CBT-I for people diagnosed with bipolar disorder: Moving from a disorder-focused to a transdiagnostic conceptualization

Despite advances in treatment, bipolar disorders (BP) remain severe and chronic conditions associated with high rates of relapse, marked functional impairment, and disabling symptoms, even between syndromal episodes. Sleep dysfunctions are among the most prominent correlates of mood episodes and inadequate recovery. Sleep disturbance in BP impairs quality of life and contributes to relapse and serious impairment in affect regulation, cognitive performance, and health. This chapter describes the process of adapting cognitive behavior therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) for BP. In addition, we describe how this resulted in moving from a disorder-focused approach to a transdiagnostic approach. This long-term objective is to contribute to ensuring that treatments for sleep and circadian problems for BP and severe mental illness are disseminable and widely available to the public.