Psychotherapeutic and Pharmacological Treatment of Depression and Sleep Disorders

An estimated 70 to 90 percent of psychiatric patients claim to suffer from insomnia in addition to their other major disorders. Because this percentage is so alarmingly high, it is imperative that the therapist understand the proper treatment methodology for patients with a combination of problems including sleep disturbances. Multiple psychiatric and medical entities could potentially be the cause of a given patient's sleep disorder. Dr. Doghramji addresses the scope and impact of insomnia and its implications when accompanied by other major psychiatric disorders with a special emphasis on depression, the most common. He discusses methods for identifying the characteristic patterns of alteration in sleep architecture accompanying specific psychiatric disorders, and assesses the implications of sleep-related findings for diagnosis and management. He offers a comprehensive analysis of the effects of various pharmacologic therapies for insomnia, as well as their indications, efficacies, and adverse effects. He also reviews various behavioral methods for treatment, and evaluates them in relation to other forms of therapy.