The medical definition of insomnia is that you have problems going to sleep, staying asleep or waking too early and it affects your daytime functioning or causes you distress.  It needs to have been going on for at least 3 or more nights per week for over 3 months. This happens despite you having enough opportunity to get sleep and it cannot be explained by any other mental or physical condition.

You may have a combination of sleep issues. I would suggest that if you have been experiencing sleep problems like this for 2 months or more, it is worth seeking help. Temporary sleep disruption, for example, due to illness, grief or a stressful event, should only last around a month or so. Longer than that and you may have a more chronic (that is, ongoing) problem.

During our work together, we would look together at what you think, what you do and how that affects your sleep.

CBTi tools are an integral part of my Menoinsomnia® coaching programme (together with mindfulness, hypnotherapy and acceptance), which covers:

• learning about what you really need to get good sleep (and why what you’ve tried so far hasn’t worked);
• changing unhelpful behaviours around your bed, bedtime & sleep;
• adding new, helpful behaviours to your bedtime routine;
• working out how your thoughts and worries stop you sleeping;
• practicing ways to manage worries, anxiety and your racing mind; and
• learning how to deal with hot flushes/flashes and night sweats if they wake you.

CBTi tools are the foundation of my coaching programmes. CBTi is an effective treatment for chronic insomnia, although individual results vary and engaging consistently with the techniques is important.

A 2002 study showed that CBTi and sleeping pills produced similar short-term results in insomnia. And CBTi is a completely drug-free approach. Sleeping pills come with their own limitations and risks, including potential side effects. IMPORTANTLY, they don't address the underlying thoughts and behaviours that can keep insomnia going as a an on-going issue.

What about in the long term?

In the long term, CBTi 'wins' over sleeping pills. Studies have shown that the sleep improvements made through CBTi can continue long after treatment has finished. In contrast, once you stop taking sleeping pills, the worries and behaviours contributing to the insomnia may still be there. Some sleeping medications can also cause rebound insomnia when they are stopped.

Read more here and here.

Yes! We can discuss how you want to approach coaching. Any withdrawal from your sleeping pills would be under your doctor's direction and supervision but this can be done before, during or after coaching with me. 

Anyone over 18 years old who has been struggling with their sleep for over 2 months, and:
• has trouble going to sleep, staying asleep or waking too early;
• may be waking up in the night, possibly with hot flushes/flashes, night sweats or needing the loo;
• feel like they aren't getting good quality, restful sleep; and
• are generally in good physical and mental health (or have been advised by their GP or Primary Care Physician in writing that they can undertake CBTi).

Anyone with any of the following conditions (including but not limited to):
• Any sleep disorder that is not insomnia such as restless leg syndrome (RLS), periodic limb movement disorder (PLMD), sleep apnoeas, narcolepsy, circadian rhythm disorders, idiopathic insomnia, paradoxical insomnia, parasomnias, night terrors, etc;
• Untreated obstructive sleep apnoea (if it’s being successfully treated, I may be able to help with written confirmation from your GP/Primary Care Physician);
• Any mental health condition which could potentially be worsened by the mild sleep restriction element of CBTi such as but not limited to PTSD, panic disorder, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, psychosis, severe depression and anxiety;
• Anyone currently or recently experiencing: suicidal ideation; acute mental health crisis; trauma; grief; or going through a big life event like moving house or job;
• Any physical, mental or other condition that might be affected by restricted sleep for a period of time, for example, seizure disorders;
• Pregnancy;
• Anyone suffering from acute sleep loss requiring emergency help;
• Anyone carrying out shift work; and
• Those not yet motivated to fix their insomnia.

Important note: the CBTi approach may be, or may become, an option for those with the mental health conditions above with another provider. Please speak to your GP/Primary Care Physician together with your mental health professionals about this and they can advise you. I am not able to advise on the suitability of CBTi, the Beyond Insomnia or Menoinsomnia® coaching programmes for any individual. 

My current client fees can be found on the 'Work With Me' pages.

For corporate consultancy work, please contact me for a conversation about your needs. Fees are subject to review from time to time.

Sessions are paid for in advance to confirm your booking with me.

