A third of French people suffer from sleep disorders, mainly insomnia. Behavioral and cognitive therapies can help restore sleep. How to do ? For whom are they indicated?
THE Cognitive behavioral therapies (CBT) help address the causes of insomnia and even to eliminate sleep disorders. “This therapy will offer a space for speaking where the patient will be able to freely express themselves about their discomfort and try to adopt the right behavior in the face of their insomnia.“, specifies the psychotherapist Elise Dell’Amore. is there a session? For who ?
How to choose your therapy to fight against insomnia?
Insomnia is a waking state that appears during the night. This is a symptom similar to anxiety or to a state of inner insecurity, which expresses something that cannot be said otherwise, and which goes in the direction of a disruption of the night/day biological rhythm. “Insomnia problems are often related to an anxiety to separate from the surrounding world or come face to face with yourself. Insomnia can also express the fear of death, explains the psychotherapist. The different approaches to treat sleep disorders (medical, biological, psychoanalytical) aim to understand as best as possible the physiological or somatic origins of insomnia.“, she continues. You should know that insomnia can be common to multiple pathologies. “We must first identify the source of insomnia, see how it manifests itself, then how it translates. Before moving towards a type of therapy, we cannot therefore do without the biological approach, nor the psychological approach.“says the expert. While some will prefer a psychosomatic approach (biological + psychological), “others will move towards tax included which instead rely on the manifestation of the symptom and the visible behaviors, without taking into account the unconscious root of insomnia“, she adds.
How does cognitive behavioral therapy treat insomnia?
“During the first consultation, the psychotherapist performs a preliminary interview intended to identify the origin of insomnia to verify that it is not a disorder or a deeper trauma calling for treatment of another nature“, explains Elise Dell’Amore. In a TTC, there are two aspects: the behavioral angle and the cognitive angle. With the support of the therapist, the patient will keep a sleep diary which will allow, after one or two weeks, to see the evolution of the duration of sleep and to estimate an average of hours of sleep. “The sleep diary is used to become aware of his insomnia, and will allow the patient to be the most possible actor of his symptom. It plays on his motivation to continue his efforts within the framework of the TTC“, specifies the psychotherapist. The cognitive angle focuses on the intellectual aspect of the disorder. By means of a questionnaire, the therapist will redefine a true definition of sleep, which will make it possible to attenuate the anxieties of the insomniac due to the daily fear of not being able to sleep. are considered for a short period : it is generally recommended to carry out a cure of about twenty sessions, with one or two 45-minute sessions per week. “What makes the attraction in this type of therapy is that it is a protocol that goes in the direction of treating a pathology in a few months, after a number of sessions defined at the advance“, adds the expert.
Is behavioral therapy compatible with taking sleeping pills?
Taking sleeping pills is a medicinal aid momentary which will act on the biological aspect of the disorder but which does not prevent to make a psychic work in parallel. Note that a sudden stop of sleeping pills would be harmful for the insomniac, both psychologically and biologically. In effect, “there is always a protocol to follow to stop a treatment, as with anti-depressants. However, taking sleeping pills is quite possible with the fact of following a TTC : the insomniac will thus benefit from two aids in parallel, somatic and biological, until the psychic aid takes over the medicinal aid. If the psychic work is sufficiently thorough, the patient will therefore no longer need any help.“, concludes the expert.
Who Can Take Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia?
The TTC can contact all the suffering peopleof all ages and sufficiently motivated to invest in a psychic treatment bringing obligations and rules to follow. The therapists trained in the practice of CBT are professionals of health, psychiatrists or psychologists who practice in hospitals, Medico-Psychological Centers or in private practice.
Thanks to Elise Dell’Amore, psychotherapist.