April Behavioral Health Bulletin

Behavioral Health Bulletin

Issue 17, April 2023

Overcoming Sleep Difficulties Without Medications

Around 35% of American adults and 78% of US high school students don't get enough sleep. While patients who come to you seeking help sleeping may be expecting medication, behavioral changes are safer and more effective long-term than pharmacological treatments.

Read on to learn about strategies to engage patients in behavioral changes, the importance of addressing sleep problems in childhood, special considerations for older adults, and more.

Join us for the next Mind Matters ECHO

Our next Mind Matters ECHO meeting will be held on June 12, 2023 from 5:30-7:00pm.

Join Us

If you have a case you'd like to share for consultation and support, please email Anitha Iyer, PhD, Course Director.

Please note that these meetings are now quarterly.

Better sleep starts with education

After ruling out underlying causes such as sleep apnea and restless leg syndrome, anxious and unhelpful beliefs are at the root of many cases of insomnia.

At our April Mind Matters meeting, Jenna Palladino, PsyD addressed some myths about sleep that can contribute to difficultues sleeping.

Educating patients on healthy sleep habits and dysfunctional beliefs about sleep can open the door to making the necessary behavioral changes to get a good night's sleep without relying on medications.

Understand your patients' attitudes and beliefs about sleep with the Dysfunctional Beliefs and Attitudes about Sleep (DBAS-16) scale
Learn how to address common misconceptions about sleep and health
Share healthy sleep habits

Sleep and Emotional and Behavioral Problems in Children and Adolescents

A new cohort study published in JAMA Psychiatry found that sleep problem trajectories were associated with psychopathology in early adolescence.

Key findings:

Interventions should target specific patterns of sleep problems
Identifying and treating sleep problems in childhood may prevent mental health problems in early adolescence
The severity of sleep problems is more relevant than type of sleep disturbance in assessing risk for psychopathology symptoms
There is high comorbidity between somatic distress and sleep problems
In adolescents it may be more helpful to target sleep behavior than mental health symptoms for improvement in both domains

Non-stigmatizing communication about mental health

It's no secret that there is high stigma surrounding mental health which can be incredibly harmful to people living with mental health conditions and interfere with their treatment and recovery.

The CDC offers a variety of provider resources on mental health literacy, including a CME course from the University of Texas at Austin on stigma-free communication about mental health.

Information to share with your patients: insomnia in older adults

Peruse the Mount Sinai Health Library for information to share with your patients. With over 100 psychiatry topics presented in patient-friendly language, the Health Library can be a valuable source for your patients to understand their diagnoses.

This month, share information about insomnia in older adults with your patients.

P: 877-234-6667

F: 646-537-1481

E: MSHP@mountsinai.org

Provider Engagement Team