This very practical CPD on insomnia will allow you to understand sleep psychology, identify what maintains insomnia, and learn client-focused strategies to create lasting change in sessions.
Live online events
Description
For the best CPD experience, this session requires a minimum of 4 bookings and has a maximum capacity of 15 attendees. Please check the “Places Remaining” section for the latest availability. If the minimum number of bookings is not reached by 6pm the day before the CPD, the session will be cancelled and a full refund will be issued within 3–5 working days. Unfortunately, bookings cannot be transferred to another date or alternative CPD session.
Sleep underpins everything we do as Solution Focused Hypnotherapists, yet insomnia can often feel complicated. This engaging, practical CPD breaks down the science of sleep into clear, usable strategies you can take straight into sessions. Using the Solution Focused Hypnotherapy model, we’ll explore the psychology of sleep, what maintains insomnia, and how to confidently support clients to create lasting change. Expect plenty of discussion, real-life examples, interaction, and practical tools you can use immediately in your work.
Sleep is central to good mental health and plays a key role in helping the brain process stress and reset. This CPD will deepen your understanding of why sleep is so fundamental to wellbeing and how to confidently apply this knowledge with all client groups — from anxiety and burnout to teenagers, menopausal clients, and shift workers.
We will explore the science of sleep in an accessible, engaging way, including REM sleep, circadian rhythms, and the impact of a full stress bucket and primitive brain on sleep quality. You will also gain clarity on how sleep changes across the lifespan, and how lifestyle factors such as caffeine, alcohol, screen use, and stress disrupt rest and recovery.
Alongside the science, this is a highly practical and interactive CPD. Through real-life case studies, discussion, and metaphors used in session, you will build confidence in explaining sleep clearly and supporting insomnia clients effectively. We will also explore when referral for medical assessment is appropriate. The focus throughout is on making the science usable, engaging, and directly applicable to your clinical work.
Course Content
- Why we sleep – the biological and evolutionary purpose of sleep.
- Interaction – reflecting on your own sleep habits.
- Sleep architecture – non-REM, REM, and 90-minute sleep cycles.
- The neuroscience of REM sleep – the role of the hippocampus and memory consolidation (building on Initial Consultation content).
- Circadian rhythms – understanding chronotypes (night owls and early birds).
- Interaction – identifying your own chronotype and considering how this impacts therapy practice, including working patterns.
- Sleep across the lifespan – how sleep changes from adolescence through to older age.
- Stress, arousal and insomnia – the stress bucket model and its impact on sleep.
- Night wakings (e.g. 3am awakenings) – the role of the primitive brain, anxiety, and cortisol. Understanding insomnia – definitions, types, and causes, including caffeine, alcohol, nicotine, blue light, diet, and temperature.
- The wider impact of sleep – how poor sleep influences conditions such as weight management, pain, and performance.
- Approaches to support sleep – including CBT-I, sleeping medication, and the “gas and brake” model.
- Solution Focused Hypnotherapy in practice – from Initial Consultation through to sessions, with practical tools to support lasting change.
- The role of the stress bucket and positive focus – how increasing positive thinking and the “3 Ps” supports better sleep.
- Metaphors and language – practical ways to explain sleep and insomnia in session.
- Special client groups – supporting shift workers, parents, and menopausal clients.
- When to refer – recognising red flags and potential medical sleep disorders.
Presenter
Victoria Horton
HPD, DSFH, CNHC Reg, BSc Hons
www.kingfisherhypnotherapy.com
Victoria qualified from CPHT Stoke in December 2023 and has been working full-time as a Solution Focused Hypnotherapist since September 2023. Since then, she has built a busy private practice seeing 20–25 clients a week and absolutely loves the variety and pace of clinical work.
She runs her practice, Kingfisher Hypnotherapy, from a beautiful clinic in Nantwich, Cheshire, and lives in Crewe with her husband and two children. When not working, she'll be walking, exploring new places, or trying (and failing) to sleep properly with a full brain after a busy day!
Alongside her clinical qualifications (HPD, DSFH, CNHC Registered), she is a member of AfSFH and NCH, fully insured, and holds an Enhanced DBS check. She also has a BSc in Business Administration from the University of Bath and is a qualified NLP Practitioner. This CPD was born, quite literally, from one of her own 3am “overthinking in a caravan in Northumberland” moments — something she knows her insomnia clients will recognise! Having worked extensively with sleep and insomnia in practice, Victoria brings both clinical knowledge and real-world experience to this training.
