Meet Jessica Fink, LCSW-S

I was an insatiably curious child. I drove the adults in my life crazy with all the questions. One year, for my birthday, my parents gave me a book called My Big Book of "Tell Me Why?" As an adult, not much has changed. I would be a professional student if that were a viable way to earn a living.

I also genuinely love teaching. Both of my parents were teachers, and I think some of that found its way into me. Whether I'm working one-on-one with clients, giving presentations, creating YouTube videos, or developing handouts, one of my favorite things to do is take something complicated and make it understandable.

There's something deeply satisfying about hearing "I've never heard it explained that way."

Why I Chose Behavioral Sleep Medicine

I've seen sleep problems throughout my 19-year mental health career, the bulk of which was spent at Seton Shoal Creek Hospital in Austin. People usually weren’t coming to therapy because of their sleep. They came for depression, anxiety, chronic pain, or trauma. But disrupted sleep was almost always part of the picture.

And I kept noticing the same thing: Poor sleep made everything else harder to treat.

At the time, though, I didn't know much about treating sleep directly. Like many therapists, my toolkit was pretty limited: hand out a sleep hygiene sheet and encourage someone to talk with their doctor.

Then, in 2021, a continuing education brochure landed in my mailbox advertising a training in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I). Therapists get advertisements for continuing education courses all the time. Most of them go straight into the recycling bin. This one didn't.

Until then, I had no idea there was a specialized, evidence-based psychological treatment for insomnia. Once I realized there was—and that it was something I could provide as a therapist—I signed up. I started offering CBT-I in my practice and quickly discovered something unexpected.

When you open your door to insomnia, all the other sleep disorders walk in too. Some people who thought they had insomnia actually had a delayed body clock. Others had untreated sleep apnea in addition to their insomnia. Still others were struggling with recurring nightmares or hypersomnia. The more I learned, the more I realized these conditions couldn't all be approached the same way.

Different sleep problems require different treatments.

So I kept learning. One training led to another. One consultation led to another. Eventually, what started as adding one new service became a practice devoted entirely to Behavioral Sleep Medicine. And I’ve now worked with hundreds of adults navigating insomnia, nightmare disorder, narcolepsy, idiopathic hypersomnia, circadian rhythm disorders, and CPAP frustration.

A Little Bit About Me (the human side)

Outside of work, you'll probably find me watching The Golden Girls, listening to '90s alternative rock, or attending musical theater shows. Those interests occasionally make their way into session.

If I can use a sitcom episode, a Broadway lyric, or a pop culture reference to make a sleep concept click, I'm probably going to do it. Because learning should be memorable.

And I've learned that people tend to remember a concept better when it's attached to a story, a song, or a familiar character.