Cognitive-behavioral therapy for the management of insomnia comorbid with mental disorders

Insomnia is frequently comorbid with psychiatric conditions, mostly depression and anxiety disorders. Because disturbed sleep is a symptom of most major mental disorders, it has been traditionally assumed that effective treatment of the psychiatric condition will resolve the coincident insomnia also. However, insomnia often persists after successful treatment of the comorbid mental disorder, suggesting that insomnia often warrants separate treatment attention. Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is a well established and efficacious treatment for insomnia. Most evidence supporting the efficacy of CBT comes from studies conducted with patients suffering from primary insomnia, yet over the past 20 years there has been growing support for the use of cognitive-behavioral insomnia intervention for patients with comorbid psychiatric conditions. Overall, promising results have been obtained from these studies, not only with regard to insomnia improvement but also concurrent improvements in comorbid psychiatric conditions. In this article we review recent studies in this area with particular focus on treatment of insomnia in the context of depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and alcohol dependence.