Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia & Sleep Anxiety in California
Why You’ve Been Referred
You may have been referred because sleep has become a barrier to feeling better or making progress in care. Insomnia and sleep anxiety can quietly affect mood, focus, emotional regulation, and overall functioning, even when you’re doing everything else “right.”
This referral doesn’t mean something was missed. It reflects a common reality: when sleep is unstable, other treatment and medical care often work better once sleep is supported.
If you landed here from a referral, you’re in the right place. This is short-term, structured sleep therapy designed to help you get out of the insomnia cycle.
If this sounds familiar
• You feel exhausted but “wired” at night
• Falling asleep takes a long time or you dread going to bed
• You wake up during the night and your mind turns on
• You’re tracking or monitoring sleep and it’s making things worse
• Sleep is affecting your mood, patience, or ability to focus
• You’ve tried different strategies and still feel stuck
If you recognize yourself in this, you’re not alone. This is exactly what this work is designed to address.
How sleep support works
Sleep-focused therapy uses structured, evidence-based approaches such as CBT-I (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia) and ACT-I (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Insomnia).
Rather than adding more “sleep tips,” this work focuses on identifying and changing the patterns that keep insomnia going, including how your body, mind, and behaviors have adapted around sleep.
The goal is to help your system relearn how to sleep, not force it.
What the process looks like
1) Free 15-minute consultation
A brief conversation to understand your sleep pattern, what you’ve tried, and whether this approach fits. There is no pressure to commit — the goal is clarity.
2) Assessment and plan
We map out your sleep patterns and identify what's keeping the insomnia cycle going. This may include short-term tracking so the work is tailored to you.
3) Weekly sessions (most clients: 6–10 sessions)
We use structured strategies to improve sleep consistency, reduce nighttime anxiety, and rebuild confidence in your ability to sleep. Most people see meaningful improvement in 6-10 sessions.
4) Completion and transition
Once sleep stabilizes, treatment wraps up and you return to your referring provider or continue with your broader care plan.
Why this approach works
Most sleep advice focuses on sleep hygiene.
But chronic insomnia is usually driven by deeper factors, such as:
• the brain becoming more alert at night
• pressure to control or “get” sleep
• habits that unintentionally weaken sleep drive
• an activated nervous system
This approach directly targets these underlying drivers, which is why it is considered a first-line treatment for chronic insomnia.
Even if sleep has been a struggle for a long time, these patterns can shift.
Why addressing sleep matters
When sleep improves, people often notice changes beyond just nighttime:
• better focus and mental clarity
• improved mood and emotional regulation
• less anxiety around bedtime
• more consistency in daily functioning
Sleep is foundational. When it stabilizes, other areas of life — including stress, anxiety, and overall health — often become easier to manage.
Practical details
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Format: Secure telehealth
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Who I work with: Adults located in California
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Length of treatment: Most clients complete therapy in 6–10 sessions
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Session fee: $200 per 50-minute session
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Insurance: I accept Lyra Health (EAP). Otherwise, this is a private pay service. Superbills are available upon request for possible out-of-network reimbursement.
Beyond sleep
​Many people start this work to address insomnia.
As sleep improves, it often becomes clearer how factors like anxiety, overthinking, perfectionism, or relationship stress are connected to nighttime patterns.
When that’s the case, we can choose to continue working together more broadly.
There’s no expectation to do this. The sleep-focused work is structured and time-limited, but for some people, it becomes a natural next step.
Next steps
If sleep has become a struggle, or you’re feeling anxious about sleep, the next step is a free 15-minute consultation.
It’s a brief, low-pressure conversation where you can share what’s been going on, ask questions, and get a feel for whether working together would be a good fit.
You can keep the focus on sleep, or talk about how it may connect to other areas you’re navigating.
Schedule a Free Consultation →
Have a question first? You’re welcome to reach out.
Who this may not be the right fit for
This work may not be appropriate if sleep difficulties are primarily due to untreated medical conditions that require medical intervention, or for individuals needing higher levels of care or crisis support.
If you’re unsure, we can clarify this during the consultation.