Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I)

22-23 July, 2025

6720A Rockledge Dr, Bethesda, MD 20817

Bethesda Auditorium

Description:

This 2-day intermediate workshop will help behavioral healthcare providers to assess and treat insomnia using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I). We begin by discussing common problems military members have with sleep, as well as provide a foundation for understanding normal sleep (i.e., theories about why we sleep, how sleep is regulated, sleep architecture, and how sleep changes over the lifespan).  The workshop utilizes this foundation of understanding normal sleep functioning to further clarify clinical problems, patients' experience, reviewing differential sleep diagnoses and available assessment tools.  Next, we review the etiology of insomnia along with going over each step of the CBTI protocol. We go over implementation strategies, different formats for CBT-I such as telehealth and group settings.  Additionally, the workshop reviews different cultural and clinical adaptations to treatment that can help improve outcomes with diverse populations.  During the workshop we will use experiential and interactive elements to develop practical skills for using assessment tools like a sleep diary, questions for a sleep specific interview, stimulus control, sleep restriction, and cognitive therapy.  This workshop focuses on clinical practice by application of assessment and intervention methods for both individuals and group members experiencing insomnia that have consistent and credible empirical support in the literature (i.e., Crowther et al., 2023; Gao et al., 2022, Nielson et al., 2023, Mellor et al., 2022; Tighe et al., 2023).

Total CE Credits: 14

Total Contact Hours: 14

Learning Objectives:

Following the training, attendees will be able to:

1. Distinguish Insomnia Disorder from Insufficient Sleep Syndrome.

2. Differentiate the roles of process S (Homeostatic Sleep Drive) and process C (Circadian Rhythm) in regulating sleep.

3. Analyze the differences in sleep architecture between individuals with and without insomnia 

4. Demonstrate interview skills specific to conducting a sleep assessment.

5. Formulate an individualized case conceptualization (including 3 P model) of insomnia for military patients.

6. Integrate subjective sleep measures for CBT-I treatment decisions with patients.

7. Evaluate the negative effects of hyperarousal (physical, cognitive, emotional) on sleep.

8. Calculate a patient’s sleep efficiency using data from sleep diaries.

9. Apply principles of stimulus control to patients with insomnia.

10. Create new bedtime and waketime schedules for patients using sleep restriction principles.

11. Appraise the role of CBT-I in cases of insomnia with co-morbidities.

12. Modify techniques in a theoretically consistent manner to improve the accessibility and clinical outcomes for specific patients.

Target Audience: For behavioral health providers who treat military personnel, veterans, and their families.   

Instructional Content Level: Intermediate

Agenda: 

*Please note that agenda times are approximate and subject to change, depending on the needs of the workshop.

Continuing Education:

Course Completion Requirements: Participants are required to attend the entire training. Partial credits cannot be issued. Attendance is taken manually, through the use of sign in/sign out sheets, and a post-training evaluation form must be completed in order to receive ACE social work CE credits. For other CE credits, completion of the evaluation is strongly encouraged, but if you do not wish to complete the evaluation, please contact the training event's POC after the training event.  

There is a 30-day time limit post-training to complete all CE requirements. Evaluations and CE Credit Certificates will be available via CE21 within 30 days after all course requirements have been completed.

American Psychological Association Sponsor Approval:

The Center for Deployment Psychology is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. The Center for Deployment Psychology maintains responsibility for this program and its content. 

Association of Social Work Boards Approved Continuing Education Provider Approval:

The Center for Deployment Psychology, #1761, is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program.  Organizations, not individual courses, are approved as ACE providers.  State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit.  The Center for Deployment Psychology maintains responsibility for this course.  ACE provider approval period: May 19, 2022 – May 19, 2025.  Social workers completing this course receive 14 In-Person Event continuing education credits.

New York State Education Department’s State Board for Psychology Provider Approval:

The Center for Deployment Psychology is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Psychology as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed psychologists (#PSY-0178). 

