What is CBT-I?
CBT-I stands for Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia. It is the most effective, evidence-based treatment for chronic insomnia. NICE and the NHS recommend it as the first treatment to try, ahead of sleeping medication.
I have been delivering CBT-I for 5 years. It is the foundation of everything I do at The Sleep Fixer.
Why does insomnia persist?
Most people with chronic insomnia are no longer kept awake by whatever started the problem. The original trigger, whether stress, illness, grief, or a life change, has often passed.
What keeps insomnia going is your sleep system. It has got stuck.
Your brain has learned to treat bedtime as a threat. It has built up a pattern of hyperarousal, clock-watching, compensation behaviours, and sleep-related anxiety that runs on its own long after the cause has gone.
That is not a character flaw. It is a learned pattern. And learned patterns can be unlearned.
What does CBT-I actually do?
CBT-I targets the thoughts and behaviours that are keeping your sleep system stuck.
It does not sedate you.
It does not mask the problem.
It retrains your brain's relationship with sleep.
It works on three levels. Behavioural. Cognitive. Physiology.
The Behavioural Side. What you are doing around sleep that is making things harder. Compensating. Extending time in bed. Napping. Avoiding the bedroom. All of it well-intentioned. All of it signalling to your brain that sleep is something to be worked at rather than something that happens naturally.
The Cognitive Side. What you are thinking about sleep. The 3am calculations. The dread before bed. The belief that you are broken or that this will never improve. These thoughts are not the truth. They are part of the pattern.
Is CBT-I right for me?
Your answers remain completely private and confidential.
The Physiology. The arousal system that is keeping you switched on when you need to wind down. CBT-I addresses this directly, not by forcing relaxation, but by changing the conditions that drive it.
Is CBT-I the same as general CBT?
No. CBT-I is a specialist protocol specifically designed for insomnia. General CBT is a broad approach used across many conditions. If you have been through CBT for anxiety or depression and found it helpful, that is not the same as CBT-I.
CBT-I is a structured, short-term programme. Most people work through it over five to eight weeks. It is focused, practical, and built around your specific sleep patterns.
Does CBT-I work?
Yes. The evidence base is robust. Multiple large-scale randomised controlled trials show that CBT-I outperforms sleeping medication for long-term outcomes, with improvements that last well beyond the treatment period. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine, the American College of Physicians, and NICE all recommend CBT-I as the first-line treatment for chronic insomnia in adults.
In clinical studies, CBT-I has been shown to reduce the time it takes to fall asleep, decrease night waking, and improve overall sleep quality in the majority of people who complete a full programme.
In my 15 years of clinical practice, I have seen it change lives. Not because it is magic. Because it works with how your sleep system actually operates rather than trying to override it.
Who is CBT-I for?
CBT-I is suitable for adults with chronic insomnia. That means difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, or waking too early, on most nights, for more than three months.
It works whether your insomnia arrived on its own or alongside anxiety, depression, pain, menopause, or other health conditions. It can run alongside medication and does not require you to stop any current treatment.
It is not suitable for all sleep disorders. If there is any indication of sleep apnoea, restless legs, or another underlying condition, I will always flag this and refer you to the right support.
How I deliver CBT-I: The 3S Method
CBT-I is the clinical foundation. The 3S Method is how I deliver it.
After 15 years of working with people whose sleep systems have got stuck, I developed the 3S Method as a framework that makes the CBT-I process clearer, more practical, and more sustainable for real life.
It moves through three stages. Understanding what is happening in your sleep system and why. Shifting the behaviours and patterns that are keeping insomnia going. Sustaining the changes so that better sleep becomes your new normal rather than something you have to maintain through willpower.
It is not a workaround. It is CBT-I, structured in a way that works for the person in front of me rather than a textbook.
How I deliver CBT-I: The 3S Method
Before starting the programme, you will complete a short suitability screener to make sure CBT-I is the right approach for your sleep.
This confidential screening helps identify any factors affecting your sleep and ensures you receive the most effective support. Your answers remain completely private.
You may benefit from CBT-I if:
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You have been struggling with sleep for several months
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Sleep problems are affecting your wellbeing or daily life
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You want a natural, long-term solution
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You are ready to rebuild healthy sleep patterns
Initial 60-minute assessment session
Personalised sleep improvement plan
Five follow-up coaching sessions
Sleep scheduling and rhythm realignment
Techniques to calm the mind and reduce night waking
Tools to maintain long-term sleep improvements
Ongoing expert support throughout the programme
My approach
My core message has not changed in 15 years:
your sleep system got stuck. You are not broken.
Insomnia is not a life sentence. It is a pattern. Patterns change.
I work with adults, families, and corporate teams. My clinical background includes work at Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust and a keynote at the Royal Society of Medicine. I bring 15 years of specialist experience to every client I work with.
If you are ready to find out whether CBT-I is right for you, the next step is a conversation.