Mindfulness-Based Therapy for Insomnia

Chronic insomnia can impair cognitive abilities and the immune system and can intensify other mental and physical disorders. Yet existing medical, psychological, and alternative treatments have only limited success in treating this persistent disorder.

In this clinical guide, Jason C. Ong introduces mental health practitioners to an innovative, evidence-based treatment: mindfulness-based therapy for insomnia (MBTI).

This group intervention combines mindfulness meditation with principles and strategies derived from cognitive behavioral therapy using guided meditations, group discussions, and daily activities performed at home. Participants are able to cultivate greater self-awareness and change their unhealthy thoughts and behaviors surrounding sleep to reduce stress, sleeplessness, and other insomnia symptoms long after treatment has ended.

Mental health professionals are shown how to integrate MBTI into their own practices through detailed session-by-session guidelines. They are also advised on evaluating potential participants prior to treatment by assessing physical and psychological issues that underlie their insomnia. The result is a versatile and effective approach for helping clients find relief.

Preface

Acknowledgments

Introduction

I. Background

1. Insomnia: The Problem of Sleeplessness
2. Current Treatments for Insomnia
3. Mindfulness Meditation: Awakening to Better Sleep

II. Principles and Practices of MBTI

4. Theoretical Foundations and Preparation for MBTI
5. Getting Started With MBTI
6. Reprogramming the Brain for Sleep
7. Using Mindfulness Principles to Work With the Territory of Insomnia
8. Bringing MBTI to Closure and Mindfulness to Life

III. MBTI in the Laboratory and the Real World

9. Is Mindfulness Meditation an Effective Treatment for Insomnia?
10. Delivering MBTI in the Real World

Appendix

References

Index

About the Author

Jason C. Ong, PhD, is an associate professor in the department of neurology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. He is the director of the behavioral sleep medicine training program and the principal investigator of the behavioral sleep and circadian medicine laboratory.

He received his doctorate in psychology from Virginia Commonwealth University and completed a fellowship in behavioral sleep medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine.

His primary research and clinical interests are behavioral and mindfulness-based treatments for insomnia and other sleep disorders. Other research interests include the impact of sleep disturbance on chronic health conditions.

Ong competently integrates mindfulness, acceptance, and CBT while maintaining a humility for the difficulty in working with matters as important and personal as sleep. The MBTI approach presented here offers a very promising approach to insomnia that will surely be a key reference point for mindfulness and sleep researchers and clinicians as the field moves forward for the betterment of sleeping and waking life.
—PsycCRITIQUES

The high prevalence of insomnia and sleep-related disturbances in the general population make this book a valuable resource for treating professionals. The MBTI approach encompasses some conventional cognitive-behavioral methods but readers familiar with and practicing mindfulness-based interventions will benefit most.
—New England Psychologist

Ong has crafted a readable, personal, yet still soundly research-based manual that takes therapists step-by-step through the rationale, development, evaluation, and application of MBTI. He has carefully melded the best of cognitive behavior therapy for insomnia and mindfulness-based stress reduction to arrive at an evidence-based program that meets the needs of people with insomnia and those wishing to help them.
—Linda E. Carlson, PhD
Professor, Department of Oncology, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada

This excellent treatment manual provides new intervention tools based on mindfulness meditation to treat insomnia — a great complement to the standard cognitive behavior therapy for insomnia. It will be a rich resource for clinicians who treat patients with insomnia as their primary problem or as a coexisting problem to other medical or psychological conditions; it will be particularly helpful for working with patients who do not respond well to other insomnia therapies.
—Charles M. Morin, PhD
Professor of Psychology, Université Laval, Québec City, Québec, Canada

While the integration of mindfulness training with insomnia treatment made intuitive sense, until now it was unclear how to combine them. In this easy-to-read guide for practitioners, Ong presents a road map of exactly how to do this. He provides an in-depth look at sleep physiology and standard treatments, and a clearly explained theoretical basis for MBTI, along with specific treatment session outlines, exercises, handouts and logs, sample syllabus, and troubleshooting examples.
—Elizabeth Hoge, MD
Department of Psychiatry, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC

Insomnia is a disorder of brain, behavior, and mind, but our treatments often focus on only the first two of these. This practical book puts the mind back in insomnia treatment. By providing step-by-step instructions and a larger context, Ong shows us how MBTI can lead to better sleep and a better life.
—Daniel J. Buysse, MD
Professor of Sleep Medicine, Professor of Psychiatry and Clinical and Translational Science, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA