Provide Sleep Counselling to young people with additional support needs
Families tell us that working with a Sleep Counsellor is life-changing. Sleep Counselling training enhances care and support and opens doors to career development opportunities.
Becoming a Sleep Counsellor equips you with the skills and knowledge to improve the sleep of children and young people with additional support needs and support their families with strategies to feel happier, healthier, and more confident.
We are proud of the impact our training makes:
• 100% of participants report being satisfied with the training
• 94% say their knowledge and understanding of sleep has improved
• 91% feel more confident supporting families with sleep
What you will learn
What are the learning objectives of this course?
During this training course, you will gain:
- A comprehensive understanding of the psychology and physiology of sleep
- In-depth knowledge of the range of sleep issues affecting children and young people
- An introduction to cognitive and behavioural approaches for managing sleep difficulties in children and young people
- Practical guidance on how to establish and run an effective Sleep Counselling service
Upon training, many delegates feel more confident supporting the whole family when they are equipped to address sleep-related challenges.
What are the expected outcomes?
Upon completion of the course, you will be able to:
- Effectively apply cognitive and behavioural strategies to managing sleep difficulties in children with additional support needs, including autism, ADHD, learning disabilities, sensory processing difficulties, cerebral palsy, mental health challenges, or epilepsy
- Establish and run a Sleep Counselling service in partnership with Sleep Action, supporting children and young people with additional support needs and their parents and carers
- Provide a Sleep Counselling service and run group workshops for parents/carers
Please note: Sleep Action training does not qualify you as an independent or supplementary prescriber for melatonin.
Sleep Counselling training is structured to provide a comprehensive and practical learning experience:
- Pre-course learning: 20 hours of self-led study on our online platform, Moodle, allowing you to build a strong foundation at your own pace
- Interactive sessions: 12 hours of engaging, hands-on workshops delivered over three half-day sessions to apply your learning
- Real-world case study: Over 6-8 weeks, you’ll complete a sleep assessment and develop a sleep programme with a service user, applying practical skills in a real-world setting
- Final review: A final half-day session to reflect on your learning, discuss your case, and access Sleep Action’s workshop materials to support your future work, including presenting to groups
After the course
Once you train with us, you become part of the Sleep Action family, and we’re here to help you deliver a meaningful sleep service for the families in your community.
After qualifying as a Sleep Counsellor, you’ll have access to follow-up support for complex cases, opportunities to connect with other Sleep Counsellors through network meetings, and the option to join annual CPD sessions or conferences shaped by the community-requested topics (additional fees may apply for CPD and conferences).
Course FAQs
Is this course accredited?
Sleep Counselling for Children and Young People is officially accredited at SCQF Level 7 with 4 credit points. This accreditation ensures the programme meets the high standards set by the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF).
This certificate qualifies you to practise as a Sleep Counsellor supporting children and young people with complex support needs.
Through this qualification, you’ll be strengthening your professional expertise while making a meaningful difference in supporting children and young people with additional support needs to improve their sleep.
If you’d like to learn more about the SCQF and how this qualification compares across the UK and Ireland, you can explore their interactive framework here: SCQF Interactive Framework
Can I prescribe melatonin?
Sleep Action training does not qualify you as an independent or supplementary prescriber, and it does not allow you to prescribe melatonin.
Our interventions are built to support a child’s natural sleep routines and behaviours without relying on pharmaceutical melatonin. Through gentle education and proven cognitive behavioural management techniques, we help families create lasting sleep habits that encourage the body’s own melatonin production.
We recognise that some children may still require pharmaceutical melatonin. Our approach has seen decades of successes helping families establish healthy sleep routines, boosting the body’s natural melatonin production, often removing the need for the prescription altogether.
How many CPD hours is it worth?
The course includes 20 hours of self-led learning alongside 14 hours of contact time in an interactive workshop environment. In addition, you’ll need approximately 6 hours to complete and submit your case study, allowing you to apply what you’ve learned in a real-world context.
Should Sleep Counselling be part of my role?
Sleep Counselling should naturally fit alongside your role and enhance the care you provide. Professionals already working directly with families are best placed to deliver sleep interventions because of dedicated contact time and follow-up appointments to track progress. Having trusted relationships in place also means continuity in support and care.
How do I manage a sleep service alongside my job?
Managing a sleep service alongside your role will depend on how your service operates. Typically, Sleep Counsellors operate in one of two ways:
Many Sleep Counsellors incorporate sleep into their existing sessions or appointments. Others allocate dedicated time each week to run a sleep clinic to perform assessments, create tailored sleep programmes, or follow up with cases.
With the right support from your manager, Sleep Counselling can become a valuable and rewarding part of your role.
Can I train as a private practitioner?
Sleep Counselling for Children and Young People is not currently available for those looking to practise privately. However, if you’re a registered counsellor or therapist, we offer a two-hour self-led learning course designed to help you confidently integrate sleep support into your existing therapeutic approach.
Have you trained others in my sector/field?
We’ve trained a wide range of professionals to become Sleep Counsellors. These include Occupational Therapists, CAMHS clinicians and nurses, autism specialists, educational psychologists, social workers, health visitors, family support workers, child development coordinators, specialist teachers and many more.
Whatever your role, if you work directly with children, young people and their families where sleep is a concern, this training will enhance the care you provide.
Does Sleep Counselling work in a clinical setting?
Sleep assessments typically take around an hour to complete, and sometimes longer. This can make them more challenging to fit into traditional clinical settings. We recommend setting aside dedicated sleep clinic time or booking a series of appointments for one family, to allow enough time to complete the assessment and tailored sleep plan.
Follow-up appointments to review progress are usually much shorter and can often be more easily integrated into your usual schedule. Taking this approach helps ensure families feel fully supported without adding unnecessary pressure to your workload.
Is this training aligned with the Solihull Approach?
Sleep Action training is built on the principles of the Solihull Approach, especially when working with parents and caregivers to address sleep-related challenges in children and young people with additional support needs.
Our training considers family relationships, emotional needs, and the unique context of each child. This course emphasises a tailored, compassionate approach, helping Sleep Counsellors to work in partnership with families and build strategies that truly fit their lives.
Technical requirements
Training can take place either online or in person. For both options, access to a computer is required to complete the self-led learning section of the course before attending the workshops.
If you are attending an online course, you will require a device connected to the internet with a microphone and camera. Workshops are interactive, and your full participation is vital to learning, so a quiet space free of distractions is recommended.
If you’re attending an in-person course, you will need to travel to the venue. Our team will share all the details you need in advance, including the location, catering arrangements, and any parking available.
If you need any additional support to take part, our training team are happy to help. Email training@sleepaction.org and they will help facilitate any special provisions to make your learning experience as accessible as possible.
What is your Sleep Counselling training course cancellation policy?
For open courses, please review our cancellation policy which is available here.
If you no longer wish to proceed with a commissioned course, please contact us immediately at training@sleepaction.org.
Course details
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What is a Sleep Counsellor
Alyson O’Brien, Head of Sleep Action, explains how Sleep Counsellors support families and young people to improve sleep.
Mark
LD Nurse
Mark's story
Why Mark trained with Sleep Action
- 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
How it transformed Mark's practice
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.
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