New York State Education Department’s State Board for Social Work Provider Approval:

The Center for Deployment Psychology is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers (#SW-0744).

Inquiries regarding CE credits may be directed via email to William Tiwari at william.tiwari.ctr@usuhs.edu.

Participate:

Date: 22-23 July, 2025

Time: 8:30 am – 5:00 pm Eastern

Registration Information: https://deploymentpsych.org/training

Registration Deadline: Registration for this training closes one week prior to the first day of training. Walk-ins will not be allowed. 

Cancellations/Questions: Please contact William Tiwari at william. tiwari.ctr@usuhs.edu if you have any questions or need to cancel your registration.

Registration Cost/Refunds: This training is free for those with a .mil email address and $45.00 for all others. Please contact Will Tiwari at william.tiwari.ctr@usuhs.edu if you have any questions or need to cancel your registration.

Required Materials: None 

Location Information: 6720A Rockledge Dr, Bethesda, MD 20817, Bethesda Auditorium

Please arrive 30 minutes prior to the beginning of the training to complete all registration forms and sign-in documents.

Instructional Format: Live, in-person

Special Accommodations: If you require special accommodations due to a disability, please contact William Tiwari at william.tiwari.ctr@usuhs.edu 4 weeks prior to the training so that we may provide you with appropriate service.

Grievances: For any grievances or concerns with this training including those related to course content, non-receipt of certificate or other occurrences, participants may contact CDP’s Continuing Education Director, Ms. Amanda Stanely-Hulsey, via email at Amanda.Stanley-Hulsey.ctr@usuhs.edu.   

Instructor Biographies:

William Brim, Psy.D., is the executive director of the Center for Deployment Psychology (CDP) at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland. He joined CDP in 2007, initially as a deployment behavioral health psychologist at Malcolm Grow Medical Center and served as deputy director until 2017. Prior to joining CDP, Dr. Brim served on active duty as a psychologist in the United States Air Force from 1997 to 2007.

Dr. Brim received his bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Tennessee and his master’s and doctorate degrees in clinical psychology from Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He is a graduate of the Wilford Hall Medical Center Psychology Residency Program and the Wilford Hall Clinical Health Psychology Post-Doctoral Fellowship Program.

Dr. Brim is a recognized and post-doctoral fellowship-trained behavioral sleep medicine specialist. Clinically he focuses on the assessment and treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder, insomnia, and nightmares. Dr. Brim has over 100 publications and presentations on a range of topics including military culture, insomnia and insomnia and nightmare treatments and trauma. He is frequently called on to consult in courts martial and discharge boards as a forensic psychology expert with a specific focus on trauma and memory. Dr. Brim is currently the American Psychological Association’s Military Psychology Division 19 President.

Carin M. Lefkowitz, Psy.D., is a clinical psychologist and Senior Military Behavioral Health Psychologist at the Center for Deployment Psychology (CDP) at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland. Dr. Lefkowitz earned her M.A. and Psy.D. in clinical psychology at Widener University, with a concentration in cognitive-behavioral therapy.

Prior to joining the CDP, she served as a psychologist at the Philadelphia VA Medical Center.  In this capacity, she provided individual and group psychotherapy with a focus on evidence-based treatments for PTSD and insomnia.  She also served as a clinical supervisor to Vet Center clinicians, and psychology interns and practicum students at the Medical Center. Dr. Lefkowitz was a therapist on studies of evidence-based treatments for insomnia and traumatic nightmares, and coordinated the Medical Center's Cognitive Processing Therapy program.

Dr. Lefkowitz has published peer reviewed articles on prolonged exposure treatment for PTSD and innovative training options in sleep disorders.  She is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Medical and Clinical Psychology at USUHS and maintains an adjunct instructor appointment with the Institute for Graduate Clinical Psychology at Widener University. She was previously an adjunct instructor in Chestnut Hill College's graduate psychology program and a Clinical Associate of the University of Pennsylvania's department of psychiatry.

**There is no commercial support or conflict of interest to report for these presenters.