Lorraine Irlam

About Lorraine

If you’re struggling with chronic insomnia, I’d love to help you learn the tools for better sleep – so you can get your life back. Research shows that within a few weeks, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) can be as effective as sleeping pills, but safer and longer lasting. Research also shows that customized support from a CBT-I therapist can be dramatically more effective than self-help CBT-I.

After years of insomnia myself, I know first-hand the profound difference CBT-I can make. It is evidence-based and is considered the gold standard in treatment for chronic insomnia. CBT-I is recommended as first line treatment by the Canadian Sleep Society, the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, National Institutes of Health, and the British Association for Psychopharmacology, among others.

Here’s what some of these experts have to say:

American College of Physicians strongly “recommends that all adult patients receive cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) as the initial treatment for chronic insomnia disorder.”
~ American College of Physicians (2016)

“[CBT-I is] as effective as prescription medications are for short-term treatment of chronic insomnia. Moreover, there are indications that the beneficial effects of CBT, in contrast to those produced by medications, may last well beyond the termination of active treatment.”

“Studies demonstrating the usefulness of … medications for either short- or long-term management of insomnia are lacking. Furthermore, all of these agents have significant risks. Thus, their use in the treatment of chronic insomnia cannot be recommended.”
~ National Institutes of Health

Having received specialized training in CBT for Insomnia as well as online counselling, I am pleased to be offering CBT-I via Telehealth (phone and online) anywhere in B.C. and many other parts of Canada. Free 15-minute phone consultation, your opportunity to learn more before making a decision.