Treating prolonged grief disorder with CBT for insomnia: A replicated single-case experimental study protocol.

Area of Science:

• Psychiatry
• Psychology
• Sleep Medicine

Background:

• Prolonged grief disorder (PGD) treatments are only effective for about half of patients.
• Insomnia is common in bereavement and may maintain PGD symptoms.
• Novel treatments are needed to improve PGD management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the efficacy of cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) in individuals with comorbid PGD and insomnia disorder.
• To assess the impact of CBT-I on both insomnia and PGD symptoms.

Main Methods:

• A replicated single-case experimental design (R-SCED) will be used.
• Twenty adults with PGD and insomnia will be randomized.
• Weekly symptom measures will be collected during baseline, intervention, and post-intervention phases.

Main Results:

• The study expects CBT-I to significantly reduce insomnia and PGD symptoms.
• Visual inspection, Tau-U indices, and randomization tests will be used for outcome analysis.

Conclusions:

• This study will be the first systematic evaluation of CBT-I for PGD.
• Findings may support CBT-I as a novel, less emotionally taxing treatment for bereaved individuals with PGD and insomnia.