Sleep Therapy. Now What?
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Do you struggle to fall asleep, stay asleep or wake up too early? Do you wake feeling non-refreshed? Are you considering therapy focused on treating your sleep? Do you keep reading about how to treat insomnia online and in books and wonder how therapy might be different than doing it on your own? Or, have you just begun treatment for your sleep with me and want a reminder of what we covered in session and where to go from here? Click below for a podcast review of the first stages of insomnia treatment and the recommended Sleep Log. Or, keep reading for the podcast transcript below.
SLEEP LOG
Transcript:
Hello! So we just had our first session to talk about your sleep. Thanks for coming in. Thanks for trusting the process. There is often so much information to be shared in the first session. You tell your story and I aim to understand you and your situation as best as possible. I summarize what I think is going on for you. Then I review the treatment from a general perspective AND from the perspective of how we will nuance the treatment to best meet your needs. The more I know, the better I can tailor the treatment. I will almost never make a blanket statement…almost. In most cases, I want to know what you are doing about your sleep, why and figure out what is in the way of improved sleep.
We will have reviewed whether or not you actually have insomnia, another sleep disorder, medical conditions, depression, anxiety, or a history of trauma.
Question: Does the way I view you fit for how you feel? That’s important. I can’t do this without you as you are the expert on you. If you think I’m off base, I need to know.
Let’s review what you need to do between the first and second sessions.
1. Keep a sleep log—the one provided, preferably.
a. Some people use monitoring devices, and that’s fine to do in addition. But, your process of keeping a sleep log is actually an important part of the treatment. A common reflection after completing a sleep log for a week or two is that people are sleeping differently than they thought…sometimes more. You start to build perspective about your sleep from the sleep log, and I will be able to see trends. In the treatment of insomnia we are interested in trend. If you ask someone how their sleep is after a difficult night you are likely to hear “my sleep is terrible”. But, if you look at 1-2 weeks of data and see there were some nights better than others, then the perspective of sleep becomes more clear “I slept poorly 2 nights out of 14”. Whatever the picture…looking at the trend is always more powerful than a summary influenced by the most difficult part of the situation.
b. Keep a sleep log, but no need to look at a clock…I know think about time, but don’t think about time. Brain teasing is part of this process. All of this is to say…bring me some data and I’ll see you in 1-2 weeks.
2. Remember, this works best if we meet regularly at least every 2 weeks, so I’ll see you soon…sleep log in hand.
3. Also- Most of the people I see for sleep problems are referred by one of my colleagues. So, please sign a release of information (in your portal) if you would like me to be able to consult about your care.
*Disclaimer: Contents of this blog and throughout this site are intended as additional resources for people already in or considering psychotherapy. It is not a replacement for therapy and if at any point you feel you are in crisis, please call the National Crisis Line 1-844-493-8255, Text "Talk" to 38255, call 911 or go to your nearest emergency room.