In-Congress Workshop 7 - Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Nightmares

Nightmares are reported by approximately 30% of psychiatric populations and 65% of those with posttraumatic stress disorder. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine position paper for the treatment of nightmare disorder in adults recommends cognitive behavioral therapy for nightmares (CBT-N), yet there is a critical shortage of trained providers and relatively low provider awareness of the efficacy behavioral medicine interventions. Furthermore, there are several treatment manuals available with unclear overlap and discrepancies and no consensus approach for treating nightmares. Recently, nightmares experts convened to develop a consensus approach. The goal of this workshop is to train providers in CBT-N in the context of trauma-related nightmares and nightmares that present with other psychological health conditions. CBT-N involves strategies to address insomnia, relaxation training, identifying and writing a target nightmare, writing a different storyline for the nightmare, and repeatedly imagining the new dream before sleep. Using demonstration videos and interactive breakout sessions, this workshop will provide foundational understanding of normal sleep, assessment of sleep disorders, and facilitate step-by-step guidance on how to implement CBT-N in clinical practice.