"Treating Insomnia in Psychotherapy"

Presented by Thad Harshbarger, Ph.D.

Date: Saturday, November 21, 2026

Time: 1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. - CE Course
12:45 p.m. - 12:55 p.m. - HVPA members are invited to join for a brief update meeting starting 15 minutes before presentation time and ending 5 minutes before the presentation.

Location: This will be a Zoom presentation. (You will receive the Zoom login information the week before the presentation takes place.)

Program Summary

Poor sleep leads to cognitive and emotional disturbances that can be misdiagnosed as psychological disorders. Clients may not even realize that sleep is an issue for them. Attempts to treat insomnia-related symptoms with psychotherapy alone can be ineffective, time-consuming and discouraging.

If you can identify and handle a client's insomnia, some of their symptoms may be reduced or resolved, allowing you to work more effectively on their other psychological and interpersonal difficulties.

The workshop will provide an overview of sleep and insomnia, with special attention to causes of insomnia and ways to manage them. An underlying assumption is that different people have insomnia for different reasons, and the same solution won't work for everyone. Our goal will be for you to leave with a greater ability to identify a client's insomnia, and offer suggestions for them to improve it.

Presenter: Thad Harshbarger, Ph.D.

Licensed as a psychologist in New York and Massachusetts, Dr. Harshbarger has been working clinically with individuals and couples for more than 45 years. As a teacher and psychotherapist, he helps people define and resolve their own problems in their own ways. His recent book, The Fight for Sleep: Pick Your Battles - Win the War, incorporates a process that a therapist might use to help different clients identify and resolve their sleep issues. For more about him see www.thadharshbarger.com.

Target Audience: All mental health professionals. NOTE: Only Doctoral Level NY State licensed Psychologists can receive CE credits.

Learning Objectives

At the end of this presentation, participants should be able to:

Give three reasons for asking clients about their sleep and insomnia.
Describe the two primary sleep drives.
Name the stages of sleep and the major function of each stage.
Identify two main approaches for organizing the treatment of insomnia.
Identify several sources of insomnia and the common suggestions for treating each source.

FEES:

FREE for HVPA Members
$60.00 for Non-HVPA Members

JOIN HVPA for a first-year $50 fee ($75 for subsequent renewals) and receive all CE courses provided by HVPA for FREE. For networking, listserv, and other benefits, please go to the Membership page and sign up!

CE INFORMATION

Statement of Sponsorship: Hudson Valley Psychological Association (HVPA) 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-0200.

CE Credits: 2 CE credits for NYS Psychologists (only) are provided upon course's completion. HVPA is authorized to provide CE credits ONLY to NYS Psychologists.

To receive continuing education (CE) credit, you need to attend the program in its entirety. CE certificates will be provided for all NYS psychologists who attend this program in full and who complete/return an online program evaluation. Please indicate your license type and license number on your registration form.

FOR ONLINE COURSES: We verify your online attendance at the beginning & end of the program and by your completion of the evaluation form.

If you have questions, contact ContinuingEd@hvpa.org.

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