How to Find a Sleep Specialist Near You

Quick answer: For insomnia, the sleep specialist you want is a clinician trained in CBT-I (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia). Search the three public directories of these clinicians, ask your doctor for a referral to “CBT-I” by name, widen the search to telehealth if nobody is close and look for the program that does not need proximity or waitlists for you to start.

If you have insomnia, the treatment every major guideline in the US puts first is CBT-I. The 2021 American Academy of Sleep Medicine guideline strongly recommends it for adults [1], and the American College of Physicians (ACP) says to start there, with medication only if CBT-I alone is not enough [2]. The hard part is finding someone who delivers it. Clinicians trained in CBT-I are scarce, and typing “sleep specialist near me” into a search bar mostly returns sleep centers set up to test for sleep apnea, with no way to tell who offers the behavioral treatment for insomnia.

Three organizations keep public, patient-facing lists of those clinicians: the CBT-I International Directory from the University of Pennsylvania’s Behavioral Sleep Medicine program, the Society of Behavioral Sleep Medicine provider directory, and the Board of Behavioral Sleep Medicine’s roster of credential holders. Each is searched separately, in a different format, and none of them shows you a map. So we combined the three into a single tool.

Type your ZIP code, city or address below to see the listed clinicians closest to you, filter for telehealth or board certification, and follow the link to each clinician’s own listing. The rest of this article covers what to check before you book and what alternative exists if the nearest pin is too far away or if the waitlist for the one near you is too long.

What Kind of Sleep Specialist Treats Insomnia?

Several kinds of clinician treat insomnia, and the useful question is who will personally deliver CBT-I.

• Behavioral sleep medicine specialists are usually psychologists, therapists, nurse practitioners or physicians with training in CBT-I and related behavioral treatments. Some hold the Diplomate in Behavioral Sleep Medicine (DBSM), a board credential from the Board of Behavioral Sleep Medicine, or the newer CBT-I Certified (CBTI-C) credential. This is the specialist to look for if your problem is falling asleep, staying asleep or waking too early, and you do not have signs of another sleep disorder.

• Sleep medicine physicians are doctors (often pulmonologists, neurologists or psychiatrists) with a board subspecialty in sleep medicine. They run sleep centers, order and read sleep studies, and treat sleep apnea, narcolepsy, restless legs, insomnia and other disorders. Some deliver CBT-I themselves or have a behavioral clinician on their team; others manage insomnia mainly with medication and refer out for the behavioral work. Either way, a sleep center visit on its own is not a CBT-I appointment, so ask.

• Therapists who list “insomnia” as a specialty range from clinicians with full CBT-I training to general therapists who can help with the stress around sleep but have not trained in the protocol. Ask directly whether they deliver CBT-I and how many patients they have treated with it. The words to listen for are sleep diary, sleep window or sleep restriction, and stimulus control. If the plan is relaxation and a sleep-hygiene checklist, that is not CBT-I; the AASM guideline suggests clinicians not use sleep hygiene on its own [1].

Your primary care doctor is usually the route to all three. Most insomnia care in the United States happens in primary care, and the guidelines are written for that setting [2][3]. You can ask your clinician for a referral for CBT-I specifically instead of just mentioning your sleep issues.

Why Sleep Specialists Are So Hard to Find

When researchers at the University of Pennsylvania mapped every behavioral sleep medicine provider they could find in 2016, they counted 752 worldwide and 659 in the United States. More than half of the U.S. providers were in 12 states, one in five was in New York or California, four states (New Hampshire, Hawaii, South Dakota and Wyoming) had none, and 105 of the 167 American cities with more than 150,000 people had no provider at all [4].

Combining the three public lists behind the map on this page, we counted 847 clinicians with a U.S. location in October 2026, in 49 states plus Washington, D.C. Thirty-eight percent of them are in five states (California, New York, Texas, Colorado and Pennsylvania), and 14 states list three or fewer.

A note on how we counted: we pulled the three directories (on October 2026), matched the same clinician across lists by name and state (191 appeared in more than one), kept one entry per clinician at the location their listing gives, and kept only credential holders whose certification was current on the board’s roster. The state-by-state counts are in the map’s “Browse by state” section [5].

