By Ginger Houghton, LMSW, CAADCThis article explores the impact of insomnia and ways to manage its symptoms.
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
Key Takeaways
- Insomnia can make you feel like a zombie, but treatment options exist.
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) is a structured, effective approach to overcoming insomnia.
- CBT-I focuses on correcting sleep behaviors and thoughts, not probing into your past.
- Therapists ensure confidentiality and most clients eagerly share their success stories.
- Typically, patients can expect improvement in sleep within 3-4 sessions and complete treatment in 6-8 sessions.
Insomnia….. it’s the worst and it’s almost Halloween. Time to trick or treat and enjoy all the amazing things fall has to offer. Unfortunately, for many of us, insomnia has started to make things (including us) look creepier than usual.
While it’s awesome to save some cash not paying for a Halloween costume, it’s not so great looking and feeling like a zombie 24/7. What many people don’t know is that insomnia is treatable. While most people are familiar with sleep medication, very few people with insomnia know that therapy for insomnia can be incredibly effective.
In fact, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I for short), is the treatment recommended as the first-line treatment for insomnia by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the American College of Physicians.
Let’s Talk About CBT-I
If you’re living with insomnia, you’ve probably Googled yourself into exhaustion. Somewhere along the way, you found CBT-I (also called CBTII) and thought, Okay… but what is this actually like?
Are you going to be poked and prodded?
Forced to spill your deepest secrets?
Lying on a couch for the next 20 years while someone hums thoughtfully?
Here is the honest answer: no. Not even a little.
CBT-I is therapy, yes — but it’s practical. Grounded. Human. It’s about gently untangling the habits and thoughts that have crept in while you’ve been trying desperately to sleep.
No machines. Needles aren’t a part of this treatment. No performance reviews of your childhood.
You Don’t Have to Tell Your Whole Life Story
You can, if you want. We are therapists, after all. We can hold it.
But CBT-I doesn’t require you to open every door you’ve ever walked past. What matters most is how sleep is showing up in your life right now. Your therapist will ask about your health, mental health history, and sleep patterns — not because you’re broken, but because we want to be sure this is truly insomnia, and that CBT-I is the right path for you.
Your Story Is Safe Here
Your privacy is protected by law, and by the kind of care that understands how vulnerable it feels to admit you’re tired in a world that tells you to push harder.
That said, many people who complete CBT-I end up telling everyone they know — because when you finally sleep again, you want to shout it from the rooftops. Most of the people who find us do so through someone who says, “I didn’t think it would work either… but it did.”
This Is Not Endless Therapy
CBT-I isn’t about staying stuck. It’s about getting free.
Most people begin sleeping better within three to four sessions. Many are finished in six to eight. Not because you rushed — but because this work is focused, evidence-based, and designed to help your nervous system remember something it already knows how to do.
This Is About Coming Back to Yourself
We’re not Freudian. There’s no lifelong couch commitment.
CBT-I is built on techniques that actually work for insomnia — even when sleep has been broken for a long time. Especially then.
If You’re Ready
If you’re tired of being tired.
If you’re tired of blaming yourself.
If you’re ready to trade your zombie look for something softer this season…
We’re here. Call us or schedule online to begin CBT-I (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia).
You don’t need to try harder.
You just need the right kind of support. 💛
We’ll walk you through the process and answer any question you might have about treatment for insomnia.
A Gentle Reminder
This post is here to offer understanding and information—not answers about what you personally should do. Mental health care is not one-size-fits-all, and decisions about therapy or medication are best made with a licensed provider who knows your story.
About the Clinician
Written by Ginger Houghton, LMSW, CAADC, a Michigan-based therapist at Bright Spot Counseling and EMDR Treatment Center. Ginger provides trauma-informed therapy with a compassionate, grounded approach, supporting clients through healing, growth, and recovery.
