Chapter 15

Last Words

This book is about our knowledge and your wisdom. Our knowledge is based on science, research, and clinical practice. Your wisdom is based on your personal and unique set of strengths, challenges, and circumstances. You know yourself better than anyone else. Integrating our knowledge and your wisdom leads to an optimal sleep program.

The most effective intervention for insomnia today is CBT-I. This program helps you get unstuck by addressing the thoughts and behaviors that feed your insomnia spiral. Unfortunately, it can be challenging to follow this program. CBT-I requires short-term discomfort, a willingness to change, and patience and trust in the process. We use ACT strategies to help you more fully embrace CBT-I.

Our hybrid CBT-ACT for insomnia program addresses three challenges inherent in CBT-I as it is typically delivered in self-help books and by sleep doctors and therapists. The first challenge is a one-size-fits-all approach to treating insomnia with CBT-I. We address this by personalizing CBT-I to your unique needs. The second challenge is that CBT-I is often delivered in an overly rigid fashion. The people receiving CBT-I may take on this rigid approach, or may not follow the program closely enough. We address this by encouraging willingness and flexibility, both in creating and in executing your program. We also address this by using effectiveness, rather than rigid rules, to guide your treatment. The third challenge is the assumption that CBT-I can be used to control your sleep. We address this by debunking this myth. For people struggling with insomnia, control is a problem, not a solution.

Here are the key take-home messages that we hope we conveyed to you:

Thank you for allowing us to accompany you on your journey. We hope that our hybrid CBT-ACT program has helped you end your insomnia struggle, restoring both your sleep and your relationship with sleep.