A Multiple Treatment Approach to the Group Treatment of Insomnia: A Follow-up Study

Abstract

The present study was carried out to evaluate the effectiveness of psychological methods on the group treatment of insomnia. Assessments were administered on measures of general and physical health, symptoms associated with anxiety and benzodiazepine usage and specific measures related to sleep pre- and post-treatment, and at a one year follow up. Fifteen patients were referred from GPs in one practice, and were sequentially assigned into three groups. Treatment took the form of 11 to 13 sessions of weekly group therapy. The group treatment consisted of (1) cognitive-behavioural strategies, including sleep monitoring, stimulus control, cognitive restructuring, problem solving, anxiety management and progressive relaxation; (2) sleep education; (3) gradual drug withdrawal. The results indicated that immediate post-treatment improvements on measures of general health, symptom reduction, reduction of hypnotic-sedative medication, and on the quantity and quality of sleep were maintained after an interval of one year after treatment. Insomnia was less severe, less frequent, of shorter duration and more easily managed. However, there were no improvements on measures aimed to assess general coping strategies nor on measures of sleep maintenance insomnia between the three periods. The findings and implications for future research in this area are discussed.