Frequently asked questions

CBT-I is brief and structured: typically 4 to 8 weekly sessions. It is not open-ended psychotherapy with no horizon — there is a plan from the first session, and the first changes in sleep usually show within the first two to three weeks.

There is, and this is often exactly the right moment. CBT-I is combined with medication and is the evidence-based route to reducing it gradually, when the doctor who prescribed it decides the time is right. No change to your medication is ever made by a psychologist — it is made by the physician, with therapy supporting the process.

Sleep hygiene is one component, and the weakest one. On its own it rarely resolves chronic insomnia. CBT-I adds the two ingredients that genuinely change the picture: restricting time in bed and stimulus control, together with work on the thoughts that keep the brain alert.

This is the most common misconception. Anxiety often starts insomnia, but it is not what keeps it going. After a few months insomnia becomes independent: it is sustained by the behaviours we adopt to cope with it. That is why treating insomnia directly works even when the anxiety remains — and usually reduces it as well.

A detailed sleep history is taken: when it started, what triggered it, what you have already tried, what your day looks like. A psychometric assessment is carried out and a sleep diary is kept for one week. The plan is built on that. If the history raises a suspicion of another disorder — sleep apnoea, for instance — you are referred for a sleep study before we go further.

Sessions take place at the practice in Melissia. For availability and the format of appointments, please get in touch by phone.

Yes. Confidentiality is governed by the Psychologist's Code of Ethics and the relevant legislation. Nothing said is shared with third parties without your explicit consent, with the sole exceptions of the serious-risk situations provided for by law.