Find your rest
CBT-I for Chronic Insomnia in NY and California
Face each day with the gift of a night of restorative sleep.
With as few as 6 sessions, we can get you back to consistent, restful sleep
A meta-analysis of CBT-I outcomes found that significant sleep improvements occur within the first 4–6 weeks, with continued benefits beyond 12 months post-treatment.
Nearly 60% of patients achieve remission of insomnia within 6–8 weeks of treatment. (van Straten et al., 2018)
What is Chronic Insomnia?
Chronic insomnia (noun) : is more than just an occasional restless night—it is a persistent struggle that affects both sleep quality and overall well-being. It is a sleep disorder that involves having difficulty sleeping at least three nights a week for more than three months. It can't be fully explained by another health condition.
What are the Signs of Chronic Insomnia?
Difficulty falling asleep
Even when you feel tired you may struggle to fall asleep. You may spend hours in bed feeling physically and emotionally exhausted, putting effort into finding sleep without success.
unwanted awakenings
You may wake up regularly throughout the night and struggle to fall back to sleep. You may also awaken in the very early morning hours, without adequate rest, and be unable to return to sleep.
Non-restorative sleep
You may consistently wake feeling like your sleep was non-restorative.
arousal
You may feel like, as soon as you get into bed, a wakefulness switch goes on and you are suddenly wide awake despite have felt sleepy prior to your transition to bed.
Rumination
You may be excessively worried about your sleep, thinking often about whether you will be able to successfully fall asleep. You may ruminate over how your lack of sleep will impact your functioning the following day.
fear
You may no longer feel safe and at ease in your bed or even in your home as a result of loss of control over your sleep.
Daytime fatigue
You may have the subjective experience of not having the resources you need to do what you need to do during daytime.
Memory
You may have difficulty recalling, focusing or paying attention as a result of cognitive fatigue and lack of sleep.
Mood
You may experience irritability, low mood, anxiety, diminished frustration tolerance due to chronic lack of restorative sleep.
If these things are on your mind,
you’ve found the right place
Our team will use the following modalities to support you
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Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) is a structured, evidence-based treatment that helps identify and change behaviors and thought patterns that contribute to chronic insomnia. Unlike sleep medications, which only provide temporary relief, CBT-I addresses the underlying causes of insomnia to promote long-term improvements in sleep quality and overall well-being.
CBT-I consists of multiple techniques that work together to help individuals establish healthier sleep habits and overcome barriers to restful sleep.
How CBT-I Works to Treat Insomnia
CBT-I employs a combination of behavioral and cognitive strategies to improve sleep patterns. The key components include:
Behavioral Techniques:
Sleep Restriction Therapy (SRT): Limits the time spent in bed to match actual sleep duration, helping to consolidate sleep and increase sleep efficiency.
Stimulus Control: Encourages association between the bed and sleep by eliminating wakeful activities such as watching TV, reading, or using electronic devices in bed.
Sleep Hygiene Education: Focuses on establishing habits that support healthy sleep, such as maintaining a consistent sleep schedule, avoiding caffeine before bedtime, and creating a relaxing bedtime routine.
Cognitive Techniques:
Cognitive Restructuring: Identifies and challenges negative thoughts and anxieties about sleep, replacing them with more realistic and positive beliefs.
Paradoxical Intention: Encourages patients not to force sleep, which reduces performance anxiety and helps sleep occur more naturally.
Relaxation Techniques: Incorporates mindfulness, deep breathing, and progressive muscle relaxation to reduce stress and anxiety that interfere with sleep.
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Somatic Experiencing (SE) therapy, developed by Dr. Peter Levine, is a body-centered approach to healing trauma and stress-related disorders. It focuses on regulating the nervous system by helping process unresolved stress and trauma stored in the body. Chronic insomnia often has roots in dysregulated nervous system activity, making SE a valuable tool for addressing it.
How SE Helps Treat Chronic Insomnia
Regulating the Nervous System
Insomnia is often linked to an overactive sympathetic nervous system (fight-or-flight response). SE helps shift the body into a more balanced parasympathetic state (rest-and-digest), promoting relaxation and sleep.
Releasing Stored Trauma & Stress
Unresolved trauma can create hypervigilance, muscle tension, and difficulty relaxing—key contributors to insomnia. SE works by allowing the body to process and discharge this stored stress.
Tracking Sensations & Building Body Awareness
SE encourages noticing and tracking bodily sensations (e.g., warmth, tension, tingling). By developing an awareness of these sensations, patients can identify patterns of arousal or tension that disrupt sleep and learn to gently shift toward relaxation.
