Why Therapy from Home Works: A Real Solution for Anxiety, Insomnia, and Sleep Struggles
- Anissa Bell
- Jun 22
- 4 min read
Let’s just say this out loud: therapy is amazing, but the logistics can be… kind of a pain. If you’ve ever had to take time off work, fight traffic, circle for parking, and then sit in a waiting room just to cry in someone’s office for 50 minutes, you know what I mean.

I don’t say that to make light of it. I say it because for a lot of people, the process of getting to therapy becomes one more thing to feel overwhelmed about—especially if you’re already struggling with anxiety, insomnia, or that middle-of-the-night dread that whispers, “What if I never sleep again?”
So here’s my take - therapy from home isn’t just “good enough.” It might actually be the best thing to happen to mental health care in years.
Showing Up Without Showing Up
There’s something quietly wonderful about opening your laptop and being in a session within seconds. No rushing, no brushing your hair if you don’t feel like it, no wondering if you’ll run into someone you know in the waiting room while you're trying to hold it together.
You get to show up exactly as you are. Pajamas? Fine. Coffee breath? Nobody knows. Dog snoring next to you? Honestly, kind of therapeutic.
I’ve worked with clients navigating everything from chronic insomnia to health anxiety, and I often hear “this is the only way I would’ve been able to start therapy."
Home is Where the Healing Happens
There’s real value in being in your own environment when you’re doing emotional work. You already feel safe there (hopefully). You’re surrounded by things that comfort you—your throw blanket, your tea, your snoring dog.
When people are in their comfort zone, they tend to relax faster and get to the real stuff quicker. This is especially true for folks with sleep anxiety, social anxiety, or just a general tendency to feel overstimulated in new environments (you’re not alone).
Being at home also means you can end a tough session and immediately shift into recovery mode—whether that’s journaling, taking a nap, or curling up in a ball and watching TikTok videos. You don’t have to hold it together for the drive home. You’re already home.
But Does Therapy From Home Work?
Short version: yes. Long version: a 2018 meta-analysis (Carlbring et al.) found that online cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is just as effective as in-person therapy for issues like anxiety and depression. That includes the kind of anxiety that shows up at bedtime and refuses to leave until 4 a.m.
I know studies can sound abstract, but here’s what that actually looks like: clients still get better doing therapy online. They still learn how to cope with stress. They still sleep more, panic less, and untangle those racing thoughts that keep looping like a bad Spotify playlist.
Especially Helpful for Insomnia and Sleep Anxiety
If sleep is the thing that’s falling apart in your life, you’re not alone. Insomnia and sleep anxiety have a sneaky way of creeping in and taking over everything. You worry about not sleeping, then you don’t sleep, and then you panic about what that means for tomorrow. Rinse and repeat.
Doing therapy from the very place you sleep can actually help. We can look at how your bedtime routines, thoughts, and emotional attachment to the bed impact your ability to wind down. And because we’re working with tools like CBT-I (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia), it’s not just talk therapy—we’re actively changing habits and thought patterns that mess with your rest.
And yes, we can absolutely do CBT-I over video. It works. Even if your cat walks across the keyboard once in a while.
Real Life, Real Access
I talk to a lot of people who say things like, “I’ve wanted to get help for months, but I just couldn’t figure out how to make it fit.” And I get it. Between work, family, medical appointments, and your general life chaos, therapy can feel like something you’ll “get around to.”
But when it’s as easy as opening a browser tab? That changes things.
Teletherapy makes mental health care accessible to more people. You don’t need to live in a big city, find a ride, or push through physical symptoms just to get to an office. If you’re dealing with health anxiety, for example, and leaving the house feels overwhelming—online therapy removes that barrier completely.
It’s flexible. It’s low pressure. And it meets you where you are—literally and emotionally.
No, You Don’t Need Fancy Tech
People sometimes worry they won’t know how to “do” online therapy. But if you’ve ever used Zoom or FaceTime, you’re already qualified. I use secure, HIPAA-compliant platforms that are user-friendly and won’t require you to download anything weird.
We’ll do a test run if needed. And I promise not to judge you if you accidentally leave yourself on mute for the first five minutes. Happens to the best of us.
What We Can Work On Together
If you’re dealing with:
Insomnia that won’t quit
Sleep anxiety that starts around dinnertime
Health anxiety that convinces you a headache is something worse
Generalized anxiety that makes everything feel heavier than it should
Depression and feelings of hopelessness from being awake when everyone else is sleeping
…we can work on that. Therapy from home isn’t a watered-down version of therapy. It’s the same quality of care—minus the commute, plus the comfort.
We can get into the thought loops, the avoidance patterns, the racing mind that won’t shut off at night. And we can do it in a way that feels manageable, grounded, and maybe even a little empowering.
Final Thought: You Don’t Have to Be "Bad Enough" to Deserve Help
I hear this all the time: “I’m not sure if what I’m dealing with is serious enough for therapy.”
Let me be clear—if it’s bothering you, interfering with your life, or making your days (and nights) harder than they need to be? That’s enough. You don’t have to wait until you’re falling apart.
Therapy from home offers a soft landing place to figure things out, shift the patterns that aren’t working, and get back to a place where your brain doesn’t feel like a 24/7 emergency broadcast system.
And you can do all that in sweatpants. From your couch. With your dog in your lap.
I work with California residents who are ready to sleep better, stress less, and feel more like themselves again—without having to leave the house. If that sounds like something you need, reach out here and let’s talk.
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