Therapy Can Help for Insomnia: Why 80% of Clients See Results
When you know, you know. The tossing and turning in bed. The night sweats or laundry list of thoughts. The paradoxical battle to fall asleep each night despite needing it so much. Shouldn’t sleep be a given? Insomnia sufferers are left awake with the gnawing fear of not falling asleep.
I am a Boston-based therapist providing online CBT-I and integrated psychotherapy for a range of conditions. Let’s talk about sleep.
When Your Sleep Schedule is Off
Insomnia or sleep disruption affects quality of life even during the day. It may keep us from pursuing enjoyable activities or showing up in our relationships in our preferred ways. Sometimes, lack of sleep leads to longer mornings in bed or naps throughout the day, to off-set the loss. Unfortunately, this can make it even harder to fall asleep at night, creating a feedback loop, or self-reinforcing cycle, of insomnia.
Can Insomnia be Treated Without Medication?
By the time someone tries therapy for their insomnia, they have likely trialed many other sleep strategies. There might be a healthy skepticism of therapy for sleep. Therapy offers both a space to explore your energy patterns and try new tools that have been clinically researched. Cognitive behavioral therapy is a first-line treatment for insomnia, shown to be at least as effective as pharmacological approaches, and may even have longer-lasting effects than medicines (Mitchell et al., 2012). At Adam Lang Counseling Services, I will help you stop fighting the alarm clock and reclaim your sleep again.
Why Can’t I Fall Asleep?
The root cause of insomnia is often a complex web. Stimulus control is a behavioral strategy that targets your conditioned associations with sleep. To offer an easy example, think of a student who starts doing their homework in bed, laptop and all. Over time, this person develops an association between their bed and working, rather than sleeping. Now, even without the laptop in bed, this person gets in bed and can’t relax. Their brain keeps thinking and calculating problems, despite efforts to fall asleep. So, they soon move to the couch. The bed, initially a neutral piece of furniture, has become conditioned by homework to create a frazzled environment for sleep.
Stimulus control gradually incorporates relaxation cues back into the bedtime routine.
The 20-Minute Rule for Falling Asleep
According to stimulus control strategies, we want to weaken the association between laying down in bed and wakefulness. Using the bed only for sleep or sexual activity helps to reserve the bed for tiredness. Hence, it helps to create a rule to lie down only when sleepy and actually get up out of bed if unable to sleep within 15-20 minutes. The brain learns to give up on the insomnia for a bit and return to bed again once tired.
Research suggests engaging these strategies as part of therapy for insomnia (Walker et al., 2022). Meet with me and see how you could implement the 20-minute rule.
Why Traditional "Sleep Hygiene" Often Fails Chronic Insomniacs
Sleep and bedtime habits are hard to change sometimes. Most of us scoff at the usual list of “sleep hygiene” suggestions.And that’s fair enough. Insomnia sufferers know they need an approach as creative as their insomnia is. Your treatment plan for insomnia will be collaborative and centered on your unique experience. I may also use other therapies to help with issues that can come with insomnia such as depression, neurodivergence, anxiety, or trauma.
How to Get Better Sleep
Cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) uses a combination of relaxation techniques, behavioral interventions, and cognitive therapy. Good CBT is highly individualized, engages emotions, and introduces appropriate challenges. Deep questions can get explored such as, How will I handle tomorrow with no sleep? or, Why can’t I fall asleep? Sometimes, clients may choose to do therapy homework between sessions (i.e. keeping a sleep diary, practicing a new mind-body exercise, or committing to new routines).
How many sessions does CBT-I take?
A typical series of CBT-I therapy takes only 4-8 sessions. Some individuals may benefit from a longer duration of therapy if other stressors or goals are identified. Research shows that roughly 8 out of 10 people gain a significant improvement in their sleep quality when engaging in CBT-I (Cleveland Clinic, 2026). Start this week.
What to Bring to Your First Telehealth Session
A history of your insomnia: when it started, how it affects you, etc.
A list of any medications you take
Contact information for any other medical or mental health professionals you see
Questions for the therapist
Start Online CBT-I for Insomnia Today
Therapy for insomnia can be a rewarding and even contemplative experience. When we are happy with our sleep, other elements of life begin to feel more easeful. Let’s have a chat. You can pick a convenient time on my Client Portal and instantly start your journey towards better sleep.
References
Cleveland Clinic. “Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I” (2026, February 5). https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/treatments/cognitive-behavioral-therapy-insomnia
Mitchell, M. D., Gehrman, P., Perlis, M., & Umscheid, Cvbn. A. (2012). Comparative effectiveness of cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia: a systematic review. BMC family practice, 13, 40. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2296-13-40
Walker, J., Muench, A., Perlis, M. L., & Vargas, I. (2022). Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I): A Primer. Klinicheskaia i spetsial'naia psikhologiia = Clinical psychology and special education, 11(2), 123–137. https://doi.org/10.17759/cpse.2022110208