Sleep therapy – Vitality Care Counselling

Comprehensive Sleep therapy CBT-I

Explore the evidence based practice of cognitive behavourial therapy – insomnia. Gold standard practice for resolving unhealthy sleep behaviour.

OUR PROCESS

Simple steps to better sleep

Don’t let sleep issues hold you back any longer – book your appointment with Vitality Care Counselling today and take the first step towards a healthier, more restful sleep experience.

Are you dealing with an unbearable sleep regression or is it night after night of waking or feeding to sleep. One thing is for sure everyone is tired and grumpy.

To add to the stress there are so many baby sleep programs to choose from and programs to try to fit into to. Well here is some much needed help! At Vitality Care Counselling we do not have a cookie cutter program or a one size fits all approach.

CBT -I is an evidence based therapy used by professional counsellors to assess and provide solution focused techniques to your individual situation.

Using stimilus control, sleep restriction to increase sleep pressure and behavioural changes to assist your little one and the whole family to get a better nights sleep. Usually in 4 to 6 sessions.

Healthy sleep behaviour will last a lifetime. If you stumble you can go back to the basics learnt in this process.

What is CBTI?

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia is evidence-based and highly regarded by sleep professionals to be the ‘gold standard treatment for long-term resolution of insomnia. Sometimes it includes Sleep Restriction. Advantages of this sleep therapy include:

Addresses the underlying causes to break the cycle of insomnia
Non-pharmacological so no negative sleep medication side effects.
A long-term solution to preventing the re-occurrence of bad sleep.
A customized therapy tailored to the needs of the individual with different sleep related problems.

CBT-I involves education about sleep, improving sleep hygiene practices, this doesn’t mean how clean you are it is to do with your wind-down routine and optimising the sleep environment, other techniques used in CBT-I are stimulus control, relaxation strategies’, and restructuring or addressing thought patterns that are impacting sleep.

Why should I seek help?

Insomnia is a common sleep condition affecting all ages across all lifespans, from babies to old age. Presenting as difficulty falling or staying asleep or waking too early, it affects health and wellbeing. It can be an acute problem that resolves within three months or it may be a chronic sleep issues that may accompany other sleep conditions like obstructive sleep apnoea.

Insomnia is linked to anxiety, depression, chronic pain, cardio-vascular disease, and a host of other conditions that can lead to chronic disease.

Clinicians trained in CBTi have confidence that their training is evidence-based and supported by decades of quality research and data. Research shows the combination of cognitive plus behavioural therapy results in greater improvement and resolution of acute and chronic insomnia and improved physical and mental health. All ages respond very well with CBTi therapy

Don’t let sleep issues hold you back any longer – book your appointment with Vitality care counselling today and take the first step towards a healthier, more restful sleep experience

CBT- I focuses on restructuring the thoughts, feelings and behaviours that are contributing to poor sleep or insomnia. Techniques such as stimulus control, sleep restriction and relaxation training. Solution focused therapy to tailored for your needs and to fit within your lifestyle.

Babies and children

Babies do need consistency and a routine to help them learn healthy habits that will assist in a more restful sleep. They are not born knowing how to settle and reconcile a sleep cycle, so they wake and cry looking for the comfort that they had when they first fell asleep. CBT- I therapy is not about letting your baby cry it out until they give up and go to sleep. It is about setting the right environment and a gentle approach to your little one learning healthy sleep habits. It is about working out the reasons why they continue to wake and offering solutions to help them not wake up after a single sleep cycle but to reconcile sleep cycles and stay asleep for longer, for a more rested sleep for everyone.

Teenagers and Adults

Sleep issues do not stop after infancy and childhood, in fact the inability to fall or stay asleep is more complex in older individuals. Cognitive behavioural therapy is evidence based therapy to identify and change patterns of thoughts and behaviours that could be the underlying cause of insufficient sleep.

CBT- I focuses on restructuring the thoughts, feelings and behaviours that are contributing to poor sleep or insomnia. Using focused techniques such as stimulus control, sleep restriction and relaxation training. This is solution focused therapy tailored for your needs and to fit within your lifestyle.

Does this sound familiar?

“Bedtime is so stressful, I dread that nightly battle!”

I do not know what else to try-I feel like I have tried everything but my child will still not sleep!”

” I suspect a lack of good sleep is why they have so many big feelings during the day”

” The only way to get the baby back to sleep is on me, I’m exhausted”

” the waking is constant, is it hunger?”

What are the benefits?

The development of healthy habits and self-care practices. These habits can carry over into other areas of life and promote well-being.
A sense of empowerment for children as they are supported to feel in control and ownership over their bedtime routine.
A calm and relaxed bedtime routine that can be supported through sensory tools, helping make bedtime a peaceful and positive experience.
The hard work of choosing techniques to aid sleep has been done for you. Using evidence based techniques
Some sleep disturbance is to be expected from time to time but as a new normal you will discover the overall physical, emotional and mental benefits of a full night’s sleep

What to expect?

This process is person centered therefore when you book a sleep therapy session, you will receive a questionnaire and assessment to complete before you meet with the therapist for a 1 hour consultation via video link to discuss your situation and what techniques will be beneficial. Secondly you will receive guidance to correct the sleep environment and on how to start and a goal for the first week.

The second session is most beneficial to be schedule a week following the initial appointment. You will discuss with your therapist how you went and you will receive guidance on how to correct the process or to take the second step. This process will continue for usually 4 to 6 weeks.

A diary of each night wakings will be required for the duration of therapy sessions and send through to your therapist before your next session, this gives the therapist time to review the process without taking time up in the session.

You will have access to your therapist in between each therapy session via email and phone.