Referrals

At Illinois Sleep Medicine, we specialize in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) — the first-line treatment for insomnia as recommended by both the American College of Physicians (ACP) and the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) . Our mission is simple: to help patients restore healthy sleep naturally, without medication, and to make this care accessible and easy to coordinate for referring clinicians.

Why CBT-I?

• Clinically Proven: CBT-I is an evidence-based, structured approach that targets the thoughts and behaviors that keep patients awake. Studies show that 70–80% of patients experience lasting improvement in sleep quality[3], often within 2-3 sessions.
• No Medication, No Side Effects: Unlike pharmacologic treatments, CBT-I is a drug-free, sustainable solution that avoids the risks of drowsiness, dependency, or tolerance[2].
• Whole-Health Benefits: Improving sleep quality can lead to meaningful improvements in daytime functioning, mood, cardiovascular health, and metabolic balance.

Why Refer to Us?

• Quick Access: While many CBT-I specialists have a 6–12 month wait time, our practice typically offers new-patient appointments within 1- 4 weeks, ensuring your patients can begin care when they need it most.
• Broad Insurance Coverage: While many CBT-I providers operate on a self-pay model due to high demand, we accept most commercial insurance plans and Medicare (excluding Medicaid). This helps reduce barriers to care and makes treatment more accessible for your patients.
• High Satisfaction: Our patients consistently report positive outcomes—9 out of 10 would recommend our services to friends or family.
• Collaborative Care: We take our referral partnerships seriously and value open, ongoing communication. Referring providers receive regular progress updates, including Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) scores and treatment milestones, so you can stay informed and connected to your patients’ progress throughout their care.

Why Patients Benefit From Seeing Our CBT-I Specialists — Even If They Already Have a Therapist

Many patients with insomnia are already working with excellent therapists, and that ongoing therapeutic relationship remains central to their care. CBT-I, however, is a specialized, evidence-based treatment that goes beyond traditional CBT and requires additional training in sleep medicine and behavioral sleep medicine.

For this reason, even highly skilled therapists typically do not receive formal training in CBT-I protocols, which include sleep restriction therapy, stimulus control, chronotherapy, and structured sleep-data interpretation. These are precise, sleep-specific tools that are highly effective when delivered by clinicians trained to use them.

Seeing a CBT-I specialist at Illinois Sleep Medicine provides patients with several unique advantages:

• Specialized expertise: Our clinicians are trained specifically in insomnia mechanisms, circadian rhythms, and behavioral sleep interventions that are not part of standard CBT training.
• Targeted, time-limited treatment: CBT-I is typically 8-10 sessions, after which patients return fully to their primary therapist with improved sleep and greater capacity for therapeutic work.
• Enhanced overall mental health outcomes: Better sleep improves emotional regulation, resilience, and daytime functioning — all of which support and accelerate the progress patients make in ongoing therapy.
• Collaborative care: With patient consent, we coordinate closely with the patient’s therapist to ensure alignment of goals, share progress updates, and reinforce continuity of care.

Our goal is not to replace the patient’s therapist, but to work alongside them — providing a focused, specialized intervention that restores sleep and strengthens the foundation for all other aspects of wellbeing.

CBT-I is a powerful complement to therapy, and our specialists at Illinois Sleep Medicine offer the dedicated expertise needed to help patients achieve lasting, restorative sleep.

How To Refer

Referring a patient is simple:

• Fax: (312) 312-9784 (ICD-10 codes F51.0X or G47.00)
• Email: partners@ilsleepmed.com
• Phone: (773) 389-3433

No referral form is required—just share your patient’s contact information with us via fax or email, and our team will reach out directly.

When to Consider a Referral

Patients may benefit from CBT-I if they experience:

• Difficulty falling or staying asleep, or waking too early
• Fatigue, poor concentration, or low mood after poor sleep

Our Approach

Our 8–10 session program combines behavioral strategies (stimulus control, sleep restriction) and cognitive restructuring techniques to help patients build lasting, healthy sleep patterns. Throughout care, we keep you informed with regular updates so your patients’ sleep management integrates seamlessly with their overall treatment plan.

Contact Us

If this seems like a resource that could support your patients, we are happy to connect briefly to discuss how we can collaborate. Please book a virtual meeting directly using this link. Or you can reach us at partners@ilsleepmed.com or through (773) 389-3446