A minimum of 48 hours notice is needed to change your appointment time or the full fee will be charged. 

Typically we would only need 4-6 sessions together over a period of 6 weeks. This is based on my experience working with clients over the years. We can achieve a lot in a short time! Occasionally, further sessions are needed.  These are available to purchase separately. 

I suffered from insomnia for far too long and after trying everything I could find that promised me better sleep, I eventually stumbled upon Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia (CBTI). I'd never heard of it before! I was stunned to discover that CBTi is the recommended approach to insomnia by the NHS here in the UK (and it's recommended in the USA, Canada and Australia too). CBTi transformed my sleep for the better. I can still remember how euphoric I felt when I started to get good quality sleep at night.

I am a qualified & registered Cognitive Behavioural Hypnotherapist. Cognitive Behavioural Hypnotherapy (CBH) is an approach that combines cognitive behavioural therapies (CBT) & tools with mindfulness and hypnotherapy. It is an evidence-based approach (i.e. mainstream, peer-reviewed evidence) built upon the large body of research backing CBT, mindfulness and clinical hypnosis as psychotherapies that work.

It focuses on helping problems being experienced in the present day and also works on giving clients skills and knowledge to take away and use in future. So it's very much about building long-term self-empowerment - to be your own therapist.

A study in 2021 looked at the research around combining hypnosis with cognitive behavioural therapies. This meta-analysis (i.e. it reviewed multiple studies) found that adding hypnosis to cognitive behavioural therapy can improve its effectiveness and help the benefits last longer. Read more here. 

I have a Diploma in Cognitive Behavioural Hypnotherapy from The UK College of Hypnosis & Hypnotherapy (UKCHH) (which is independently awarded by NCFE). NCFE is an independent, vocational awarding body regulated by the UK government's Department for Education and regulated by Ofqual. The Diploma is accredited by the British Psychological Society (BPS), the National Council for Hypnotherapy, the General Hypnotherapy Register and the Register for Evidence-Based Hypnotherapy and Psychotherapy. The UKCHH recently worked with Great Ormond Street Hospital to develop a new hypnosis training programme for hospital psychologists and psychotherapists working with children. 

In addition, I have undertaken further trainings in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia (CBTi), Cognitive Behavioural Hypnotherapy for Insomnia & anxiety (and many other professional CPD trainings, ongoing). I am a mindfulness teacher, trained to deliver the gold-standard of mindfulness based interventions, the Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) course, developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn. I have also completed years of counselling skills training.

I am registered with the General Hypnotherapy Register and the Complementary & Natural Healthcare Council (which is accredited by the Professional Standards Authority (PSA)). 

My earlier career was as a solicitor, training and working in the City of London before moving into senior in-house legal and business affairs roles.

If we do any clinical hypnotherapy together, which is entirely your choice as part of a Support Package, you may be interested or even concerned about what is involved. Clinical hypnosis is simply a mindset of focussed attention. You may well have experienced similar states before, such as when day-dreaming or being totally absorbed in an activity. It feels very normal, can be very relaxing and you remain aware of where you are, what is going on around you and in control at all times. You cannot get 'stuck' in hypnosis.

There are many ways we can work together when under hypnosis to help reach your goals as you will be more open to positive suggestion. For example, we can rehearse changes you want to make and embed helpful thoughts. We can also use it for deep relaxation. It is a very flexible tool for us to use together.

Edinger, J.D. et al. (2001) Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Treatment of Chronic Primary Insomnia: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Journal of the American Medical Association 285 (14):1856-64

Morin, C.M. et al. (1999) Behavioral and Pharmacological Therapies for Late-Life Insomnia: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Journal of the American Medical Association 281 (11):991-99

Ramondo N, Gignac GE, Pestell CF, Byrne SM. (2021) Clinical Hypnosis as an Adjunct to Cognitive Behavior Therapy: An Updated Meta-Analysis. Int J Clin Exp Hypn. Apr-Jun; 69(2):169-202

Smith, M. T., et al. (2002) Comparative Meta-Analysis of Pharmacotherapy and Behavior Therapy for Persistent Insomnia. American Journal of Psychiatry 159 (1): 5-11