Clinical Efficacy of Individual Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Patients with Primary or Secondary Insomnia

Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the clinical efficacy of individual cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for Patients with Primary or Secondary Insomnia. Methods: Participants were recruited from a primary care sleep clinic from January 2008 to June 2009. The study sample included 64 outpatients with primary insomnia (n=30) and secondary insomnia (n=34) according to the criteria of DSM-IV. Participants completed sleep diaries, Dysfunctional Beliefs and Attitudes about Sleep Scale-16 (DBAS), State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) before CBT and shortly after completion of CBT. CBT was provided in 7 weekly, 40-50-minute individual therapy sessions. Results: Both groups of patients with primary and secondary insomnia showed significant improvement in the DBAS and sleep parameters including sleep onset latency, total sleep time, and sleep efficiency. Repeated-measures ANOVA of the DBAS and sleep parameters showed no significant group-by-time interactions between patients with primary and secondary insomnia, suggesting the efficacy of CBT for patients with secondary insomnia was equivalent to that of CBT for patients with primary insomnia. Conclusion: This study suggests that CBT is effective for the management of primary and secondary insomnia in a primary care setting.