Abstract
The present study examined whether cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) together with tapering of medication reduced the insomnia symptoms of 12 patients with chronic insomnia who had been on pharmacotherapy. Cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia was carried out in a series of 6 to 8 approximately 50-min sessions. Subjective sleep parameters and self-rating scales were completed by the patients at pre-treatment and post-treatment, and at a 1month follow-up. The findings showed that sleep onset latency, wake after sleep onset, total wake time, and sleep efficiency, as well as self-rating scales for insomnia and depression, significantly improved following the therapy. The patients reported that the effectiveness was maintained at follow-up. All of the patients tried to taper off from the medication; 4 of them became drug-free after receiving cognitive behavioral therapy for their insomnia. In total, 9 of the 12 patients showed clinical improvement after the treatment. These findings suggest the efficacy of cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia for patients with chronic insomnia who are refractory to pharmacotherapy.
