In a similar way to how a tennis coach would help you improve your game, a sleep coach will guide and encourage you to improve your sleep. 

Sleep coaching is helpful to adults of all ages who struggle with their sleep.  There are a small number of medical conditions that contribute to issues with sleep that I am not able to treat but these tend to be identified during the consultation and I can then offer advice on getting help elsewhere. 

Shift workers are probably those at most to gain from sleep coaching, especially in terms of learning coping strategies to ease the transition from one shift pattern to another.  Therefore, although shift work can make the implementation of some of the techniques more tricky, individual one-to-one coaching that takes this into account is the best option for improving the sleep of those who have to work shifts.

There is no issue in having sleep coaching sessions while taking over-the-counter sleep medications, such as Nytol. If you are currently being prescribed sleep medication by your GP, you will need to discuss this with them prior to embarking on the coaching.  In addition, you would need to be in agreement to reduce your dose and stop taking them completely either before or during the course of the coaching.  This would be one example of where the coaching sessions may need to continue for longer than the usual five weeks.

The coaching guides and encourages you through a process of change in your thought processes and behaviours.  This process takes time and so the programme usually runs for five weeks from your initial consultation to the final session.  In some circumstances there may be a need to extend this further but this will be discussed and agreed upon at the time.  Any additional sessions, in these cases, will be free of charge.

Generally each session is 60mins.

Coaching sessions are individually tailored to your specific needs, but run to a basic structure.  Initially we discuss your sleep diary information from the week before, including the implementation of any new strategies.  There is an element of sleep education and the introduction of another new strategy to help improve your situation.  The session ends with relaxation techniques.

The sessions are spaced at weekly intervals so that we can discuss the sleep that you experienced the week before and how the implementation of new behaviours affected it.  Your progress is therefore continually monitored. 

I am available via email between sessions and will get back to you within 24 hours of your query.  However, the majority of issues should be able to be dealt with in the next session. 

A sleep diary collects information about your sleep, your bedtime routine and your behaviours during the day that may or may not impact on your sleep quality.  Keeping a sleep diary can give real insight into why your sleep is troubling you.  On a therapeutic level, it is also the perfect tool to measure improvements in sleep patterns throughout an intervention such as sleep coaching.  You will be sent an electronic copy of a sleep diary in a Microsoft Excel format to complete online.  If this is not possible, there are other options available.

Yes.  The level of success of the coaching depends upon you being aware of what the programme involves and the level of commitment that you are required to have.  The consultation also allows as much insight into the problem and its history as possible, which otherwise would need to take place during other sessions.

After the consultation session, you are required to read the therapeutic contract and consider whether or not you are ready to engage in the sleep coaching programme.  Only after you have signed the contract and made payment for the sessions will the first coaching session be booked.  This first session will be booked at least seven days later in order that there is a minimum of a week’s worth of sleep diary information to review in session one.

Signing the contract and making that commitment to the sleep coaching programme is a really important step in the therapeutic process.  The contract sets out exactly what the client can expect from the therapist and the treatment itself, and exactly what is expected of them as a client.  Signing of the contract also provides your informed consent that you wish to go ahead with the coaching.  Making a written commitment to a process before you begin has consistently been shown to improve the success of that process.

There is a tool available to quantitively measure sleep (sleep efficiency) and your sleep diary will provide this information on a night-by-night basis. However, not all improvements in sleep are related to quantity; some are relevant to the quality of your sleep or how you feel about your sleep.  This qualitative information is much more difficult to measure, but this is obtained via the sleep questionnaires completed both at the start and again towards end of the course.

As with all behavioural change, it is rare that you will experience a shift in your sleep pattern immediately.  In some circumstances it may take the entire length of the course for a positive effect to be felt.  It is also worth noting that in some cases your sleep may deteriorate before it improves and it is highly likely it will fluctuate throughout the course, but you will be fully supported through this.

If you fully engage with the coaching sessions and follow the guidance provided, the chances of this happening are very low (my current success rate is 100%).  In rare instances we may discover an underlying medical or mental health issue contributing to poor sleep which I cannot treat.  In this case a discussion will take place with whomever you are referred on to as to whether it is appropriate to continue with the sleep coaching at this time.  If not, any outstanding sessions can either be postponed or refunded in full.

Any coaching can only offer guidance and support for the current situation you find yourself in.  If, after the completion of successful coaching, your situation changes and your sleep patterns deteriorate again, it would be necessary to embark on an entirely new coaching journey.

The cost of the entire sleep coaching programme is £240, payable in full, prior to the start of the first session.  It is not possible to pay-as-you-go separately for each session.  This is to ensure that you are fully committed to the entire coaching programme, enhancing the effectiveness and outcomes of the work.

