Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia - Sleep Education

(This video is part 1 of 6: for other videos in this series about CBT for Insomnia, scroll down to the end of this blog post)

If you have been researching how to overcome insomnia without medication, then you already know that the most commonly known treatment for long-term insomnia and sleep problems is Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia.

A number of years ago, I also studied the principles of CBT-I and I integrate behavioural therapy into my client work as well. Although I often really transfer the theory of principles rather than following the exact treatment plan. I found that this really helps me to work with the particular client in a more personal and practical way.

When it comes to CBT-I, the treatment plan often follows a 6-session structure, and one of the first parts is to go through Sleep Education. More recently, I’ve worked with more and more clients who have already had CBT-I treatment but their insomnia or sleep problems were not completely sorted by this structured course of treatments. 

And of course, that is not really surprising. If someone has been struggling for years, the complexity of the sleep problem or insomnia often requires more than just six 1 hour sessions. I also find that because the treatment plan is quite rigidly structured, it doesn’t necessarily allow personalised approaches, tools and techniques. 

But of course, the treatment for insomnia is really best when it includes behavioural approaches as well. In my work, I combine the best treatment for insomnia, different approaches, principles or practical tools and exercises to make sure that we can work on long-term results. 

Sleep education is a really important part of helping a person overcome insomnia or other sleep problems. In today’s world, we all tend to research things first, and through that research, most people overeducate themselves on sleep, insomnia and other sleep problems. 

When it comes to learning how to sleep well consistently, a sleep education video or a perhaps more scientific article is just part of the information that you need to have an effective plan that helps you sleep well again. There are various natural treatments for insomnia, so combining a few different things is what really helps us to learn and enjoy good quality sleep for many years to come. 

There are no quick fixes, no hacks that will work for everyone, and there are no ‘secrets’ either. What works to truly overcome long-term insomnia and other sleep problems is to integrate what is practically relevant based on the root cause of the problems. This is very much a core of the cognitive behavioural therapy approach. 

So let’s start with the pros and cons of sleep education which is such a core part of CBT-I

Beatrix

Part 2 of the Cognitive Behaviour Therapy video series: Practical Sleep Hygiene - click here to watch video two

Part 3 of the Cognitive Behaviour Therapy video series: Practical 'Sleep Restriction' - click here to watch video three

Part 4 of the Cognitive Behaviour Therapy video series: Stimulus and Cognitive Control - click here to watch video four

Part 5 of the Cognitive Behaviour Therapy video series: Thought Control, Thought Distraction, Paradoxical Intention - click here to watch video five

Part 6 of the Cognitive Behaviour Therapy video series: How to deal with 'dysfunctional' beliefs - click here to watch video six