PTSD: National Center for PTSD

Mobile App: CBT-i Coach for Providers

CBT-i Coach is a mobile app designed for use by people who are participating in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) guided by a mental health care professional. Sleep difficulties are very common among people with PTSD, and research suggests that CBT-I significantly improves insomnia.

CBT-i Coach is a free app for mobile devices (smartphones and tablets) that was created to increase convenience for clinicians and patients completing CBT-I. The app is downloaded on to a patient's device to be used as a treatment companion during CBT-I.

Features include:

• Psychoeducation about sleep, healthy habits and CBT-I therapy
• Interactive, customizable Sleep Diary for daily logging of sleep and sleep-related habits (i.e. caffeine intake, alcohol use, exercise)
• Validated measure of insomnia severity, the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI)
• Automatic calculation of the sleep prescription, with an option for the therapist to make modifications
• Data export, with sleep diary data in standard CBT-I calculator format
• Tools to improve sleep, including relaxation exercises and tips for developing positive sleep habits and improving sleep environment
• Reminders to complete sleep diaries, take sleep assessments, bed and wake times, and more

How to Use CBT-i Coach

CBT-i Coach is a mobile app intended to augment face-to-face care with a health care professional. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia is available at many VA/DoD and other mental health clinics.

CBT-i Coach is based on the therapy manual Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia in Veterans; and CBT-I has been shown to be an efficacious treatment for insomnia in multiple clinical trials, including when it co-occurs with other medical and psychiatric conditions. Treatment with pharmaceuticals is an option for people suffering from insomnia symptoms. Research suggests that CBT-I, can also have significant benefit. Learn more about Sleep Problems in Veterans With PTSD.

CBT-i Coach helps patients adjust and maintain sleep routines and their approach to sleep to enhance sleep quality and duration. Health care providers can recommend the app as a supplement to treatment outside of face-to-face contact and/or to encourage patient wellness through self-management.

NOTE: CBT-i Coach is not meant to be a replacement for face-to-face treatment.

Privacy and Security

Any data created by the user of this app are only as secure as the phone/device itself. Use the security features on your device if you are concerned about the privacy of your information. Users are free to share data, but as the self-monitoring data belong to each user, HIPAA concerns do not apply while the data is stored or shared. If the user were to transmit or share data with a health care provider, the provider must then comply with HIPAA rules.

Who Created CBT-i Coach

CBT-i Coach was created by the VA's National Center for PTSD in partnership with Stanford University Medical Center, the Department of Defense's National Center for Telehealth and Technology and VA Sierra Pacific Mental Illness Research, Education, & Clinical Center.