Nightmare Treatment in Austin
You don't have to keep living with the same nightmare.
Evidence-based treatment for recurring nightmares in Austin.
You might assume nightmares are simply something you have to endure.
You hope they'll eventually go away on their own.
You try not to think about them.
You avoid talking about them.
You stay up later because you're afraid of what will happen when you fall asleep.
You are trying to fix the problem. Or at least trying to feel better. You probably figure there are no other options.
So I'm really excited to share this with you:
Nightmares are treatable.
There are evidence-based treatments that can reduce how often nightmares happen, how intense they feel, and the fear that often develops around going to bed.
Nightmares Don't Just Affect Sleep
People often think of nightmares as something that only affects your sleep.
In reality, nightmares can begin affecting your day as much as your night.
You may find yourself:
dreading bedtime,
delaying going to sleep,
feeling anxious as evening approaches,
waking repeatedly during the night,
struggling to fall back asleep,
feeling exhausted the next day,
avoiding thinking about the nightmare.
Eventually, it can feel like your entire day revolves around trying to avoid what happens at night.
Why Do Nightmares Keep Coming Back?
When nightmares are recurrent, people avoid reminders as much as they can.
You don't want to think about it.
You don't want to talk about it.
You certainly don't want to relive it.
Maybe you wake up suddenly, heart racing, and spend the next hour convincing yourself to go back to sleep.
Maybe you leave the television on because silence feels too risky.
Maybe bedtime has slowly become something you brace yourself for instead of look forward to.
None of those reactions are irrational.
They're exactly what most people do when something frightens them.
Unfortunately, avoidance is one of the things that can keep nightmares going.
Nightmares are a little like your brain getting stuck in a rut. Think of a record skipping or your computer getting stuck in a loop where it reboots over and over.
The nightmare becomes a well-worn path.
Further, the nightmare often wakes you before the story can resolve, so the next night it often returns to exactly the same place.
Treatment helps your brain learn a different path.
Why Treatment Happens During the Day
Even though the nightmare is happening at night, we don't do the difficult work while you're asleep. We do it while you're awake.
At night, nightmares catch you at your most vulnerable. You're asleep. You don't have your full attention, reasoning, or ability to respond.
During treatment, we're working with the nightmare during the day—when you're alert, grounded, and able to approach it intentionally rather than being overwhelmed by it.
That difference matters.
What Is CBT-N?
I use Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Nightmares (CBT-N), an evidence-based treatment specifically developed for recurring nightmares.
CBT-N includes imagery rehearsal (IRT) techniques while also providing a more comprehensive approach to nightmare treatment.
Treatment typically includes:
understanding how nightmares develop,
learning why avoidance unintentionally keeps them going,
relaxation strategies,
developing healthier sleep habits,
dealing with the nightmare material in a way that's been shown to take the sting out of it.
Every step has a purpose.
I'll explain why we're doing what we're doing before asking you to try it.
What Changes During Treatment?
People are frequently surprised that you can influence your dreams. They'll often say, "There's no way this could work."
And yet, as treatment progresses, many people notice things like:
fewer nights with the old nightmare,
nightmares becoming less intense,
horrifying nightmares becoming silly dreams,
feeling less anxious about going to bed,
waking less often during the night,
falling back asleep more easily after a nightmare,
feeling more rested during the day.
Your brain is unlearning old habits and learning new habits.
Everything just starts feeling lighter.
Is Nightmare Treatment Right for You?
Treatment may be a good fit if:
you experience recurring nightmares,
you've started dreading bedtime,
you avoid thinking or talking about your nightmares,
nightmares are affecting your sleep or daily life,
you're looking for an evidence-based treatment rather than simply hoping they'll improve on their own.
You Don't Have to Keep Dreading Bedtime
If you've been living with recurring nightmares, you've probably spent a long time trying to avoid them. That makes sense. Avoidance is a natural response to something frightening.
The encouraging news is that your brain is capable of learning a new path to take at night.
The first step isn't forcing yourself to "get over it." It's understanding why the nightmares keep returning—and learning how to help your brain choose a different way to go.
Frequently asked questions about nightmare treatment in Austin
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If you have repeated and intense nightmares, you might have nightmare disorder. You may or may not have a trauma history (some do and some don’t). If nightmares are causing you to avoid sleep or impacting your day, CBT for Nightmares is a good option.
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No. Often they are, but not always. Some people with nightmares have no trauma history. Nightmares frequently show up in Narcolepsy and Sleep Apnea. They can also be a medication side effect.
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Of course! I was trained to think of nightmares as a learned habit in the brain. Your thoughts go down the same path every night because that’s what they always do. There is something about engaging with the nightmare during the day and on your terms that allows your brain to go down a different path and you to finally get some peace!
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CBT-N is an evidence-based treatment for nightmares that pulls from multiple other treatments: Image Rehearsal Therapy for nightmares Exposure, Relaxation, and Rescripting Therapy for nightmares; Cognitive Processing Therapy for PTSD, and CBT for Insomnia.
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The curriculum is 6 sessions plus an intake session so anticipate 7 sessions total. It depends on how many nightmares we target.
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Why wouldn’t you? Most people find peace when they sleep; you find terror. A nightmare comes at you when you are at your most vulnerable and you feel completely defenseless. The good news is that you aren’t.