Cognitive Behavior Therapy for Insomnia in Primary Care

The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical effectiveness of protocol-driven cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for insomnia delivered by ordinary primary care personnel (primary care nurses and social workers) in general medical practice with unselected patients, in line with a stepped care approach. The study design was a randomised controlled parallel group design, with allocation to CBT and waiting list control group (WL). Following an active treatment-control period, the control group were re-assigned to CBT. The study hypothesis was that the CBT group would experience less symptoms of insomnia after treatment compared with the WL group. Primary outcome measure was a brief self-report screening form, Insomnia severity index.