How to Treat Sleep Problems in Clients with Trauma with Colleen Carney

Sleep problems are a persistent challenge for clients with trauma, yet many clinicians encounter difficulties in treating sleep problems effectively. Left unaddressed, insomnia and nightmares can undermine trauma therapy, leaving clients stuck in a cycle of poor sleep and emotional distress.

For therapists who look to add effective sleep treatments to their toolbox, misinformation about sleep strategies is widespread. For instance, most providers rely on sleep hygiene practices (Moss, Lachowski & Carney, 2013), even though these are ineffective and using them alone contradicts clinical guidelines for insomnia (Edinger et al., 2021).

This 6-hour on-demand course led by renowned expert Dr. Colleen Carney presents adult sleep treatments you can integrate into your practice for clients with trauma.

Combining evidence-based strategies with hands-on learning, gain the confidence you need for assessing and treating sleep problems in trauma survivors. Whether you’re addressing insomnia or nightmares, or your client struggles with comorbid obstructive sleep apnea, this workshop offers actionable solutions to help your clients achieve lasting relief.

Part I: Core Strategies for Using Cognitive Behaviour Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) in Trauma Clients

Learn how to assess, collaboratively deliver, and adapt CBT-I for treating sleep problems in people with complex trauma histories.

• Understanding Sleep Disorders in Trauma
  Learn why trauma clients often experience sleep disturbances and why traditional approaches, like sleep hygiene, fail.
• Implementing CBT-I Techniques
  Discover how to use interventions such as stimulus control and time-in-bed restriction to restore healthy sleep patterns.

By the end of Part I, you have a solid foundation in using CBT-I for treating sleep problems with trauma cases.

Part II: Advanced Interventions and Case Adaptations in Treating Sleep Problems

We apply the knowledge and skills learned in Session I to issues related to troubleshooting and adaptation of CBT-I for trauma cases, and discuss how to treat nightmares.

• Interactive Practice
  Analyze sleep diaries, design behavioural experiments, and practice adapting interventions for clients with complex trauma.
• Nightmare Treatment Strategies
  Explore effective daytime and nighttime techniques to reduce the frequency and intensity of nightmares.

Why Take This Course?

This course goes beyond the theory related to treating sleep problems in trauma clients. It also provides hands-on experience, ensuring you’re ready to implement effective sleep treatment strategies in clients with trauma. With evidence-based guidance and practical exercises, you leave prepared to transform how you address sleep problems in your trauma-focused practice.

Register Today

Join Dr. Colleen Carney and gain expertise in treating sleep problems in clients with trauma. This on-demand course is ideal for clinicians who want to improve client outcomes by addressing the overlooked but critical area of sleep.

1. Update their knowledge on evidence-based treatments for insomnia and nightmares in clients with trauma, including those with PTSD.
2. Deliver collaborative psychoeducation about the causes of insomnia in trauma-affected individuals and why traditional sleep hygiene strategies are often ineffective.
3. Analyze sleep diaries in experiential exercises to identify circadian rhythm issues and calculate optimal time-in-bed schedules.
4. Implement time-in-bed restriction and stimulus control strategies, with adaptations for trauma-related considerations.
5. Design and apply behavioural experiments to challenge and reframe unhelpful beliefs about sleep.
6. Implement evidence-based daytime and nighttime strategies to reduce nightmare frequency and improve sleep re-initiation after nightmares.

This training offers 6 hours of direct contact (not counting breaks or lunch). It is the participant’s responsibility to check with their individual state boards/regulatory body to verify CE requirements for their license to practice.

Attendees of this in-person seminar will receive instructions on how to obtain their Certificate of Participation after the course has finished.

The Certificate of Participation includes:

• Name of participant.
• Title of training.
• Name of presenter plus their credentials.
• Number of hours of training.
• Date of training.
• Confirmation of 100% attendance at the workshop.

Get details about CE credits for Canadian and non-US international participants.

Get details about CE credits for US participants.

Please check with your regulatory body/organization to ensure that this certificate is sufficient proof for you to claim CE credits.