Better Sleep for your Clients: Practical Strategies from CBT-i

Better Sleep for your Clients: Practical Strategies from CBT-i

$35.00

This is the Lunch Hour Only (Noon-1 pm, 1 CE) version of this event. Go back for the full 2 hour, 2 CE version.

Description: 

Poor sleep and insomnia can contribute to depression and anxiety and to chronic health conditions like diabetes, heart disease, and obesity—not to mention burnout among the very health care and behavioral health professionals that are poised to help with these conditions. Insomnia medications are often habit-forming, have troubling side effects, and merely mask the symptoms of sleeplessness rather than treat the underlying problems.  We all have had clients who have suffered from a poor night's sleep. What role do we play in helping to curb the effects of sleeplessness and insomnia? A variety of behavioral approaches have been proven effective in treating insomnia and difficulties with sleep. However, many clinicians lack the training and confidence to work effectively with these issues. This presentation will emphasize ways to work with your existing clients who struggle with sleep so you do not need to disrupt your care by referring them out.

Part 1 (Noon to 1 pm). CBT-i and Basic Behavioral Strategies

The lunchtime presentation (Part 1) will review the basic components of CBT for Insomnia (CBT-i): Sleep Hygiene, Stimulus Control, and Sleep Restriction. We will consider challenges like:

  • Why distributing Sleep Hygiene handouts is worse than useless and what to do instead.

  • How modern comforts are scrambling our experience of days and nights and making sleep worse.

  • How to think clearly about Sleep Restriction Therapy and how your fear of it is robbing clients of a powerful tool to reverse bad sleep habits.

We will start to consider when less control-based strategies drawn from ACT and mindfulness-based therapies might be more effective—and more acceptable to your clients. We will go deeper into these issues in Part 2 (optional). 

Learning Objectives (Part 1, Noon to 1 pm)

After this presentation, participants will be able to:

  1. Summarize each of the “three tiers” of CBT-i: sleep hygiene, stimulus control, and sleep restriction.

  2. Describe discrete behavioral goals for improving sleep habits.

  3. Explain and use the simple metric of “sleep efficiency” to assess sleep quality and track progress.

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Presenter Bio:

Joel Guarna, PhD  is a licensed psychologist in the state of Maine. He earned his PhD from Bowling Green State University in 2000 and trained at the Boston Consortium in Clinical Psychology. He later served as a staff psychologist in the VA Healthcare System in Boston. He has worked in a variety of medical settings including MaineHealth Endocrinology and Diabetes Center in Scarborough and as Behavioral Health Faculty Lead in the MMC Family Medicine Residency Program. He co-directed the Living Life Well Pain Rehabilitation Program at the Mercy Pain Center in Portland for 7 years. Joel ran his private practice in Portland for 18 years. In 2024, he joined Psychology Specialists of Maine (PSM) and serves as the Director of Education and Training. He continues to see a caseload of clients, working as a generalist but also specializing in addictions, chronic health and chronic pain, and serving professionals who work as “helpers” in healthcare and related settings.


Continuing Education

Psychology Specialists of Maine (PSM) has been designated by the Maine Board of Examiners of Psychologists as a pre-approved sponsor of continuing education for psychologists in Maine. This program has been approved for 1 (one) CE hour of Category One CE credits.

Our programs are led by experts and specialists who provide advanced clinical training focused on expanding interventions and techniques for therapists in agencies and private practice.

This program was designed to meet the continuing education requirements of psychologists, counselors, and social workers licensed in Maine.

All participants are requested to retain a copy of the event flyer and this Certificate of Completion for documentation when renewing their license.

Need to Cancel?

Please review the Cancellation Policy for this event.