You have probably heard of motivational interviewing (MI), a therapeutic approach to working with patients who are considering making a behavior change. Initially developed with alcohol use disorders, it has spread to other types of behavior change, including health-related behaviors. The goals is to help patients generate change from within, arguably making it more lasting.
In a recent blog I wrote about resilience in military couples, and one of the key things that’s consistent in the literature is that communication is one of the fundamental processes in building resilience. We also know that one unique aspect of many military families’ lives is the experience of deployment. Research has shown that one of the best ways for couples and families to maintain a sense of connection during deployments is through communication.
It has now been over a year since the majority of behavioral health providers have moved to predominantly or exclusively providing therapy via telehealth. This week’s blog will examine several publications sharing initial findings about the experience of online couples therapy by providers and patients as well as some lessons learned over the past year.
Recently I consulted on a case where a client with insomnia insisted on tracking her sleep with a wearable monitor (think Fitbit or Apple Watch).She soon realized that her sleep tracker was actually increasing her anxiety about sleep. She became more aware of every toss and turn during the night. Ultimately, the client decided to forego the tracker and use only a paper sleep log each night and morning. Her anxiety decreased overnight (pun intended) and she starting falling asleep faster and staying asleep longer.
Newer research is examining not just the overall effect of treatment strategies for insomnia, but how certain approaches may produce different symptom specific effects during the course of treatment. The purpose of this blog will be to review the theory, interventions, and research findings about how these treatment approaches may produce symptom specific effects during the course of insomnia treatment.