Payment can be made via a bank transfer or through PayPal.  Unfortunately I cannot accept cash or cheque payments at this time.

There should not be a need for further coaching after the completion of the programme but if you would like a refresher hypnotherapy session these will be charged at £60 per hour.

Unfortunately not.  Although CBTi (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for insomnia) is the NHS’s preferred method of treatment for long-term insomnia there are very few CBT therapists available within the NHS and none that I am aware of that specialise in dealing with sleep.   There are online courses (Sleepio and Sleep Station) that you can be referred to but otherwise sleep medication is the only option.

There is very little difference in the content of the CBT element of this sleep coaching programme and the online NHS courses (Sleepio and Sleep Station).  The big difference is that this programme is one-to-one coaching with a live therapist, rather than a generalised algorithmic computer programme.  The other difference is that this coaching is so much more than just CBTi (hypnotherapy, meditation, breathing exercises, guided relaxation, nutrition etc).

If you have a strong internet connection and a physical space with no distractions and/or interruptions, there is really no difference between sleep coaching online or face-to-face.  If you are not comfortable with the technology required for video calling and completing an online sleep diary, then I am more than happy to see you in person, but obviously this is not practically possible for everyone.

I tend to find that video calling works better than a telephone call for the type of communication involved in coaching simply because we are able to see each other, including facial expressions and body language.  However, if neither video calls or face-to-face sessions are possible, we could use the telephone as a work around.

Absolutely.  I am constrained within my professional capacity to uphold ethical and moral obligations to your privacy and confidentiality.  I also adhere to the current GDPR surrounding the storage of confidential information. 

Sleep coaching is very new and, as such, an unregulated field.  However, any individual should be qualified in the application of the tools used within the coaching.  I am trained in the application of CBT techniques in cases of insomnia and I also have a diploma in Hypnotherapy and a BSc.(Hons) in Applied Psychology and Sociology.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) when used to treat insomnia is called CBTi.  CBT is a talking therapy focusing on the connection between the way we think, feel and behave.  CBT is useful for treating sleep issues as it helps us to change the way we think about ourselves, our experiences and the world around us.  The majority of sleep problems are strongly associated with what is happening in our thought processes, making the cognitive aspect of the treatment ideal.  Many of us have also developed negative habits surrounding sleep and the behavioural focus of CBT is perfect for addressing those.

Hypnotherapy is a talking therapy that uses the process of relaxation to reprogramme your unconscious mind.  It is another useful tool in helping change thoughts and feelings, which can then have an effect on behaviours such as sleep.

Hypnotherapy can be very useful in helping individuals regain confidence in their ability to relax and to sleep.  Hypnosis is also a great space for encouraging motivation for goal-directed behaviour such as improving sleep.

The experience of hypnosis is different for different people but most describe it as a state of deep relaxation.  In fact it is the closeness of the feeling to that of being between full consciousness and sleep that makes it the ideal tool to use in sleep coaching.

Absolutely not.  Your brain will only take on board suggestions that it is happy with.  If you were asked to do something against your own judgement, your brain would simply reject the suggestion.  When subjects do crazy seeming things during stage hypnosis there is always an element of their consent.  The other people that the hypnotist told to sit back down earlier on were those who’s brains were not as compliant. 

According to current UK law, hypnotherapists do not have to have any specific training.  I have undertaken a diploma in Clinical Hypnotherapy from The Scottish School of Hypnotherapy.

If you have ever day-dreamed through a work presentation or gone onto auto-pilot while driving your car, then you have experienced the level of relaxation required for hypnosis to work.  If you struggle with this level of relaxation, then you will definitely be struggling to fall asleep.  However,  relaxation is a skill that can be learned and improved, and sleep coaching is ideal for this.

There are no side effects to sleep coaching and adverse reactions to hypnosis are very rare.  If the hypnotherapy is surrounding the release of difficult emotional trauma then you may experience mild head ache or some dizziness but the hypnosis used in sleep coaching to aid your relaxation should have no unpleasant side effects at all.

There is no way that you or anyone else can get stuck in hypnosis.  There is a slight chance that you get so relaxed that you actually fall asleep, but if that is the case, you will naturally wake up from it as though you had taken a nap.

Considering that the hypnosis used in sleep coaching is to improve your confidence in your own ability to sleep, if you do fall asleep during the session, that is the best evidence you can get that it has worked!  As long as you do not fall into the very deep levels of sleep, your conscious brain will still be listening to what is being said so whether you sleep or you don’t sleep, the therapy will still be successful.