Champneys Sleep Clinic

one-to-one sessions


What happens in the session?

A single standalone appointment (1.5 hours) is available: this includes a sleep history assessment and a brief yet evidence-based form of insomnia treatment with individually tailored recommendations. This can be via zoom or, if you are a member of Champneys, this could be face to face on site - 90 mins

If you wish to continue beyond the single standalone appointment, our insomnia therapist Michelle also offers sessions online via Zoom (or if at Champneys Henlow on site), so that means that you can continue getting help for your sleep in the comfort of your own home.


BONUS

You will have access to email support between sessions. In addition, you will have lifetime access to the insomnia treatment materials from the course of treatment (written, visual and audio content).

How long until I experience improvements in my sleep?

This varies from person to person and depends on different things such as how long you have had insomnia. Many clients report an improvement within the first few days.

For chronic insomnia, substantial and lasting improvements are typically experienced within 4 weeks of the start of a 5-week course of CBTI treatment.

Our approach at Champneys Sleep Clinic:

Our approach is compassion-focused and non-judgemental; the sessions are structured, educational, collaborative, and enjoyable.


Why not put an end to your sleep difficulties forever and book an appointment today?

For more information or to book an appointment, click the button below.



1. What is CBTI?

Those who suffer with poor sleep will know that there’s an overwhelming amount of information out there advising us how to improve it. From the many sleep hygiene tips that appear when searching ‘How to sleep better’ on Google, to doctors prescribing sleeping pills, it can be hard to know what to try first and where to turn. However, there is one fix that’s definitively proven by over a hundred clinical trials to work for insomnia. When you have insomnia, it’s not cutting out coffee or taking tablets that will give you a long-term solution, it’s CBT for insomnia or CBT-i.

CBTI is a combination of different therapies – and it’s not the same as sleep hygiene or a counselling therapy. CBTI is a structured programme of tested and proven techniques involving sleep education, stimulus control, sleep scheduling, relaxation techniques and cognitive therapy.

There are two principal components of CBTI – cognitive and behavioural. The cognitive aspects help us manage worries and anxieties related to our insomnia, and the behavioural aspects identify and change the behaviours that we’ve developed, often in response to having insomnia in the first place.

CBTI works by helping you overcome the underlying root cause of your sleep problem. The programme helps you to use your own body clock and your sleep drive to control your sleep pattern so that you never need to struggle with your sleep again. CBTI trains us to use techniques that address factors sustaining sleep problems, such as anxiety or poor sleep scheduling. It also helps us strengthen the connection between our beds and sleeping, helping sleep to become an easier, more automatic process.



2. How effective is CBTI?

At least 87 randomized controlled trials (the ‘gold standard’ and the most powerful kind of clinical test) have demonstrated the effectiveness of CBT-I.

These results showed that CBT-I is specifically effective in improving:

  • Sleep quality
  • How long it takes to fall asleep
  • Waking during the night
  • Severity of the insomnia

These trials also demonstrated that CBT-I works:

  • in both the short-term and the long-term
  • for both men and women
  • for younger as well as older adults
  • whether using sleep medication or not
  • whether the insomnia has been present for a short time or decades
  • in those with or without other medical or psychological conditions

CBT-I has also been shown to be as effective as sleeping medications in treating insomnia, but the effects of CBT-I are more durable in the long-term and without the side-effects associated with many sleeping medications.

Essentially, CBT-I has a powerful evidence base and is the ONLY proven cure for insomnia.

It has such a large evidence base proving its effectiveness that it’s recommended as the preferred first-line treatment for insomnia by the NHS as well as internationally e.g. the National Institute of Health (NIH) in the U.S.



3. Benefits of CBTI?

  • Feel refreshed in the morning
  • Have more energy in the day
  • Experience better quality sleep
  • Fall asleep faster
  • Less time awake in the middle of the night and sleep through the night
  • Have confidence in your sleep
  • General stress and anxiety management
  • Armed with the tools to help your sleep for the rest of your life


4. Will this work for me?

CBTI treatment is always bespoke i.e. it is individually tailored to you and your own specific sleep difficulty and circumstances. To achieve this, a comprehensive sleep history interview and questionnaire assessment is done in the first session. We also ask you to complete a daily sleep diary during the course of treatment.

We are determined to help you sleep in the way that works for YOU – this targeted, individual approach delivers the best results.



5. Will CBTI work if I have other health or medical conditions?

Yes - we know that CBTI works in many different populations. It is effective for insomnia in people with anxiety, depression, cancer as well as multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia, and chronic pain.

Remarkably, it has even been shown to help other co-occurring conditions e.g., CBT-I was found to improve not only sleep, but also improve depression outcomes in patients with both major depressive disorder and insomnia.



6. Is CBTI suitable for everyone with insomnia?

CBTI is suitable for the vast majority of people suffering with insomnia.

For those with bipolar disorder, seizures or psychosis, there is one component of the programme that is contraindicated. However, in these instances, that component can simply be removed – all the other elements of the CBTI course can be delivered and will still be helpful.