Fall asleep more easily. Stay asleep longer.
A proven approach to treating insomnia with CBT-I
In-person therapy in Wilmington and online throughout NC & SC
What used to feel simple now feels like something you have to figure out or get right.
If you’ve struggled with sleep for a while, it can feel frustrating, discouraging, and overwhelming. You may dread bedtime, noticing the tension build as the evening gets closer.
Maybe you lie in bed exhausted but wide awake—your mind replaying the day, jumping ahead to tomorrow, or questioning why sleep isn’t happening. You might find yourself watching the clock, calculating how many hours you’ll get if you fall asleep right now… and feeling more anxious as the minutes pass.
If you wake during the night, it can feel even more defeating.
Your body is tired, but your mind is suddenly alert. You try to fall back asleep, but the harder you try, the more awake you feel. Sleep can start to take up more and more space in your life. You might:
Worry about how you’ll function the next day
Cancel plans or avoid things because you’re too tired
Feel irritable, foggy, or not like yourself
Start to lose trust in your body’s ability to sleep at all
It can feel like you’ve tried everything—and nothing has worked.
The Good News
Sleep is not something your body forgets how to do forever. Insomnia develops when normal sleep rhythms get disrupted and the mind and body become stuck in patterns that keep sleep from happening naturally.
It’s possible for sleep to feel different.
Imagine being able to fall asleep without watching the clock. If you wake during the night, you’re able to fall back asleep instead of lying there worrying. Bedtime stops feeling like something you have to force and just get through. You wake feeling more rested and get through your day with greater energy, focus, and trust in your body’s ability to sleep.
More about this approach:
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Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) is a structured, evidence-based approach that helps change the habits and thought patterns that interfere with sleep so your natural sleep system can work again.
CBT-I is recommended by the American College of Physicians as the first-line treatment for chronic insomnia.
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When insomnia persists, sleep often becomes caught in a learned cycle. Your brain starts to associate the bed with wakefulness, worry, or frustration instead of rest.
CBT-I helps break that cycle through a set of practical, evidence-based strategies that retrain the brain and support the body’s natural sleep rhythms.
Treatment typically includes:
Sleep education
Understanding how sleep works and what supports healthy sleep rhythms.Sleep scheduling (sleep compression or restriction)
Adjusting time in bed so your body can build stronger sleep drive.Stimulus control
Re-associating the bed with sleep rather than wakefulness.Cognitive strategies
Reducing the worry and mental pressure that can build around sleep.Calming the nervous system
Learning ways to quiet an active mind so sleep can happen more easily. -
This is a
Have trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, or waking too early
Feel stuck in a cycle of poor sleep that isn’t improving on its own
Are willing to track your sleep (like keeping a sleep journal) as part of the process
Notice your thoughts or habits are making sleep harder (overthinking, clock-watching, inconsistent routines)
Are open to making changes to your sleep habits and routines
Want a structured, skills-based approach—not just quick fixes
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When I started working at the VA in 2016, I noticed a lot of veterans were struggling with sleep. This led me to learn more about treating insomnia, and I created a group called “Sleep Well for Whole Health.”
I remember a Vietnam War veteran telling me during one of our sessions that he had the best night of sleep he could remember. It is incredibly rewarding to help people sleep better!
I’ve also dealt with sleep issues myself, and I understand how hard and frustrating it is when you’re not getting good sleep.
FAQs
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CBT-I sessions are structured and focused on helping you improve your sleep step by step.
We’ll begin with an assessment and some education about how sleep works, so you can better understand what’s contributing to your sleep difficulties. You’ll also start tracking your sleep with a sleep log (either on paper or using an app).
In the next session, we’ll review your sleep patterns together and, based on that data, guide your treatment—making targeted adjustments like refining your sleep schedule and introducing specific strategies to help your body relearn how to sleep.
Between sessions, you’ll continue applying these changes, and we’ll adjust the plan as needed based on your progress.
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CBT-I is a short-term, structured approach to improving sleep. Most people complete treatment in about 6–8 sessions, though this can vary depending on your specific sleep patterns and goals.
Because the approach is focused and skills-based, many people begin to notice changes within the first few weeks. We’ll move at a pace that feels realistic while still helping you build lasting improvements in your sleep.
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Yes—CBT-I (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia) is highly effective, even for people who have been struggling with sleep for months or years. In fact, it was specifically developed to treat chronic insomnia, not just short-term sleep issues.
Because CBT-I focuses on the patterns that keep insomnia going—like conditioned wakefulness, anxiety about sleep, and unhelpful sleep habits—it can be effective regardless of how long the problem has been present.
Many clients who have tried medications, supplements, or other approaches without lasting relief find that CBT-I offers a more sustainable solution. With time and consistency, it helps reset your body’s natural sleep system so that improvements can continue long after treatment ends.
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Not necessarily. Many people begin CBT-I while still taking sleep medication. Over time, as your sleep improves, some clients choose to reduce or stop medication—but any changes to medication should always be discussed with your prescribing provider.
If helpful, I’m happy to collaborate with your provider as part of your care. The focus of CBT-I is to help you build natural, sustainable sleep skills so you can rely less on medication over time, if that’s something you and your provider decide is right for you.
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Don’t want to track your sleep or engage in between-session work
Are looking for an immediate or passive solution (like relying on medication alone)
Aren’t ready to make changes to your sleep habits or routines
Work night shift or have a schedule that doesn’t allow for a stable sleep window
Have untreated medical conditions (like sleep apnea) that need to be addressed first
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Yes. I work with clients experiencing recurring nightmares using evidence-based approaches like CBT for Nightmares and Imagery Rehearsal Therapy (IRT).
These approaches help reduce the frequency and intensity of nightmares by changing how your brain processes and responds to them—so sleep can start to feel safer and more restful again.
Better sleep is possible.
Let’s get you some relief!