Psychological therapy for sleep difficulties and sleep disorders

Sleep and the mind–body system

Most people will experience changes in their sleep at different points in life - for example, difficulty falling asleep during periods of stress, disrupted sleep during times of change, or feeling more tired than usual when emotionally or physically strained. Sleep is highly responsive to what is happening in the brain and body, and some variation is a normal part of how the nervous system functions.

Sleep disorders are not simply an extension of everyday sleep disruption. Some — such as narcolepsy and idiopathic hypersomnia — are neurological conditions affecting how the brain regulates sleep and wakefulness. Others, including insomnia, can become persistent over time. Across these experiences, sleep may feel unpredictable, unrefreshing, or difficult to stabilise, often with a significant impact on daily life.

Sleep difficulties I work with

I work with a range of sleep presentations, including both primary sleep disorders and sleep difficulties that occur alongside other health or psychological conditions.

• Insomnia (difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, or early waking)
• Narcolepsy (Type 1 & Type 2)
• Idiopathic hypersomnia
• Sleep problems linked to fatigue
• Sleep disruption linked to anxiety, trauma, or health conditions

Please note that I do not work with somnambulism at present.

How I can help

Psychological therapy for sleep focuses on understanding the factors that may be maintaining disrupted sleep, including behavioural patterns, cognitive processes, emotional responses, and underlying neurophysiological mechanisms. For some people, this includes structured approaches such as CBT for insomnia (CBT-I); for others, it involves working more broadly with the impact of living with a chronic sleep condition.

Where sleep disorders such as narcolepsy or hypersomnia are present, therapy does not aim to “override” the condition, but to support adaptation, stabilisation, and quality of life — including managing unpredictability, fatigue, identity shifts, and the wider psychological impact.

My approach

My work is collaborative, formulation-led, and grounded in both psychological therapy and neuropsychological understanding. Depending on your needs, therapy may draw on CBT, ACT, compassion-focused approaches, and sleep-specific interventions. The aim is to develop a shared understanding of your sleep, and to support meaningful and sustainable change.

You can read more about my approaches and what therapy with me looks like here.