Sleep problems
Psychological support when falling asleep, staying asleep or waking up rested feels hard.
What is it?
Sleep and mental health are closely linked. During periods of anxiety, stress, grief or low mood, sleep often suffers, and lack of sleep in turn affects mood, attention and relationships. This cycle can feed itself.
Sleep problems take different forms: taking a long time to fall asleep, waking often in the night, waking very early and not getting back to sleep, or not feeling rested even after enough hours. Sleep difficulties that last a long time deserve attention.
Common signs
- Lying awake in bed for a long time
- Waking often and struggling to fall back asleep
- Waking much earlier than you want
- Daytime tiredness, poor focus and irritability
- Worry that grows as bedtime approaches
- Feeling you have to try harder and harder to sleep
These signs alone do not mean a diagnosis; an assessment takes place in an in person or online session.
How can therapy help?
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is one of the most studied approaches for insomnia. We look at sleep habits, thoughts about bed and sleep, and the worries that keep the mind busy at night, and work on small, practical changes that support sleep.
If unresolved feelings, losses or long term stress lie beneath sleep problems, psychodynamic (psychoanalytically informed) therapy can make room to understand them. In the first sessions we decide together which approach suits you.
Approaches I use in this area
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
A structured approach that looks at the link between thoughts, feelings and behaviour and works on changing unhelpful cycles.
Read more02Psychodynamic (psychoanalytically informed) therapy
An approach that explores how past experiences, relationship patterns and feelings outside our awareness shape the present.
Read moreWhen is extra support needed?
If you have pauses in breathing with snoring, sleep attacks you cannot control during the day, sudden severe insomnia or a suspected physical illness, it is important to see a doctor first. If sleep problems come with deep low mood, hopelessness or thoughts of harming yourself, psychiatric support may be needed, and any need for medication is assessed by a psychiatrist. If there is immediate danger, call 112.
Frequently asked questions
Does therapy really help with sleep?
For many people, CBT based work can have a positive effect on sleep. Still, every process is personal and no specific outcome can be guaranteed.
I take sleep medication. Can I start therapy?
Yes. Decisions about medication should be made with your doctor. Therapy can run alongside your doctor's advice.
Is my sleep problem caused by anxiety?
That cannot be answered through a web page. In sessions we try to understand what affects your sleep, and a medical assessment is suggested when needed.
Every process is personal. Therapy does not guarantee a specific outcome, but it offers a safe space for change.
Related areas of work
- Stress and burnoutWorking together on how long term stress and burnout affect your body, mood and relationships.
- Grief and lossSessions that accompany you through grief after losing someone close, a separation or a major life change.
- Eating problemsSupport when your relationship with food, body or weight becomes difficult, working alongside other professionals when needed.
Whenever you feel ready, I am here
Get in touch with any questions or to book a session. You will usually hear back on the same day.