The sources differ in kind. The CBT-I International Directory and the Society of Behavioral Sleep Medicine directory are lists that clinicians join themselves, so they include anyone who signed up and described their own practice. The Board of Behavioral Sleep Medicine roster is maintained by the credentialing board and lists only clinicians who currently hold its DBSM or CBTI-C credential, with a city and state but no practice details. All three leave out clinicians who never listed, say nothing about waiting lists, and show office locations, which are not the same as the states a clinician can treat by telehealth, so an empty state on the map does not mean its residents have no access.

Part of the gap is not lack of sleep specialists, but simply a lack of awareness. A 2018 review found that most insomnia care happens in primary care, where a doctor has a short visit and a long list of concerns, and CBT-I often is not on the referral menu because insomnia comes up as an aside at the end of a visit about something else [3]. Patients often have not heard of the treatment either. None of this is anyone’s failing; it is what a shortage looks like from inside a busy practice. The practical consequence is that you may need to bring CBT-I to your doctor yourself.

How to Find a Sleep Specialist Near You

1. Decide which kind of specialist you need. Trouble falling or staying asleep, or waking too early, even when you have enough time to sleep, with effects on your days such as fatigue, poor concentration or a shorter fuse: that fits in the category of insomnia. When it happens three or more nights a week for three months or longer it meets the definition of chronic insomnia, which is what CBT-I was designed for [6]. When insomnia also features other issues like loud snoring, gasping or pauses in breathing, overwhelming daytime sleepiness, or legs that will not stay still, a sleep medicine physician is probably the better first step.

2. Search the public directories. The map above combines the three lists described in the introduction, with a link back to each clinician’s own listing. Search your ZIP code, city or street address, or turn on the “telehealth” filter if the nearest pin is far.

3. Check the credentials. DBSM means the clinician passed a board exam in behavioral sleep medicine; CBTI-C is a narrower credential focused on CBT-I. Neither is required to be an adequate provider, and many excellent clinicians were trained at university programs or through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) without sitting a board exam, so treat the credential as a strong signal, not a filter. What is required is that the clinician is licensed, or otherwise legally authorized, to practice in the state where you will be during your sessions. The letters after a name tell you the degree or license type (PhD and PsyD are doctorates; LCSW, LMFT, PMHNP and MD are license types), and the state licensing board’s lookup confirms whether the license is active.

4. Widen the search to telehealth. CBT-I works over video. In a randomized trial at the University of Michigan, six sessions of CBT-I by video were no worse than six sessions in the room on insomnia severity, with the same improvements in daytime functioning and the same ratings of the working relationship with the therapist [7]. Psychologists who hold a PSYPACT authorization (the Psychology Interjurisdictional Compact’s Authority to Practice Interjurisdictional Telepsychology, or APIT) can see patients by video across most states, as long as the psychologist is in their declared home state and you are in a participating state during the session [8]. Always ask whether the clinician is authorized to treat you where you will be sitting for the appointment. The CBT-I International Directory has a “PSYPACT” filter, and the current PSYPACT map shows which states take part [9].

5. Ask your doctor for a referral by name. “A referral for cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia” or “a behavioral sleep medicine specialist” gives the office something to search for. Bring the name of the clinician you found in the directory if your insurance requires the referral to come from them.

6. If you are a veteran, ask the VA. The VA trained hundreds of its clinicians in CBT-I in a national program. Among 696 veterans treated by those clinicians, insomnia severity scores fell from 20.7 to 10.9 on the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), a 28-point scale on which 15 and above counts as moderate insomnia [10].

7. Try a university sleep program or a training clinic. Academic sleep centers and psychology training clinics often offer CBT-I with shorter waits, because trainees are treating patients under supervision. Searching the directory by the nearest university city is a quick way to find them.

