The function of sleep is manifold, having a vital role to play in immune system response, mood regulation and memory formation to name but a few. If the sleep-system is undermined we see effects across all of these domains. In terms of general health and well-being, poor or disrupted sleep has been implicated in immunological disease, cancer, cardiovascular disease and diabetes. In terms of our mental health, poor sleep is associated with mood disruption and anxiety, with periods of insomnia a being shown to predict the onset of depressive episodes. Poor sleep will also affect our performance at work, with poor sleep being associated with higher error-rates and reduced productivity and impairment in our capacity to read social cues. Insomnia is the most common sleep disorder, second only to pain is reasons for people to seek medical advice.

As the field of sleep medicine advances, the vital importance of sleep is becoming ever more recognised. Cognitive behavioural therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) is the recommended first-line treatment for insomnia. It has demonstrated efficacy in a range of clinical populations. This course aims to provide participants with the knowledge needed to apply CBT-I in their clinical practice.
The course will provide a basic grounding in the physiology of sleep-wake regulation. Following this you will be led through the behavioural and then cognitive components of CBT, working with case examples to illustrate how the therapy can be adapted to specialist populations. The specialist populations will focus on sleep and post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and psychoses.

The masterclass is aimed at psychologists, psychiatrist, nurses, technologists, physicians, doctoral students and doctoral graduates.

The course will be delivered through a series of talks and workshops, allowing plenty of time for discussion and interaction. The course will run for two days, a total of 18 hours, with a dinner at the end of the second night.

The course is being offered through the Sleep and Circadian Neurosciences Institute (SCNi), at the University of Oxford. It will be delivered by Dr. Phil Gehrman, an honorary senior research scientist at the SCNi and Dr. Bryony Sheaves, a research clinical psychologist.