In-Person CBT For Chronic Insomnia Group

This five-session in-person CBT for Chronic Insomnia Group is designed for individuals seeking support for chronic insomnia through the application of CBT principles.

The most effective nonpharmacological treatment for chronic insomnia is cognitive-behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-i). CBT-i produces results that are equivalent to sleep medication, with no side effects, fewer episodes of relapse, and a tendency for sleep to continue to improve long past the end of treatment.

The long-term improvements seem to result from the patient learning how to support and promote the body’s natural sleep mechanism. The five key components of CBT-i are sleep consolidation, stimulus control, cognitive restructuring, sleep hygiene, and relaxation techniques.

Although CBT-i is a safe and highly effective treatment for insomnia, unfortunately, it is underutilized, primarily because of two reasons: (1) There is currently a shortage of trained CBT-i practitioners. (2) Patients are much more likely to learn about sleep medication as a treatment for their insomnia (via drug advertisements and prescribing physicians) than CBT-i. Health care providers can play an important role in educating their patients about CBT-i and recommending it as a first-line treatment for chronic insomnia.