Do you have difficulty falling asleep? Are you unable to return to sleep after waking during the night? Is it really hard for you to wake up in time for work or school? Do you often feel tired, irritable, or lack concentration during the day?

If you regularly experience one or more of these symptoms, and they are causing problems for you in any aspect of your life, then you may have insomnia.

Who can help?

Dr Neralie Cain and Patrick Carson are Clinical Psychologists experienced in providing psychological treatments for insomnia and other sleep problems.

What if I don’t have anxiety, depression, or any other mental health issues – why should I see a psychologist?

There are many problems associated with long-term use of sleeping pills and other sleep medications, but psychological treatments for sleep problems can be quick and effective. Seeing a psychologist does not mean that you need to be diagnosed with any other psychological difficulties, or that you are “crazy”. No matter whether you have had trouble sleeping for 6 months or 16 years, psychological treatments aim to identify and modify the unhelpful associations that may be working to maintain your current sleep difficulties. The focus is on making practical changes to your sleep habits to improve your sleep quality.

What if I do have other mental health issues? Can I still address my sleep difficulties?

Even if your sleep is influenced by other psychological or medical conditions or medications, we may still be able to make practical changes to your sleep habits to improve your sleep quality. This can occur alongside any other treatments that you may be receiving for other conditions, or you may like to focus on sleep first before tackling more complex issues. Often improving sleep can help to improve other symptoms too.

What about children who can’t sleep?

Children and adolescents can also experience insomnia, and there is more and more research evidence that children of all ages can benefit from psychological treatments for their sleep problems. Our team has helped many children to overcome difficulties such as bedtime resistance or refusal, trouble falling asleep, trouble returning to sleep after waking during the night, and fear of sleeping alone.

Clinical Psychology

In addition to their work with sleep difficulties, Neralie and Patrick also provides evidence-based interventions for a range of other psychological difficulties. You can read more about this here.