PARENT GUIDED CBT-i

Parent-guided CBT-I is a way of training parents to become the CBT-I guide for their child. This has many advantages over traditional therapist led approaches. The first and most important advantage is that as a parent you know your child best and you understand their unique strengths and challenges. 

Additionally, you are on the ground when your child is having difficulties. One of the challenges of the therapist led approach is that it requires a child to remember what they discussed in their session on one day and apply it when they are upset and struggling to sleep perhaps five nights later. Having parents trained to guide a child means they are supported when they need it most.

It's important to recognise that children’s sleep problems can affect the whole family. What starts as a child having difficulty sleeping can evolve so there is a negative impact on a family’s time, resources, and relationships. When parents are guided to resolve the sleep issue this can reverse this trend, strengthening relationships and improving the quality of life for the whole family.  Many of the skills you will learn can be applied to situations other than sleep.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia is a well evidenced psychological treatment for people who have difficulty sleeping. CBT-I is based on the principle that our thoughts feelings and behaviours are all interconnected and therefore effective treatment needs to address our thoughts about sleep, how we feel about sleep and what we do. Sessions with a CBT-I therapist are usually delivered weekly and most people require 6-10 sessions to resolve a sleep problem.