Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I)
The gold-standard treatment for clinical insomnia
Sleep isn't support to take effort. Ever.
Insomnia often starts during a period of stress, trauma, a life change, or some other event, but what maintains it can be complex. Night after night tossing and turning, feeling exhausted but still awake, counting down the minutes wondering how you'll get through the day; that would absolutely make anyone concerned that something is terribly wrong with their sleep. What may surprise you is that sleep itself isn't usually the problem. It's everything that's preventing it.
Why nothing seems to work.
Insomnia isn't an occasional bad night of sleep, and it is not simply an inability to sleep.
Insomnia happens when various biological, psychological, behavioral, and environmental factors perpetually disrupt our natural sleep processes (sleep drive & circadian rhythm), which ultimately prevents sleep from happening naturally.
Conventional wisdom and intuition usually target the wrong thing. Many treatments and remedies out there target (or try to force) sleep when sleep itself isn't usually the problem; it is the underlying factors that keep preventing it. Certain remedies and treatments offered by your physician may certainly be helpful for an occasional bad night or some jet lag, but on their own are usually not going to get at the root causes of insomnia. In fact, overuse of sleep aids can make insomnia worse.
What exactly is CBT-I?
Core Components
1. Sleep Hygeine
This component addresses the parts of our routine and environment that affect sleep.
2. Stimulus Control
This component re-associates your bed with sleep instead of wakefulness.
3. Sleep-Efficiency Training
Using data about your sleep, which you'll track between visits (this only take about a minute per day), we can make precise, temporary adjustments to the timing of your sleep in a way that helps it become consolidated (less fragmented). This reduces time awake in bed, and allows you to start sleeping in more consolidated blocks of time.
4. Cognitive Therapy & Relaxation
Our own thoughts, emotions, and beliefs about sleep can (and usually do) play a significant role in the progression of insomnia. This component addresses the mental and emotional experiences around sleep that keep us awake, frustrated, and worried about tomorrow.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) is a brief (4-6 session) evidence-based therapy for insomnia. It is one of the most widely preferred treatments and long-term solutions for insomnia, and it is backed by many years of research. Sleep physicians absolutely love it, and often refer patients to psychologists who offer it.
You and Dr. Kelemen work together to understand and address the actual root causes of your insomnia and what has been maintaining it over time.
Benefits of CBT-I for Insomnia
Sleep Quality & Duration
Tools That Last
Safe and Effective
CBT-I can significantly improve the overall quality and duration of your sleep. It helps to reduce time spent falling asleep, consolidates fragmented sleep caused by nighttime awakenings, and results in less time awake in bed.
CBT-I helps repair dysfunctional sleep patterns, and leaves you with knowledge and skills you can depend on for life.
CBT-I has been shown to be just as effective as, or more effective than, medications used to treat insomnia.
From the greater Boston area to remote regions of New Hampshire and Massachusetts, we've got you covered.
CBT-I is offered across NH and MA online via telehealth for your convenience.