What are sleep problems?
This page is about sleep difficulties. What causes them, why they persist, and how psychological support at Integro Health can help you sleep better in a safe, non-judgemental environment in South West WA.
Sleep problems include difficulty falling asleep, waking through the night, waking too early, or sleeping without feeling rested. Sleep is not a switch we can simply force, which is part of what makes struggling with it so frustrating. Ongoing poor sleep affects mood, concentration, energy, and health, and it often becomes self-perpetuating, as worry about not sleeping becomes one of the very things keeping you awake. The encouraging news is that the most effective treatment for long-term sleep problems is psychological, not medication.
Why sleep problems persist
A poor night here and there is normal. Persistent insomnia usually takes hold when something disrupts sleep, such as stress, a life change, or anxiety, and then habits and worry keep it going long after the original trigger has passed. Lying awake frustrated, checking the clock, going to bed earlier to catch up, or trying too hard to sleep all tend to make things worse, because they build an association between bed and wakefulness. Sleep problems frequently sit alongside anxiety, depression, and stress.
What we often see in practice is that the harder someone tries to sleep, the more sleep eludes them, because effort and sleep do not mix. Understanding the cycle, and how your own habits and thoughts may be feeding it, is usually where meaningful change begins.
At Integro Health, we use approaches shown to work better than sleeping tablets over the long term, helping you rebuild a natural, reliable relationship with sleep.
How we work with you on sleep
There is a well-established, evidence-based way to improve sleep, and it does not rely on medication. What we do is work alongside you, at a pace that suits you, using approaches grounded in psychological evidence and shaped by your individual story.
Understanding your experience
Your first sessions are about building a picture of you, not just the sleep problem, but your history, your relationships, your emotional world, and what you are hoping life might look and feel like. There is no rush here. We ask questions because we genuinely want to understand.
Understanding what is disrupting your sleep
Together, we look at your sleep patterns, habits, and the thoughts and worries that surface at night. What started the problem? What is keeping it going now? Understanding your particular sleep cycle is the foundation for changing it.
Working with the underlying layers
Sleep problems are often driven by stress, anxiety, or a racing mind at night. We address those underlying drivers too, using approaches like CBT, so we are treating the causes and not just the symptom.
Building new ways of responding
Using cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia, the most effective long-term treatment there is, we help you rebuild the association between bed and sleep, quieten the night-time mind, and restore a natural sleep rhythm.
Ongoing support at the right pace
Change rarely happens in a straight line. Sessions are spaced to suit where you are, more frequent during difficult periods, stepped back as you gain ground. We are here for as long as the journey needs us to be, whether that is a few months or considerably longer.
Meet the Team
At Integro Health, you do not just book a clinic. You choose a practitioner who understands you. Our team of experienced psychotherapists brings clinical depth, genuine warmth, and a broad range of specialisations together under one roof. Take a moment to read about each of our practitioners and find the right fit for where you are right now.
Dr Paul King
General Practitioner
MBBS Bachelor of Medicine/ Bachelor of Surgery
FRACGP Fellow of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners
Jools Fordyce
Social Worker & Family Therapist
Bachelor (Hons) – Applied Social Science with Diploma in Social Work
Postgraduate Diploma in Family and Relationship Therapy
Brooke Eden
Psychologist
Bachelor of Psychology
Graduate Diploma of Education
Member of the Australian Association of Psychologists Inc.
Nicholas Kerr
Psychologist
Masters of Psychology (Organisational)
Bachelor of Arts
Member of the Australian Association of Psychologists Inc.
Carli King
Office Administrator
As Practice Manager, Carli keeps the daily operations of Integro Health running smoothly, ensuring our clients always receive the highest standard of care.
What you can expect when you reach out
No judgement, ever
However long your nights have been difficult, and whatever you have already tried, you will be met with warmth and genuine care. Not a lecture, and not a checklist.
A whole-person lens
We look at every part of you, your mental, emotional, physical, social, and spiritual wellbeing, because sleep rarely sits apart from the rest of a person’s life.
Evidence-based approaches
We draw on cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia and related evidence-based approaches, tailored to you. Not a one-size protocol, but a genuinely individual plan.
In-clinic and online options
Whether you can get to our Eaton clinic in Bunbury or you need the privacy and convenience of telehealth, we can work with you wherever you are in South West WA and beyond.
