that have been shown by research to be effective in improving sleep. CBT-I helps you use the natural rhythms of your body to sleep. CBT-I also addresses a common problem impacting sleep: anxiety, particularly anxiety about sleep.

CBT-I is a brief treatment consisting typically of 4 to 6 sessions. Given that CBT-I is an action oriented treatment, it tends to be as effective as it is implemented- and implementation is not always easy. A major role of the therapist in CBT-I treatment is to help with issues with adherence to new sleep schedules, using tools to manage anxiety and addressing general roadblocks that get in the way of using the skills you learn. Despite most clients seeing improvement in 6 sessions or less, some clients benefit from booster sessions- sessions further spaced out- after completing treatment for accountability in sticking to their new sleep routines and addressing new hurdles that arise with life changes. The tools you learn in CBT-I to manage your sleep are ones you can take with you for life- no sleep medication can say that!

Whether you are old or young, have been dealing with insomnia for months or decades, if you have chronic insomnia, CBT-I will most likely help you achieve better quality sleep and reduce the struggle you may have long been in with your sleep.