Sleep Psychology

What is Sleep Psychology?

Psychological therapies such as cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (commonly referred to as CBT-i) play an integral role in the treatment of a variety of sleep disorders.

CBT-i is considered the first line therapy for insomnia. It is an evidence based treatment that includes a clinical sleep assessment, weekly sleep diaries, a combination of sleep restriction, stimulus control and cognitive therapy that is tailored to the individual patients’ needs.

CBT-i is designed to change the way patients behave around sleep and to feel less anxious about sleep (or lack there off). Treatment typically takes place over 4-5 sessions, and while OHIP does not cover psychological services, CBTi is covered by most extended health benefits programs.

Patients are provided with a receipt after each treatment session to submit to extended benefit plans for reimbursement. Jessica Palmer, who directs our Sleep Psychology division has over 20 years of clinical experience working as a psychologist in both the US and Canada with 12 years of experience working with chronic insomnia using CBT-I. As part of our integrated multi-disciplinary team, she provides personalized solutions for a variety of sleep-related issues including restless sleep, difficulty falling or staying asleep, and poor sleep hygiene.