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Sleep Disorder Therapy

Sleep problems are one of the most disruptive issues to deal with, especially since sleep is as essential to mental and physical health as it is to daily functioning. 

What qualifies as a sleep issue? 

If you have trouble falling asleep, if you wake up frequently throughout the night, and if your sleep quality is poor and doesn’t leave you feeling restored in the morning, then it’s probably time to reach out for professional help. 

The following are common sleep disorders that may be keeping you up at night according to the DSM V:

Insomnia Disorder

  • Periods of nocturnal wakefulness and/or insufficient amounts of nocturnal sleep
  • Repeated difficulties with sleep initiation, duration, consolidation, or quality that occurs despite adequate time and opportunity for sleep
  • Insomnia complaints, when characterized by the perception of poor quality, or nonrestorative sleep, even though the amount and quality of the usual sleep episode is perceived to be “normal” or adequate
  • Subtypes of insomnia include onset insomnia, early awakening insomnia, and sleep maintenance insomnia 
  • People may experience more than one of these subtypes of insomnia in combination

Hypersomnolence Disorder

  • Hypersomnia disorders are those in which the primary complaint is daytime sleepiness
  • The cause of daytime sleepiness is not disturbed nocturnal sleep or misaligned circadian rhythms
  • Hypersomnia is defined as a prolonged nocturnal sleep episodes or daily sleep amounts of greater than 9 hours.

Narcolepsy or Hypocretin Deficiency

  • Sudden attacks of sleep at random times 
  • Sometimes sudden loss of muscle tone and hallucinations occur.

Obstructive Sleep Apnea - Hypopnea Syndrome

  • Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome occurs when there is an obstruction in the airway resulting in increased breathing effort and inadequate ventilation
  • These events are often asssociated with reduced blood oxygen saturation
  • Snoring and sleep disruption are typical and common with hypopnea syndrome
  • Excessive daytime sleepiness or insomnia can result

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Central Sleep Apnea

  • Recurrent episodes of cessation of breathing during sleep without associated ventilatory effort.

Sleep Related Hyperventilation

  • Sleep-related hypoventilation is a breathing-related disorder that interrupts normal sleep
  • This condition may be diagnosed when all other sleep disorders have been ruled out, though it may appear simultaneously with other sleep disorders

Circadian Rhythm Sleep-Wake Disorder

  • Persistent or recurrent misalignment between a person’s sleep pattern and the pattern that is desired or regarded as the societal norm
  • The patient cannot sleep when sleep is desired, needed, or expected
  • The wake episodes can occur at undesired times as a result of sleep episodes that occur at inappropriate times, and therefore, the person may complain of insomnia or excessive sleepiness

Disorder of Arousal

  • Mental confusion or confused behavior that occurs during or after arousal from sleep
  • These arousals are common in children and can occur not only from nocturnal sleep but also from daytime naps 

Nightmare Disorder

  • Recurrent nightmares that occur in REM sleep and result in an awakening with intense anxiety, fear, or other negative feelings

Rapid Eye Movement Sleep Disorder

  • Physically acting out vivid, often unpleasant dreams with vocal sounds and sudden, often violent arm and leg movements during REM sleep.
  • These episodes are sometimes referred to as “dream enacting behavior”

Restless Leg Syndrome

  • An uncontrollable urge to move your legs, usually because of an uncomfortable sensation.
  • Restless Leg Syndrome typically happens in the evening or nighttime hours when you’re sitting or lying down, which may disturb sleep

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Substance Induced Sleep Disorder

  • Medication-induced sleep disorder is the official diagnostic name for insomnia and other sleep problems which are caused by the use of alcohol, drugs, or taking certain medications

CBTI and Sleep Disorder Treatments

Thankfully there are a number of psychological interventions available to help you catch some solid Zzz’s.

A successful approach used by therapists is called Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBTI). 

It utilizes standard cognitive interventions coupled with behavioral strategies that specifically target sleep disruption. 

