Abstract
Although traditional cognitive behavioral treatments for insomnia have demonstrated efficacy for many individuals with primary and comorbid insomnia, not all individuals benefit from treatment and some experience a subsequent relapse of insomnia. Furthermore, many individuals experience difficulty in implementing the sleep restriction and stimulus control strategies, especially over the long-term. The current article describes ways in which principles from a newer type of behavior therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), can be integrated with traditional behavioral treatment strategies for insomnia. A major goal of ACT is to increase willingness to experience unpleasant thoughts, feelings, and physical sensations, and to promote engagement in personally-valued behaviors while non-judgmentally observing these unpleasant experiences. ACT has the potential to enhance the behavioral treatment of insomnia by fostering willingness to experience short-term discomfort (e.g., fatigue) that occurs while implementing sleep restriction and stimulus control strategies. A case example is presented to illustrate how these principles from ACT can be integrated with behavioral techniques in the treatment of insomnia.
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Lavinia Fiorentino and Mary C. Politi contributed equally to this manuscript, and therefore are listed in alphabetical order.
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Dalrymple, K.L., Fiorentino, L., Politi, M.C. et al. Incorporating Principles from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy into Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia: A Case Example. J Contemp Psychother 40, 209–217 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10879-010-9145-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10879-010-9145-1