Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia & Sleep Anxiety
What You’re Dealing With (Night & Day)
If sleep has become a source of stress instead of rest, you’re definitely not alone. Here are the challenges I hear about most often:
During the Day
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Worried, wired, and exhausted at the same time.
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Snapping at people you care about.
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Trying to hold it together at work.
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Loss of confidence in your body's ability to sleepl
At Night
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Lying awake replaying conversations and “fixing” what you said.
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Waking at 3–4 a.m. with your brain on fire.
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Dreading bedtime because you already “know” it won’t go well.
Anxiety & Overthinking
When your mind loops through “What if?” scenarios all day, your nervous system never gets to power down. By the time you hit the pillow, you’re already in high-alert mode — even when nothing is happening.
Perfectionism, Stress, & Relationships
The pressure to perform, keep it together, avoid disappointing others, or manage conflict often shows up at night as racing thoughts, tension, and that wired-but-exhausted feeling.
Sleep is often the loudest symptom, but it’s rarely the whole story.
How I Help
I help clients untangle both the nighttime experiences and the daytime patterns that fuel them. For insomnia and sleep anxiety, I use Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I), the gold-standard behavioral protocols for improving sleep. Alongside this, I integrate ACT, and mindfulness to address the underlying drivers of sleep disruption, such as anxiety, stress, perfectionism, and overthinking. My work focuses on behavioral and emotional patterns rather than medical sleep disorders.
Sleep & Insomnia Therapy (CBT-I)
Evidence-based CBT-I and ACT-I helps reset your sleep system, break the cycle of nighttime anxiety, and rebuild trust with your bed. Whether you’re dealing with long-term insomnia, early-morning awakenings, or sleep anxiety, we use proven strategies to help your mind and body learn how to rest again.
Anxiety & Overthinking
If your mind spends all day in “What if?” mode, it’s no surprise that bedtime feels impossible. We work on chronic worry, rumination, overthinking, and the stress patterns that keep your nervous system in high alert. You’ll learn tools to calm your mind and body both during the day and at night.
High Achievers & Perfectionism
High achievers often push through stress without realizing how much it fuels anxiety and sleep disruption. Together, we work on people-pleasing, performance pressure, boundary challenges, relationship tension, and the patterns that keep you running on adrenaline — even when you’re exhausted.
What It's Like to Work Together
I use a straightforward, structured process so you always know what we’re working on and why.
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Assessment
We start with a deep dive into your sleep patterns, anxiety, and the real-life stressors driving both, so we can clearly understand what’s happening and why.
Collaborative Plan
We build a personalized plan that supports both nighttime symptoms and the daytime patterns that keep your system activated.
Weekly Sessions
We meet regularly to review progress, troubleshoot challenges, and help you gain confidence in your new skills.
Symptom Relief & Root Work
We focus on helping you sleep better and feel less anxious while also working on the deeper patterns like chronic worry, perfectionism, and relationship stress.
Meet Your Therapist
Therapy works best when you feel connected to the person you’re working with. Here’s a little about me and how I show up in this work.
Anissa Bell, LMFT
I’ve been a therapist for more than sixteen years, helping people untangle anxiety, chronic worry, and the stress patterns that keep them on edge. As my work evolved, I developed a strong focus on insomnia and sleep anxiety, combining CBT-I and ACT-I with grounded conversations about the pressures and relationships shaping how you live and how you sleep.
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I’ll help you understand what’s actually driving your sleep and anxiety struggles, build skills that fit your real life, and make changes that feel doable rather than overwhelming.
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As an LMFT, I’m trained to understand how thoughts, emotions, stress, and relationships shape the nervous system and daily functioning. This includes evidence-based treatment for anxiety, behavioral change, and the patterns that commonly contribute to sleep problems.
Ready to Sleep Better & Feel Less Anxious?
You don’t have to keep navigating long nights, anxious mornings, or the stress cycles that keep you stuck. If you’re in California and ready for real support, we can work on both the nights and the days together.
Therapy services available to adults located in California.