Sleep difficulties can become exhausting. You may find yourself lying awake with a busy mind, waking during the night, waking too early, or becoming increasingly anxious about whether you will sleep at all.
I offer psychotherapy for adults experiencing sleep difficulties and insomnia, in Canary Wharf and online across the UK.
Sleep Difficulties and Insomnia
When sleep becomes more than a sleep problem
A few difficult nights are part of life. But when sleep becomes consistently disrupted, it can begin to affect much more than the night itself- your mood, concentration, relationships, confidence and ability to cope during the day.
You may find yourself lying awake with a busy mind, waking repeatedly or too early, or becoming increasingly preoccupied with how much sleep you are getting. Over time, the worry and pressure around sleep can become part of what keeps the difficulty going.
How psychotherapy may help
Sleep difficulties are rarely just about sleep. They can become closely connected with stress, anxiety, emotional strain and the ways we respond when we feel under pressure.
In therapy, we can explore what may be happening around the sleep difficulty- the thoughts, feelings, relationships and patterns that may be keeping your mind and body on alert. This can also include the pressure to sleep itself, and the frustration or anxiety that can build when sleep starts to feel like something you have to control.
Rather than focusing only on the symptom, we can look more broadly at what your sleep difficulties may be connected to and help you develop a different relationship with both sleep and yourself.
Understanding sleep from a different perspective
Alongside my work as a psychotherapist, I have worked in sleep physiology for over eight years across NHS and private healthcare settings.
This experience has given me an understanding of sleep from both psychological and physiological perspectives, and of the complex relationship between sleep, stress, emotional wellbeing and the body.
My psychotherapy work is separate from medical sleep assessment or treatment. However, my background in sleep helps me think carefully about what may be contributing to someone’s difficulties, and when another form of assessment or support may also be appropriate.
Is psychotherapy right for my sleep difficulties?
Find it difficult to switch off at night
Wake frequently or too early
Feel anxious or preoccupied about sleep
Notice that stress or difficult emotions affect your sleep
Feel caught in a cycle of worrying about how much sleep you are getting
Want to understand the relationship between your inner life, your body and your sleep
Psychotherapy may be helpful if you:
Everyone’s experience of sleep is different. We can use an introductory call to think together about what you have been experiencing and whether psychotherapy feels like the right kind of support.
What about CBT-I or medical sleep treatment?
Some sleep difficulties may benefit from a more structured approach, such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I), while others may need medical assessment to rule out an underlying sleep disorder.
My background in sleep physiology helps me think carefully about what may be most appropriate. If your difficulties seem better suited to another form of assessment or treatment, I will be open about this and can discuss the options with you.
If sleep difficulties are affecting you and you’re wondering whether psychotherapy might help, you’re welcome to get in touch.