Better Sleep in Psychiatric Care - ADHD Pilot Study

Better Sleep in Psychiatric Care - ADHD. A Pragmatic Within-group Pilot Study to Develop and Evaluate Effects and Feasibility of a CBT-based Manual for Treating Sleep Problems in Adult Patients With ADHD

Comorbidities, including sleep problems, are common in adult Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Treatment of choice for insomnia is cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT-i), but evidence is lacking for CBT-i in patients with ADHD and sleep problems.

The purpose of this study was to investigate if patients at a specialist clinic for ADHD benefit from a group delivered CBT-i treatment; whether insomnia severity improves following this treatment.

This pragmatic within-group pilot study with a pre to post and three-month follow-up design was set at a specialist psychiatric out-patient clinic for adult ADHD.

As an adjunct to care-as-usual at the clinic, a CBT-i-based group treatment targeting sleep problems prevalent in the ADHD-population, designed for patients with executive difficulties, was offered as 10 weekly 90-minute group sessions and scheduled telephone support.

All outcome measures were subjectively reported by participants. Data analyzed with dependent t-tests according to intent-to-treat.

Inclusion Criteria:

• being a patient at the clinic (i.e. having a diagnosis of AD(H)D)
• self-reported sleep problems
• returning pre-treatment questionnaires and signed consent form

Exclusion Criteria:

• none