Therapy for Insomnia
Hello!
I love helping people who can’t sleep.
Chronic insomnia can seem like an impossible mystery when you have it.
It is an absolute joy for me to help clients escape the insomnia spiral and find the peaceful sleep that they have been searching for.
Insomnia is treatable.
What if you have the worst case of insomnia ever? Most of my clients have had insomnia for years, even decades. Many of my clients come to therapy thinking they have the worst case of insomnia ever because they have been comparing themselves to people who don’t have insomnia!
If you've ever tried to explain insomnia to someone who’s never had more than a few bad nights of sleep, they may respond with confusion, and even fear. They find it hard to imagine what it would be like to live without regular nights of good sleep. Many people with insomnia are married to people who have no trouble sleeping. Lying awake next to another person who is sound asleep reinforces a deep sense of loneliness.
Not knowing other people with insomnia can make you wonder if there is something uniquely different about you that means that you are just not meant to sleep well.
This is simply not the case. Chronic insomnia is much more common than you think. If you're awake in the middle of the night, you are far from alone!
In my practice, I use CBT-I, a powerful, evidence based treatment that is specifically designed to address insomnia. Recovery from insomnia is a life-changing experience, and it is incredibly rewarding as a therapist to help people get there!
Email me to set up a free 15 minute phone consultation. I’m looking forward to hearing from you. Please read on to learn more about the experience of insomnia, and how therapy for insomnia works.
Contact me via email: mstevenstherapy@protonmail.com
People with insomnia want to sleep.
When you have trouble sleeping on a regular basis, sleep can become an obsession. You can start to believe that sleep is something that you have to chase. It can seem fragile, unreliable, and something that you have to protect at all costs. When you sense sleepiness, you try not to get too excited lest you burst the bubble of drowsiness, only to find that it evaporates as soon as you lie down in bed.
You may have tried every technique recommended by friends or promoted in podcasts and articles about sleep. Every once in a while, your efforts seem to pay off, and you have one of those wonderful “good nights” that you long for, only to have it followed by a night of wakefulness and exhaustion. Still, it can be hard to give up on the magic tea that gave you that good night. It gets added to an elaborate bedtime routine that you don’t really believe in but are scared to abandon.
If you take prescription medication to sleep, you might find yourself in a similar position. It sometimes works and sometimes doesn’t, but the thought of giving it up feels unbearable. This can create additional anxieties about ever being without sleeping pills, in the event of forgetting them when you travel, or having an issue with your pharmacy. You do not have to stop taking medication before starting treatment for insomnia.
Insomnia is a 24 hour experience.
The only thing harder than not being able to sleep at night is having to get through the next day. If you rely on your intellect for work, you are acutely aware of how much harder it is to think, speak and write clearly when you are sleep deprived.
The painful experience of trying to get by on not enough sleep fuels the search for solutions. When your diligent efforts to improve your sleep do not seem to go anywhere, it contributes to a sense of futility and hopelessness about insomnia. Over time the repetition of effort and disappointment can start to erode your sense of of competence in other areas of your life.
When you’ve had insomnia for a long time, it’s never far from your mind. Therapy is your opportunity to share your experience with someone who has the training, perspective and experience to help you solve the problem. I want to learn what it’s like at night when you can’t sleep, how you’ve tried to improve your sleep, and what it’s like for you during the day. Many clients feel a huge relief in being able to discuss their experience with someone who really gets it. Most importantly, I can help you take all of the information you have gathered about your insomnia history, and turn it into a plan that will help you get the sleep that you need.
Contact me via email: mstevenstherapy@protonmail.com
Therapy for Insomnia
An Overview
Let’s make a plan.
We will create a customized plan based on your unique needs and experiences to help you break free from the insomnia spiral. Each plan is a combination of education, behavioral experiments, and evaluation of the thoughts and emotions that are particular to insomnia, and specific to you. Treatment for insomnia requires a commitment on your part. I will be there to support you each step of the way.
We will track your progress and help you rediscover your ability to sleep. We use objective measures of sleep that can help you actually see progress and make adjustments. If you take medications for sleep, we work with your doctor to decide how and when we taper your medication. And a remember, you don’t need to stop medication before starting treatment.
For most people, therapy for insomnia takes at least eight weekly sessions. Some people find relief before that, while other people need a slower pace. Everyone is different and I strive to match the pace of treatment to your needs!
The right information can help you sleep.
When we work together, I will give you information about sleep and insomnia that is actually relevant to your life and your needs. This will help you feel less alone, less afraid, and more hopeful about your ability to sleep.
In my experience, most popular advice about sleep seems perfectly designed to keep people with insomnia hopeless and awake. Almost everything you encounter begins by stating “Sleep is very important to your health.” This can feel like adding insult to injury, because if you have insomnia, you know better than anyone that sleep is important!
Then come lists of scary medical conditions that are linked to poor sleep, which is the last thing you want to read about at 3:00 am. Part of our work will be helping you distinguish between information that you need to know, and remote possibilities that are irrelevant to getting a good night’s rest!
You can sleep.
At the end of treatment, you will be sleeping better, feeling confident, and equipped with tools and knowledge to stay on track. Clients tell me that the one the best things about recovery from insomnia is not having to think about sleep anymore! They have much more time and energy to focus on other areas of life that are important to them.
Contact me via email to schedule a 15 minute phone consultation: mstevenstherapy@protonmail.com