Insomnia and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy

By Hailley Dias, MSW Student

Insomnia is a complaint of difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep that impairs our functioning or causes distress. It is characterized by persistent unsatisfactory sleep that has daytime consequences. When insomnia occurs at least 3 nights a week and lasts for 3 months or longer it is chronic insomnia.

There are a variety of treatment methods for insomnia that you can discuss with your primary care provider (Physician or Nurse Practitioner). One treatment method is Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I). CBT-I is a set of practices that have shown to be effective in relieving persistent insomnia. CBT-I starts with looking at what your sleep is like now and based on this information determines subsequent strategies that will be used. There are 3 main components to CBT-I. The first involves recoding your sleep patterns using a sleep diary. The second part is focused on solving your insomnia. It focuses on using

your sleep diary to help determine your ideal bedtime and rise time. The third and final portion focuses on the mind and teaches strategies to help relax your mind and body from the often-racing thoughts that can contribute to wakefulness when in bed at night.

Talking about insomnia and developing strategies to address it is helpful. CBT-I is the best treatment for insomnia. We will be offering a CBT-I group in the coming months and would be happy to have you join us. Please check the website or call 519-664-3794 ext. 222 to learn more about the group and when it will be offered. 

Support is available for other issues including stress, depression, anxiety, relationship help, substance issues, etc. through free psychotherapy at WCHC. Please contact us to learn more. You can self-refer to these services by stopping by at the Medical Office Administrators desk or calling 519-664-3794 (for St. Jacobs) or 519-656-9025 (for Wellesley or Linwood) or request this through your medical provider. Our services are for people who have either no or limited private insurance coverage for psychotherapy.