Patients change their sleep times and habits in order to reduce alertness and "over thinking" when they are trying to sleep. This helps them learn how to sleep overnight in one solid block of time

Patients "rescript" the narrative of a nightmare to eliminate the distressing elements and create a new pleasant dream scene. They then rehearse this scene in their imagination at least twice each day. This reduces the frequency and intensity of the target nightmare and often reduces other nightmares, too.

This behavioral treatment for PTSD involves 1) systematic and repeated exposure to objects and situations that are avoided due to trauma-related distress, 2) prolonged, repeated recounting of trauma memories through visualization, and 3)therapist-guided discussions of thoughts and emotions related to the exposure exercises. The goals of PE are to reduce the anxiety and distress elicited by trauma-related memories and situations, show patients these memories and situations are distinct from the trauma, and teach patients they can tolerate the distress caused by these memories and situations.

This is an active therapy where the focus of the intervention is on helping patients better understand their emotional response to their PTSD and sleep symptoms.

6 weeks of prolonged exposure, 5 weeks of imagery rehearsal therapy, and 7 weeks of cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia