If you have insomnia, you have a number of different behavioral treatment options available. These options offer effective, long-term benefits without the need for sleep aids or ongoing medication. However, you may not know where to go to look for them or which is the right fit for you. In this article, let’s unpack and compare these options to get started.
It is coming up on that time change time-of-year. Many look ahead to having to change the clocks with dread, while others may go about their days in blissful ignorance until a well-meaning coworker or friend sends a reminder. When the time comes, most people will experience at least some sleep disruption, feel moody or irritable, and some will be involved in a traffic accident or work mishap.
Scooby Snacks, lemon squeezing, and pillowcase drawings…..these are not what I typically envision when implementing EBPs. But then again, I tend to work with adult clients who are likely to run out of my office if I encourage them to wield dog treats while facing their fears. Working with children requires a different approach and benefits from unbridled creativity.
This past week, I shared information on a treatment for posttrauma nightmares called Exposure, Relaxation, and Rescripting Therapy for Children on the Center for Deployment Psychology’s podcast, “Practical for your Practice”. Given this, I began thinking a lot about current potentially traumatic or stressful events that have been going on around the world; and the need for more trauma-informed sleep solutions for military youth experiencing stressors and subsequent sleep problems.
Providers often report having questions about whether to start CBT-I if a patient is on a sleep medication, or how to help a patient taper off sleep medications and obtain good treatment outcomes while providing cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I). In this blog, Dr. Rogers will summarize research findings and clinical recommendations pertaining to the use and tapering of hypnotic medications while providing CBT-I.