The Nightmare and Sleep Disorder Toolkit: A Workbook to Help You Get Some Rest Using Imagery Rehearsal Therapy and Other Evidence-based Approaches

Break the cycle of insomnia and bad dreams, and start getting the sleep you need to be your best—based on the #1 recommended treatment for nightmare disorders by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM).

Are you struggling with nightmares or waking up in a panic on a regular basis? Do you avoid going to sleep because you fear having a bad dream? Do you feel fatigued, sleepy, or irritable during the day? Are you experiencing poor memory and concentration? Sleep is essential—and sleep deprivation can radically disrupt your work, relationships, and overall quality of life. But there are tools you can use to get a good night’s rest, starting tonight. Whether your nightmares stem from high levels of stress, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), or trauma, this comprehensive toolkit will help you break free from the vicious cycle of nightmares and insomnia.

This comprehensive workbook offers a variety of evidence-based tools, including imagery rehearsal therapy (IRT)—the gold standard for treating nightmare disorders—to help you get the rest you need. Using proven-effective techniques such as visualization and lucidity checks, you’ll learn to boost feelings of comfort and relaxation, rewrite your dreams, and improve the quality of your sleep. Finally, you’ll gain a deeper understanding of the underlying causes of your sleep struggles, enabling you to set goals and track your progress.

This toolkit for better sleep also includes skills based in:

• Exposure, relaxation, and rescription therapy (ERRT)
• Lucid dreaming therapy (LDT)
• Cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I)
• Sleep hygiene tips and strategies
• And more!

If you’re living with chronic nightmares and sleep deprivation, pick up this empowering workbook, take charge of your dreams, and start getting the restful sleep you deserve.

Courtney Worley, PhD, MPH, is a diplomate in behavioral sleep medicine, and board-certified clinical psychologist specializing in evidence-based interventions for sleep and trauma. Worley previously led the national implementation of written exposure therapy in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) as a system-wide training program. In her clinical practice at Upward Behavioral Health, she provides virtual services across the United States using evidence-based psychotherapies, including specialized sleep interventions and psychotherapies for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). She serves as a trainer and consultant in the United States and internationally for clinicians and health care systems implementing evidence-based psychotherapies for PTSD. Her sleep research program includes investigating nightmare epidemiology and the comorbidity between nightmares and other psychiatric disorders.

Michael R. Nadorff, PhD, is professor of psychology at Mississippi State University. He completed a nightmare treatment study as his dissertation project, and has worked in nightmare treatment for well over a decade. His research focuses on the association between nightmares, as well as other sleep difficulties, and suicidal behavior. Nadorff has published more than one hundred peer-reviewed manuscripts, and has been cited more than 4,700 times. He has received more than fifteen million dollars in grant funding, with active external grant awards from NIMH, SAMHSA, and the CDC. He is also past president of the Society of Behavioral Sleep Medicine.

Foreword writer Brigitte Holzinger, PhD, is a clinical and health psychologist, licensed teacher, psychotherapist, sleep coach, and licensed somnologist (ESRS). Her research focuses on sleep, dreams, lucid dreaming, and nightmares. Holzinger cofounded the Austrian Sleep Research Association (ASRA) and the Institute for Consciousness and Dream Research (ICDR) in Vienna, Austria.