A Pilot Study of Digital Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Veterans

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) is considered the front-line intervention for individuals with insomnia and has recently been rolled-out throughout the Veterans Health Administration (VHA; Manber et al., 2012). CBT-I includes behavioral (sleep restriction, stimulus control, relaxation exercises), cognitive (cognitive restructuring, mindfulness exercise), and psychoeducation (sleep hygiene) components. While CBT-I has been demonstrated to be a highly efficacious and effective intervention, it is a specialized intervention that can be costly and is in limited supply based on the level of training required and number of providers available. For this reason, digital administration of CBT-I has been examined and research has demonstrated initial efficacy among community samples (Ritterband et al., 2009; Vincent et al., 2009; Espie et al., 2012), with one platform, Sleepio, demonstrating efficacy compared to a placebo intervention (Espie et al., 2012; Espie et al., 2014). For this reason, the current study will utilize the Sleepio platform which provides an interactive, customized and tailored delivery of CBT-I.