8. Sort out coverage before the first visit. CBT-I is usually covered through most plan’s behavioral health benefits. How it is billed depends on the clinician and the plan: psychologists may use psychotherapy codes or health and behavior codes, and payer policies are not consistent [11]. Ask the practice which codes they bill and whether they are in your network, then ask your insurer about the deductible, any referral requirement and telehealth coverage for those codes. Directory listings say whether the clinician accepts private insurance. Our guide to whether insurance covers CBT-I goes through the questions to ask.

What to Ask a Sleep Specialist Before You Book

A short phone call or email saves a wasted first appointment. Ask:

• Do you provide CBT-I, and roughly how many patients with insomnia have you treated with it? A clinician who does this regularly will have a ballpark number.

• How many sessions does a typical course take, and how often do we meet? The guideline range is four to eight sessions [1]; weekly or every other week is normal.

• Will I keep a sleep diary? CBT-I is built on the diary. If the answer is no, ask what the plan is based on instead. Our article on why a sleep diary beats guessing explains what you will be tracking.

• Do you offer video sessions, and are you licensed or authorized to treat me in the state where I’ll be during the session?

• Do you work with my prescriber if I’m on a sleep medication? Tapering is your prescriber’s call, and a good behavioral clinician coordinates with them.

• What do you charge, which billing codes do you use, do you take insurance, and do you bill insurance directly?

What Happens at a First Appointment With a Sleep Specialist?

Expect a long conversation and a questionnaire or two. A behavioral sleep medicine specialist takes a history of your sleep: when the problem started, what your nights and mornings look like, what you have tried, what medications and substances are in the picture, and how it affects your days. You will likely fill in the ISI or a similar questionnaire, and you will almost certainly be asked to keep a sleep diary for one to two weeks before the plan is set, because the plan is built from it [12]. Don’t expect the specialist to suggest too many changes right away, since a good plan is based on a detailed assessment, which may take the entire first session.

The treatment itself runs over four to eight sessions [1]. Early on you will get a sleep window (an earliest bedtime and a fixed wake time matched to how much you actually sleep) and the stimulus control rules, which include getting out of bed when you are awake and not sleepy. Later sessions adjust the window as your sleep efficiency improves and work on the thoughts that keep you alert at night. Our guide to how long CBT-I takes to improve sleep walks through the typical timeline week by week. The first week or two is often harder before it gets easier, which is one reason having someone to check in with matters.

What If There Is No Sleep Specialist Near You?

For a lot of the country, the map above will show the nearest pin an hour or more away.

Telehealth is an option. As covered above, video CBT-I held up against in-person treatment in a randomized trial [7], and PSYPACT-authorized psychologists can treat by video across participating states [8]. Filter the map for telehealth and you are choosing from most of the country.

Digital CBT-I is also possible. Programs that deliver the CBT-I components through an app or website have been tested in randomized trials, and a meta-analysis of those trials found that people fell asleep faster, spent less time awake in the night and had lower insomnia severity than controls [13]. Our comparison of the best CBT-I apps goes through the prescription, consumer and free options.

Rest is also a strong option if you need to improve your sleep. It is a program built on the behavioral principles of CBT-I, plus circadian biology and neuroscience, developed together with world-class sleep experts from institutions like UCSF and Stanford. In Rest’s 2026 outcomes study, 318 users who completed eight weeks cut their time to fall asleep by 52% and their time awake at night by 49%, and went from 75% to 88% sleep efficiency, in a before-and-after analysis of people who finished, not a randomized trial. The free tier includes the personalized sleep schedule and the full education program, along with a private link to share your sleep data with your clinician, so it also works alongside a specialist. Rest is not a substitute for a clinician, but it can be a very useful complement to the work on your sleep you do with your doctor.

If the nearest specialist is far away or booked for months, you do not have to wait to start. See how Rest can help »

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between a sleep specialist and a sleep therapist? “Sleep specialist” is the umbrella term and covers both. A sleep medicine physician is the sleep specialist who evaluates and treats the full range of sleep disorders, insomnia included, and orders a sleep study when one is needed. A sleep therapist is the sleep specialist trained in CBT-I, usually a psychologist or licensed therapist, who delivers the first-line treatment for chronic insomnia session by session [1]. The map on this page lists the second kind. For insomnia without signs of another disorder, the therapist is the right first call; for snoring, breathing pauses or heavy daytime sleepiness, start with the physician. Whoever you see, ask who will personally deliver the CBT-I.

