Effectiveness of a CBT Intervention for Persistent Insomnia and Hypnotic Dependency in an Outpatient Psychiatry Clinic.

Objective: To test cognitive-behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) in patients who not only receive psychiatric treatment in a outpatient psychiatry clinic but also continue to experience chronic insomnia despite receiving pharmacological treatment for sleep. CBT-I included an optional module for discontinuing hypnotic medications.
Method: Patients were randomized to 5 sessions of individual CBT-I (n = 13) or treatment as usual (n = 10). Sleep parameters were assessed using sleep diaries at pre- and posttreatment. Questionnaires measuring depression, anxiety, and health-related quality of life were also administered.
Results: CBT-I was associated with significant improvement in sleep, with 46% obtaining normal global sleep ratings after treatment. However, no changes in secondary outcomes (depression, anxiety, quality of life) were obtained and no patients elected to discontinue their hypnotic medications.
Conclusions: Patients with complex, chronic psychiatric conditions can obtain sleep improvements with CBT-I beyond those obtained with pharmacotherapy alone; however, sleep interventions alone may not have the same effect on mental health outcomes in samples with more severe and chronic psychiatric symptoms and dependency on hypnotic medications.
(© 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)