CBT-I

When sleep becomes a struggle, it’s rarely “just about sleep.” Insomnia often develops as a response to stress, trauma, hormonal shifts, caregiving, burnout, or living in a body and world that hasn’t always felt safe. Over time, the nervous system learns to stay alert — even when rest is needed most. CBT-I is a structured, evidence-based therapy that helps gently retrain your relationship with sleep, without medication and without blame.

CBT-I works by addressing the patterns — both behavioral and cognitive — that keep insomnia going. This includes how your body associates the bed with wakefulness, how anxiety about sleep builds over time, and how survival-driven habits (like staying in bed awake or constantly tracking sleep) can unintentionally reinforce the cycle. The goal is not perfect sleep, but more consistent, restorative rest and a nervous system that can downshift again.

My approach to CBT-I is trauma-informed, relational, and body-aware. We move collaboratively and at your pace, with attention to how sleep intersects with identity, health, hormones (including perimenopause), caregiving roles, and lived experience. Rather than rigid rules, we focus on curiosity, consent, and adaptability — recognizing that insomnia often began as an attempt to cope.

Together, we may work with sleep scheduling, stimulus control, gentle cognitive reframing, and nervous system regulation, always with respect for your limits and needs. For clients with trauma histories, we integrate grounding and stabilization so the work feels supportive rather than activating.

CBT-I is especially helpful for people who feel exhausted yet wired, anxious at bedtime, or discouraged by years of disrupted sleep. You are not failing at sleep — your system has been protecting you. CBT-I offers a way to support your body in remembering how to rest again.