six sessions
Sleep Programme (CBT-I)
Cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia is the treatment recommended before sleeping pills. It runs as a course of six sessions: measure, reset the schedule, treat the anxiety about sleeping, then keep the gains.
what you get
- A sleep diary that shows what is actually happening, not what it feels like
- A schedule rebuilt around when you genuinely sleep
- Work on the anxiety about sleeping that outlives the original cause
- A plan for keeping the gains after the six sessions end
who it can help
You do not need a diagnosis to start.
- Trouble falling asleep, waking at 3 a.m., or lying awake dreading the alarm
- Anyone relying on sleeping pills who wants to need them less
- Sleep that broke during a difficult period and never came back
what happens
How your sessions will work.
Two weeks of truth
A sleep diary shows the real pattern, which is almost never the remembered one.
Rebuild the night
Your hours in bed are reset to match the hours you actually sleep, then widened as sleep consolidates. This is the part that works and the part that is hard.
Quiet the 3 a.m. mind
Work on the worry about not sleeping, which by now keeps you awake more reliably than whatever started it.
your therapy pathway
What the journey looks like.
A set course of six sessions over about six to eight weeks. This is the usual shape, not a contract. Your practitioner adjusts the pace to you, and you can pause or stop whenever you want.
Sessions 1–2
Measure
A two-week sleep diary shows your real pattern, which is rarely the one you remember.
Sessions 2–3
Reset the schedule
Your time in bed is matched to the time you actually sleep, then widened as sleep improves. This is the hardest part, and you do it with support.
Sessions 4–5
Quiet the worry
Work on the anxiety about not sleeping, which by now can keep you awake more than whatever started it.
Session 6
Keep the gains
A plan for bad nights, so one rough week doesn't undo the work.
Read more: Sleep
common questions
Before you begin
That is what the protocol takes. Most people notice a change in three to four weeks, and the last sessions are about keeping it.