Chances are, if you are reading this, you haven’t had a good night’s sleep in a while. We all have nights when we can’t fall asleep or wake up in the middle of the night. But what if you haven’t slept well in days, weeks, or even months?
The thing is–our brains need time to rest and recharge when we sleep. Insomnia, or a lack of sleep, can have a negative effect on our physical and mental health. You don’t have to keep suffering from sleep problems–there are effective methods to help, including sleep therapy. Ready to feel more refreshed and fix your sleep problems? At Wellview Counseling, we have an experienced sleep therapist who can help you get the rest you deserve.
Symptoms of Insomnia
- Trouble falling asleep
- Waking up in the middle of the night and having difficulty going back to sleep
- Waking up too early
- Feeling unrested after sleeping
- Difficulty concentrating
- Daytime sleepiness
- Increased irritability
- Changes in mood, low mood, or increased anxiety
How Our Trained Therapists Can Help
If you are struggling with insomnia or other sleep problems, our trained therapists can help you get on track for a good night’s sleep. At Wellview Counseling, we use an evidenced-based approach to addressing sleep problems like trouble falling asleep, waking up often in the night, or waking up too early so you can feel better and more energized to tackle the day.
We use a type of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) specially designed to address sleep problems called CBT-I. You may have heard of CBT before, as it is a well-studied approach to therapy that helps with anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues. CBT-I uses some of the same techniques and strategies but specifically to help with insomnia or other sleep issues.
What is Sleep Therapy?
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia, or CBT-I, is a type of talk therapy that helps people improve their sleep by focusing on changing thoughts and behaviors related to sleep. CBT-I can effectively treat sleep problems like insomnia and is often preferred as the first treatment option rather than medication.
There are three main components to CBT-I:
Cognitive Interventions: Many people who struggle to sleep at night develop negative patterns of thinking about sleep. Unfortunately, these negative thoughts and beliefs can actually make it even harder to fall asleep. During CBT-I, the therapist will help you identify these negative thoughts and teach you how to replace them with more helpful thinking. These types of interventions aim to rework unhelpful thoughts about sleep.
Behavioral Interventions: You may have developed some unhelpful sleep habits that need changing. CBT-I helps you identify any behaviors that might be interfering with your sleep. These types of interventions help establish healthy sleep habits by using strategies such as relaxation training, stimulus control, and sleep restriction. You will learn new strategies to change these behaviors and improve your sleep hygiene. Other new behaviors that may help improve your sleep include establishing new routines around going to bed and waking up.
Psycho-educational Interventions: These strategies will provide you with new information about sleep, as well as help you explore the connections between thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and sleep.
What to Expect When Starting Sleep Therapy
During your first appointment, your sleep therapist will get to know you and ask questions to understand more about your current sleep problems. Together you and your therapist will identify sleep behaviors and thought patterns that may be bothering you. In addition, they will ask you questions to figure out whether there are any other underlying issues that may be contributing to your lack of sleep, including medical issues or environmental factors.
Once the sleep issues have been identified, your sleep therapist will create a custom treatment plan to meet your unique needs. This plan may include keeping a sleep diary to track when you go to bed, how many times you wake up, and what time you get up. Over 6-8 sessions, we will identify inaccurate thoughts and beliefs about sleep as well as behaviors that do not promote healthy sleep.
Will It Work?
When completed, patients report the following improvements: falling asleep faster, more time spent asleep, and waking up fewer times during the night. CBT-I has also been shown to be effective in treating insomnia that can occur alongside with depression, PTSD, and anxiety.
Get Started With Sleep Therapy
If you are interested in getting started with sleep therapy, the first step is to reach out and give us a call. We are fortunate to have a compassionate therapist who specializes in sleep therapy. Robin Easterling, LPC has received training in sleep problems and is an experienced counselor who loves working with teens and adults. She will create a safe place for you to develop a plan to find relief.
You can read more about Robin here or give us a call today at 678-288-6221 to begin your healing journey.