Better Sleep in Psychiatric Care - Depression, Anxiety and PTSD. A Randomized Naturalistic Study of a Psychological Group Treatment for Sleep Problems in Psychiatric Patients With Depression, Anxiety and PTSD.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is treatment of choice for insomnia. Many patients in psychiatric care have sleep problems including insomnia, but are rarely given the choice to participate in CBT to improve their sleep. Patients with PTSD, Anxiety disorders and Depression display high levels of sleep difficulties. Sleep problems are often general, such as insomnia and sleep phase problems. In a previous pilot study, the investigators of the current study developed a CBT protocol that would target sleep problems in this mixed psychiatric population. The basis was CBT for insomnia (CBT-i), but also including techniques that would alleviate sleep phase problems (e.g. the systematic use of light and darkness), and techniques to target more general sleep related problems (e.g. difficulties waking up in the morning), that are also common in psychiatric patients. This treatment was well tolerated and gave large withing-group effects on insomnia severity in the pilot study. In a naturalistic randomized controlled trial, the investigators now evaluate the effects of this psychological treatment on sleep and anxiety and depressive symptoms in patients at the units for Anxiety and Affective disorders and Trauma, Southwest Psychiatry and Northern Stockholm Psychiatry, Stockholm County Council, Sweden.