Master Clinician Seminar 2 - Can Head Knowledge Become Heart Knowledge? The Use of Behavioral Experiments in the Treatment of Insomnia and Other Sleep/circadian Problems
Friday, November 18, 2022
8:30 AM – 10:30 AM EST
Location: Winter Garden/Palace, 6th Floor
Earn 2 CE Credit
Keywords: Sleep, Transdiagnostic, CBT Level of Familiarity: Basic to Moderate Recommended Readings: Perlis, M. L., Aloia, M., & Kuhn, B. (Eds.). (2010). Behavioral treatments for sleep disorders: A comprehensive primer of behavioral sleep medicine interventions. Academic Press. Harvey, A. G., Bélanger, L., Talbot, L., Eidelman, P., Beaulieu-Bonneau, S., Fortier-Brochu, É., ... & Morin, C. M. (2014). Comparative efficacy of behavior therapy, cognitive therapy, and cognitive behavior therapy for chronic insomnia: a randomized controlled trial. Journal of consulting and clinical psychology, 82(4), 670. Neitzert Semler, C., & Harvey, A. G. (2007). An experimental investigation of daytime monitoring for sleep-related threat in primary insomnia. Cognition and emotion, 21(1), 146-161.
Professor University of California, Berkeley BERKELEY, California
Behavioral experiments are “planned experiential activities, based on experimentation or observation, which are undertaken by patients in or between … therapy sessions. Their design is derived directly from a … formulation of the problem, and their primary purpose is to obtain new information which ...[includes]... contributing to the development and verification of the … formulation” (p. 8; Bennett-Levy, et al., 2004). Behavioral experiments encourage patients to become scientists (e.g., to make judgments in their lives based on data they collect, rather than based solely on their subjective feelings). Very often the experience of a behavioral experiment brings about profound disconfirmation of unhelpful beliefs or stunning demonstrations that certain behaviors or thoughts are important contributors to the sleep problem. Behavioral experiments can also provide deep experiential learning that new thoughts/beliefs/behaviors can reduce distress/anxiety and improve sleep. In this seminar, we will review the rationale for using behavioral experiments and present data that support the use of behavioral experiments. We will cover the steps for devising a behavioral experiment and a stock of behavioral experiments that we have found to be useful for patients with sleep problems. Also, we will emphasize that behavioral experiments should be personalized for each patient. As such, there are an infinite range of possibilities. The use of behavioral experiments in therapy creates opportunities to collaborate with your patient, being highly creative together, while making substantial progress in the treatment. We will emphasize that it is important that conducting behavioral experiments requires an openness to any outcome. The purpose of the experiment is to facilitate your patient to have new experiences and to discover new possibilities (even if they are not the experiences/outcomes you expected).
Outline: • Rationale for behavioral experiments • Steps for devising behavioral experiments • Examples of behavioral experiments for unhelpful beliefs about sleep, monitoring for sleep-related threat and improving daytime functioning • Practice in devising a behavioral experiment • What if the outcome is not what you expected? • Follow-up behavioral experiments
Learning Objectives:
At the end of the session, the learner will be able to:
Explain the rationale for using behavioral experiments.
Identify data that support the use of behavioral experiments when treating insomnia and other sleep/circadian problems.
Explain the steps for devising a behavioral experiment.
Explain an example of a behavioral experiment that is useful for a patient with a sleep or circadian problem.
Identify a behavior experiment to try yourself.
Long-term Goal: Collaboratively conduct behavioral experiments with clients who are experiencing sleep and circadian problems.
Long-term Goal: Generalize the knowledge gained in this seminar to use behavioral experiments when treating clients who are experiencing a wide range of challenges (not just sleep and circadian problems).