CBT-I Therapist

Here we will answer any questions you may have, I’ll ask you some questions as well. We’ll determine if you’d like to proceed and schedule. (Note that no diagnosis or treatment occurs in the free consultation). I’m happy to make referrals to trusted colleagues or other resources if it isn’t a good fit.

Using the Structured Clinical Interview for Sleep Disorders (Revised) we will gain a clear picture of your sleep needs.

You’ll walk away with: clarity on your sleep diagnosis or tangible next steps for further assessment (if applicable).

Accurate sleep education is a important and foundational step. We cut through all the noise around sleep to make sure you have a clear understanding of how sleep really works, including: sleep stages, the factors that drive sleep, the factors that perpetuate insomnia, and begin tracking your sleep using a specialized method.

You walk away with: information about how sleep works, so you are empowered to make changes to your sleep to reduce insomnia. This is part of what helps CBT-I work long term. It’s what you need to know and nothing extraneous.

Using the data from your sleep log, we set a quality sleep timing plan for you. This is also called sleep compression, or sleep restriction. We review the top 6 changes that improve sleep and come up with a plan together to harness these changes in a way that fits your life and your needs. This is beyond the basics and more than the general advice of “keeping a regular bedtime.”

You’ll walk away with: a quality sleep timing plan specialized for you and a summary sheet of sleep change strategies — all customized to you.

We will make adjustments to your quality sleep timing plan based on data from your sleep log then move into sleep hygiene tools.

When clients tell me “I already do the basics like avoid caffeine at night, sleep in a dark room, etc.” they are usually talking about sleep hygiene. These strategies are great but do not work alone. (6) In combination with the other strategies, they boost our work. If you have already done these, we can skip this and move to the next session.

You’ll walk away with: a list of the top sleep hygiene strategies to boost this work.

Not sleeping is stressful! And stress makes it hard to sleep. This leads to a vicious cycle of sleep and stress. Here, we break the stress-sleep cycle using specialized relaxation strategies such as: progressive muscle relaxation, guided imagery, and autogenic relaxation.

This is more than just taking a deep breath or meditating. We’ll practice this in session and find which strategy works best for you. We will continue to adjust the quality sleep timing as your total sleep time increases.

You’ll walk away with: techniques to prepare the body for sleep and calm the mind.

Here, we answer the question: “What do I do when I’m worrying about not sleeping?”

We will specifically address: the health impact of insomnia, fears of losing control, and daytime function concerns - so that you can rest at ease.

We continue monitoring and adjusting the quality sleep timing.

You’ll walk away with: targeted strategies to address alarming thoughts and worries about not being able to sleep.

Sometimes we have thoughts and worries at night that get in the way of sleep. In this session, we set up several strategies for keeping these thoughts in the daytime - when we can actually do something about it - and release the thoughts and worries that aren’t helpful. We’ll use a special log and timing approach to do this.

Continue making adjustments to the quality sleeping timing

You’ll walk away with: a specialized tool to prevent racing thoughts or a busy mind in the middle of the night.

Congratulations! You’re in the final session of CBT-I. You no longer need to log sleep since it has already become just another bodily function. You will leave with the workbook, and all of the tools needed to reset your sleep if it is disrupted in the future by: jet lag, a new infant, an overnight shift or anything else — without medication.

You walk away with: strategies for how to maintain your gains long-term.

Most clients find consistent results for over a decade, (7) and many do not need to come in again. You will have all the tools needed to make adjustments in the future, but you are welcome to schedule a session if you prefer additional support.