The Effectiveness of Transdiagnostic Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Comorbid Insomnia: A Case Report

Objective: Similar cognitive and behavioral factors underlie and perpetuate insomnia and emotional disorders. This brief case report aims to evaluate the effectiveness of the Unified Protocol (UP), a transdiagnostic treatment designed to target emotional disorders in treating comorbid insomnia. Method: The patient was a 32-year-old male, who met the DSM-IV-TR criteria for chronic insomnia, major depressive disorder, and generalized anxiety disorder. After 3 baseline weeks, the patient underwent 14 sessions of UP and was retested after 1-month follow-up. Consensus Sleep Diary (CSD), Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) were completed during baseline, treatment, and follow-up. Results: The treatment led to improvements in sleep onset latency, time awake after sleep onset, terminal awakenings, sleep quality, and insomnia severity. These gains were maintained at 1-month follow-up. Conclusion: UP is effective in improving different symptoms of chronic insomnia. Controlled clinical studies with more cases are required to investigate the effects of UP in the treatment of insomnia.