Mark's story

• Mark saw how a one-size-fits-all method didn’t support a 16‐year-old experiencing prolonged periods of wakefulness at night despite good bedtime routines
• Recognising the pressing need to explore behavioural and therapeutic approaches that went beyond medication when the young person’s family noted melatonin was ineffective
• He suspected the young person’s expression of being “too tired” served as a protective shell for deeper feelings of anxiety and distress, but he did not have the skills to address it
• Mark needed to learn how intricately woven sleep issues could be with other challenges – sensory processing differences, social anxiety, and communication barriers

Mark’s Sleep Counselling training enabled him to approach sleep not as an isolated issue, but as a symptom of a wider problem. By integrating behavioural techniques with compassion-led emotional support, Mark helped his service user and their family begin to reclaim a sense of control around bedtime. The training also allowed him to establish more consistent, personalised intervention frameworks, ensuring that families weren’t left navigating things alone.

This approach has since grown into a dedicated Sleep Counselling service that complements wider care and relieves pressure on CAMHS and other statutory services.