This method can be highly effective in improving the quality of sleep as well as daytime functioning.

CBTI focuses on changing your unrealistic expectations about sleep. 

Common beliefs you may have are: “I must fall asleep right now to get 8 hours of sleep,” or “I must get 8 hours of sleep or I’m going to fail tomorrow.” 

Together we will work to shift these attitudes by exploring what constitutes a normal amount of sleep and how people are able to compensate for lost sleep. 

We will also process thoughts and feelings that contribute to disruptions and loss of sleep.

Behavioral strategies in CBTI often include stimulus control therapy, sleep restriction therapy, and sleep hygiene. 

These strategies are designed to break associations with being in bed that are not related to sleep, enable you to get deeper and more restful zzz’s and establish more ideal environments for sleep and wakefulness.

Our evidence-based, scientifically proven interventions are demonstrated by research to be effective for targeting sleep disorders.

Learn more about our empirically based therapy modalities by visiting our Methods page. 

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At My LA Therapy, our highly-vetted Sleep Disorder experts are selected not only for their clinical acumen but for who they are.

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 Resources

  1. WebMD

What Our Clients Say

"With your help, I've finally started to understand that while my vivid imagination often wants to create terrifying monsters under the bed, in a lot of cases those monsters are nothing more than a heap of decidedly less-terrifying laundry I've avoided for too long that just needs to be aired out and put away. Which is definitely a lot easier than monster slaying. Thank you for shedding light in the dark places I was too afraid to face alone."
Anonymous Client
"After every session I come away feeling better prepared to start shining light into shadows I've hustled past for a long, long time... some rational ones, but a lot more aren't. Shame is such a stealthy master; He's been the monkey on my back for a long time. You totally called it. I'm so grateful for your guidance and skill and although sometimes I may shuffle and others I may leap, after our sessions I always feel like I'm moving forward."
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Anonymous Client
"Just wanted to share that yesterday's session with you, and a long, productive dinner table conversation with my wife last night, started to uncover a huge gap between perception and reality in my understanding of the status I held in our marriage. Our session opened my eyes to the fact that the inequity I've long felt comes from a place of assumed unworthiness. I'm so thankful for this journey we are taking together, with your help, towards deeper, more productive understanding."
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"I have worked with many therapists in the past, but this is the first time I feel that I am making changes that are deep and lasting. Her counseling has truly helped me become free, even from things I wasn’t aware were affecting me. Brooke integrates many different approaches to provide balanced and effective therapy."
Anonymous Client
"You are truly an amazing person. I am so grateful for your sincerity and kindness– big-hearted and deep soulfulness. You are incredibly intuitive, insightful and wise. You are a gifted listener and a powerful speaker, passionate and genuine."
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"Brooke is kind and warm, but not afraid to challenge you. She is caring, authentic and compassionate as well as intelligent and clinically skilled. Brooke possesses great wisdom and intuition, which she balances with knowledge and skill."
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"Brooke has really helped me to overcome the problems in my life that I was starting to believe couldn’t change. I now understand where my depression and anxiety came from and they are no longer a part of my life. I now feel a sense of peace and purpose."
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"I’ve recommended Brooke to so many of my friends and colleagues, I’m starting to feel like her personal cheerleader. But it can’t be helped. When I look back on the past year, without a doubt the most difficult year of my life, I can’t believe how far I’ve come."
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"Brooke has been an incredibly positive influence in my life. I first came to Brooke in the midst of a divorce from my high school sweetheart and best friend. With Brooke’s gentle guidance and supervision, I began the most intense period of personal growth in my life."
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Sleep Disorders Therapists

My LA Therapy - Lorie Nguyen (featured)

Lorie Nguyen
LCSW

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Sydney-Shaevel-Therapist (featured)

Sydney Shaevel
LMFT

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Tanya-Mailander-Therapist (featured)

Tanya Mailander
LMFT

Therapist

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Our warm and experienced therapists offer research-based, personalized therapy that addresses the root cause for your symptoms to create lasting change.
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