DBT-Sleep: Foundational
- Reduce your DBT client's risk of self-harm & suicide by competently assessing & treating their (extremely common) struggles with sleep disruption & insomnia.
- Free 60-minute group consultation each week with Dr. Brian Curtis, PhD, DBSM through Zoom (a $300/month value!)
- Earn 26.0 Continuing Education (CE) hours.
- Lifetime access to the DBT-Sleep: Foundational course curriculum.
- Transform your DBT Practice as a Certified DBT-Sleep: Foundational Clinician
Sleep Disruption in DBT: Research indicates ~50% of your DBT clients with BPD, ~70% of your DBT clients with PTSD, & ~85% of your DBT clients with major depression are currently struggling with insomnia.
Sleep & Suicide: Insomnia is a well-established risk factor for non-suicidal self-injury, suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, & suicide death, with ~75% of individuals who attempted suicide reporting difficulty falling asleep & ~70% reporting difficulty staying asleep.
Saving Lives by Treating Sleep in DBT: Treating insomnia in individuals reporting suicidal ideation (SI) has been shown to reduce SI by 25% post-treatment & 19% at 1-year follow up with an 82% reduction in new-onset SI.
Treating Sleep is Effective in DBT Populations: Treating insomnia not only reduces suicide risk, but also improves PTSD severity, substance use, anxiety, depression, & decreases time spent in bipolar episodes, resulting in recommendations to integrate the assessment & treatment of sleep disruption in DBT as standard of care.
Overcoming Barriers: Although DBT is one of the few evidence-based treatments to specifically highlight sleep disruption as a vulnerability factor for emotion dysregulation (e.g., the optional one-page sleep hygiene & nightmare protocol handouts), there is no protocol in DBT for routine assessment, daily monitoring, or treatment of sleep disruption. DBT-Sleep: Foundational overcomes these barriers by offering the same step-by-step process Dr. Curtis uses in his clinical practice to assess & treat sleep disruption & insomnia in DBT.
Course Objectives
- Describe the prevalence & consequences of sleep disruptions in DBT client populations.
- Explain the functions of sleep, the circadian & homeostatic processes regulating sleep, & how this knowledge informs clinical assessment & treatment.
- Describe diagnostic criteria & use standard assessment measures for clinically relevant sleep-wake disorders including insomnia, circadian rhythm disorders, obstructive sleep apnea, restless legs syndrome, & nightmare disorder.
- Explain in detail a step-by-step process for conducting a sleep-focused intake interview including standardized assessment measures in sleep medicine.
- Explain evidence-based methods for gradual tapering of sleep medications in coordination with client’s prescribing clinician(s).
- Apply knowledge from this course using case examples to generate a case conceptualization, individualized treatment plan, & know when referral to a sleep specialist may be warranted.
- Ensure ongoing effective assessment & treatment of sleep disruption & insomnia in DBT with free weekly 60-minute group Zoom consultations with Dr. Brian Curtis, PhD, DBSM through the exclusive DBT-Sleep: Foundational Community.
- Discuss & practice implementing the central components of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I), Mindfulness-Based Therapy for Insomnia (MBT-I), & Acceptance & Commitment Therapy for Insomnia (ACT-I) while integrating the use of core skills in DBT to increase the effectiveness of sleep-focused treatment.
Meet Your Course Instructor:
Brian Curtis, PhD, DBSM
Education
Doctorate (PhD) in clinical psychology, Board certified in Behavioral Sleep Medicine (DBSM), Master’s (MS) in neuroscience under the mentorship of Nobel Prize winning geneticist Mario Capecchi, PhD.
Clinical Experience
Advanced training and certification in evidence-based assessment and treatment of borderline personality disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, chronic insomnia, and nightmare disorder.
Research
12 years of research experience and 12 peer-reviewed scientific publications in some of the world's top journals in neuroscience, psychology, and sleep medicine. Member of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and Society of Behavioral Sleep Medicine.
DBT-Sleep
Dr. Curtis is one of only 218 clinicians in the world who is board certified in behavioral sleep medicine (DBSM) and the only DBSM specialist with advanced training and certification in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT).
DBT-Sleep: Foundational Course Outline