Pendulation & Titration Techniques
Pendulation involves shifting awareness between distressing sensations and more neutral or positive ones, helping the nervous system find balance.
Titration involves processing small amounts of distress rather than overwhelming the system, preventing further activation and allowing for gradual resolution of sleep disturbances.
Releasing Freeze Responses
Chronic stress can cause a freeze or shutdown response, which paradoxically makes deep rest difficult. SE helps gently thaw this response, allowing a more natural sleep-wake cycle to emerge.
Developing a Felt Sense of Safety
Many people with chronic insomnia experience nighttime anxiety or an inability to "let go" into sleep. SE helps cultivate a felt sense of safety in the body, reducing hypervigilance and nighttime awakenings.
Practical SE Techniques for Insomnia
Grounding Exercises: Using deep pressure, mindful breathing, or noticing contact points with a bed to increase body awareness and calm the system.
Orienting to Safety: Scanning the environment and settling into a sense of security before sleep.
Self-Regulation Practices: Slow, mindful movements or gentle rocking to engage the parasympathetic response.
Tracking Sleep-Related Triggers: Identifying body sensations linked to insomnia and working with them to create ease.
In summary
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) and Somatic Experiencing (SE) offer complementary approaches to treating chronic insomnia.
CBT-I targets the thoughts and behaviors that sustain insomnia. It helps reframe negative sleep beliefs, establish healthier sleep habits, and reduce anxiety around sleep through techniques like sleep restriction, stimulus control, and relaxation training.
SE focuses on the nervous system's role in sleep disturbances. By addressing stored trauma, stress, and hyperarousal, SE helps regulate the body's physiological state, promoting relaxation and a sense of safety necessary for sleep. Techniques like body awareness, grounding, and releasing stored tension aid in restoring a natural sleep rhythm.
Together, CBT-I and SE can address both the mental and physiological aspects of insomnia, providing a well-rounded approach to improving sleep.
CBT-I Timeline
Week 1–2
Initial challenges, possible worsening of sleep (especially with sleep restriction). Some relaxation benefits.
Week 3–4
Noticeable improvements in sleep onset and efficiency, reduced nighttime awakenings.
Week 6–8
Significant gains in total sleep time, better sleep confidence, and fewer insomnia symptoms.
Beyond 8 Weeks
Long-term stabilization, with benefits lasting years in many cases.
Please note that these timeframes are variable based on the severity of your symptoms, treatment adherence and comorbidities.
Meet our CBT-I Therapists
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Janine Cheng, LCSW
FOUNDER + CLINICAL DIRECTOR
After CBT - I
Many patients complete CBT - I therapy after 6 - 8 weeks and report:
Sleep Quality & Patterns
Falling asleep faster with less time spent tossing and turning
Staying asleep longer with fewer nighttime awakenings
Improved ability to get restful, uninterrupted sleep
More consistent sleep-wake patterns with a regular bedtime and wake time
Reduced reliance on sleeping pills or other sleep aids
Cognitive & Emotional Changes
Less anxiety and racing thoughts at bedtime
Reduced fear of not being able to sleep
Improved ability to manage frustration about sleep difficulties
A healthier mindset about sleep (e.g., not obsessing over getting “perfect” sleep)
Increased confidence in the ability to sleep naturally
Behavioral & Lifestyle Adjustments
More effective relaxation techniques before bed
Improved sleep hygiene, such as reducing screen time and caffeine intake
A stronger association between the bed and sleep (rather than stress or wakefulness)
Less time spent in bed awake, leading to better sleep efficiency
A healthier routine that promotes natural drowsiness at night
Daytime Functioning & Energy Levels
Increased energy and alertness throughout the day
Reduced daytime sleepiness and fatigue
Improved focus, memory, and cognitive performance
Less reliance on naps or caffeine to compensate for poor sleep
A greater sense of overall well-being and motivation
Physical Health Improvements
Better regulation of mood and reduced risk of anxiety or depression
Improved immune function and overall health
Reduced physical symptoms related to sleep deprivation (e.g., headaches, muscle tension)
More balanced appetite and reduced cravings for high-sugar or high-carb foods
Improved exercise performance and recovery
Overall Life Satisfaction
Greater sense of control over sleep and overall health
More enjoyment of evening routines without stress about sleep
Improved mood and emotional stability
Less frustration or dread about bedtime
A healthier, long-term approach to maintaining good sleep habits