What people get wrong about sleep
One of the most common myths about sleep problems is that the only options are to tough it out or take a sleeping tablet. In fact, the most effective long-term treatment for insomnia is a psychological approach called CBT for insomnia, which works better than medication over time and without the downsides of dependence.
Another misconception is that you simply need better sleep hygiene, a cooler room, no screens, less caffeine. Those things help a little, but they rarely fix persistent insomnia on their own, and being told to try harder at them can add to the frustration. Real change usually comes from addressing the thoughts and habits that keep the cycle going.
We also see many people in South West WA who have struggled with sleep for years, assuming they are simply bad sleepers, before reaching out. Chronic insomnia is a pattern that can be changed, not a fixed trait, no matter how long it has been going on.
Finally, many people believe that if they could just address their stress or anxiety, sleep would sort itself out. Sometimes, but often the sleep problem has taken on a life of its own and needs addressing directly. Individual therapy and counselling, delivered privately one-on-one at our Eaton clinic near Bunbury or by telehealth to locations like Margaret River, can help with both.
Is my sleep problem worth addressing?
It is common to wonder whether your sleep is bad enough to seek help for, or whether you should just keep pushing through. The honest answer is that if poor sleep is affecting your days, it is worth addressing.
If you regularly struggle to fall or stay asleep, wake unrefreshed, dread bedtime, or find that tiredness is affecting your mood, concentration, or health, even some of the time, then it is worth exploring with a psychotherapist. You do not need to have severe insomnia to deserve support, and addressing it earlier is usually easier.
How sleep problems show up
Sleep difficulties come in a few common forms:
Trouble falling asleep, where you lie awake for a long time, often with a busy or worried mind.
Trouble staying asleep, where you wake through the night or too early and cannot get back to sleep.
Unrefreshing sleep and daytime effects, where even a full night leaves you tired, and fatigue affects your mood, focus, and wellbeing during the day. This often connects with stress, anxiety, and depression.
At Integro Health, we are not primarily focused on which pattern fits you. What we care about is whether sleep is getting in the way of you feeling well, thinking clearly, and living the way you want to. You can read more about what the first session looks like here.
Your questions answered
Yes, in many cases. A Mental Health Treatment Plan from your GP provides access to a Medicare rebate for up to 10 individual sessions per calendar year with a registered psychologist. Your GP will assess your eligibility, and your sessions at Integro Health can be structured to make the most of those rebated appointments. It is worth speaking with your GP in Bunbury, Busselton, or wherever you are located to get a referral in place before your first session.
No. While good habits help, the approach we use, CBT for insomnia, goes well beyond generic tips. It works with the specific thoughts, behaviours, and associations keeping your sleep problem going, and it is tailored to you. It is the most effective long-term treatment for insomnia, and it is quite different from a list of tips.
Yes. Everything you share in sessions is confidential. There are narrow legal exceptions, for example if there is an immediate risk of serious harm to yourself or another person, but outside of those circumstances your privacy is protected. We will explain these boundaries clearly in your first session so there are no surprises.
Yes. We offer telehealth sessions across South West WA and Australia-wide, which means you can access support from anywhere, whether you are in a regional area like Manjimup or Collie, or simply prefer the privacy of attending from home. Telehealth sessions work in the same structured, safe way as in-clinic appointments.
CBT for insomnia often produces noticeable improvement within a few weeks to a couple of months. It sometimes involves temporarily adjusting your time in bed, which can feel counterintuitive at first but is what retrains your sleep. We guide you through it and review progress with you regularly.
Not unless and until you and your prescribing doctor decide that is right. CBT for insomnia can be done alongside medication, and many people find that as their natural sleep returns, they are able to reduce reliance on tablets over time, always in consultation with their GP. We work with you and your doctor, not against either.
No referral is needed to book a session. If you wish to access Medicare rebates through a Mental Health Treatment Plan, you will need a GP referral first, but you are welcome to contact us directly and we can guide you through that process if needed.
Our main approach is cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia (CBT-I), the most effective long-term treatment for sleep problems. It addresses the habits, associations, and night-time thinking that keep insomnia going. Where stress or anxiety is fuelling the problem, we draw on wider CBT and ACT as well. We tailor the plan to you.
Medically reviewed by
General Practitioner
The clinical information on this page has been reviewed for accuracy by Dr Paul King, General Practitioner at Integro Health. It is general information, and not a substitute for personal medical or psychological advice.