Does insurance cover a sleep specialist for insomnia? Often, but not in one standard way. CBT-I is usually covered under behavioral health benefits, which may mean a copay, a deductible or an out-of-network claim, and clinicians bill it with different codes depending on the practice and the plan [11]. Sleep medicine physician visits and sleep studies are billed as medical care. Ask the practice for its billing codes and network status, then confirm coverage, referral requirements and telehealth rules with your insurer before the first visit.

Can a sleep specialist treat insomnia online? Yes. In a randomized trial, CBT-I delivered by video was no worse than in-person treatment for insomnia severity and daytime functioning [7]. Psychologists with a PSYPACT authorization can treat patients by video across participating states, and many therapists hold licenses in more than one state; confirm that the clinician is authorized to treat you in the state where you will be during the session [8].

Do I need a referral to see a sleep specialist? It depends on your insurance, not on the specialist. Many plans let you book a therapist or psychologist directly; some health maintenance organization (HMO) plans require a referral from your primary care doctor. If you need one, ask for “a referral for cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia” so the office looks for the right kind of clinician.

What does DBSM mean after a clinician’s name? Diplomate in Behavioral Sleep Medicine, a credential from the Board of Behavioral Sleep Medicine awarded to licensed clinicians who meet training requirements and pass an exam in behavioral sleep medicine. The board publishes the roster of current diplomates with their city and state, which is one of the three sources behind the map on this page.

Disclaimer. This article is published for general information only. It is not medical advice or a diagnosis, and nothing here is a recommendation to take, avoid, or change any supplement or medication. Rest is not a substitute for professional medical care, and the clinicians shown on the map above are listed by third-party directories that Rest does not verify. Do not start, stop, or adjust a treatment, including a prescribed sleep medication, without talking to your clinician.

Citations

1. Edinger, J. D., Arnedt, J. T., Bertisch, S. M., et al. (2021). Behavioral and psychological treatments for chronic insomnia disorder in adults: An American Academy of Sleep Medicine clinical practice guideline. Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, 17(2), 255–262. https://doi.org/10.5664/jcsm.8986 — strong recommendation for multicomponent CBT-I in adults with chronic insomnia, described as typically 4–8 sessions guided by sleep diaries; conditional recommendation against sleep hygiene as a single-component therapy.

2. Qaseem, A., Kansagara, D., Forciea, M. A., Cooke, M., & Denberg, T. D. (2016). Management of chronic insomnia disorder in adults: A clinical practice guideline from the American College of Physicians. Annals of Internal Medicine, 165(2), 125–133. https://doi.org/10.7326/M15-2175 — recommends CBT-I as the initial treatment for chronic insomnia, with a shared decision about medication only when CBT-I alone is unsuccessful; written for clinicians in general practice.

3. Koffel, E., Bramoweth, A. D., & Ulmer, C. S. (2018). Increasing access to and utilization of cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I): A narrative review. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 33(6), 955–962. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-018-4390-1 — review of 51 articles; most insomnia treatment is provided in primary care, where patients are rarely referred to CBT-I; barriers are system-level (limited access to providers), provider-level (inadequate screening, lack of knowledge) and patient-level (lack of knowledge, treatment beliefs, access).

4. Thomas, A., Grandner, M., Nowakowski, S., Nesom, G., Corbitt, C., & Perlis, M. L. (2016). Where are the behavioral sleep medicine providers and where are they needed? A geographic assessment. Behavioral Sleep Medicine, 14(6), 687–698. https://doi.org/10.1080/15402002.2016.1173551 — 752 behavioral sleep medicine providers identified worldwide from directories and listservs, 659 (88%) in the United States; 58% of U.S. providers in 12 states, 19% in New York and California, none in NH, HI, SD or WY; 105 of 167 U.S. cities over 150,000 people had no provider. A directory count, which undercounts clinicians not listed.

5. Rest. (2026). Combined directory snapshot of U.S. behavioral sleep medicine clinicians, 30 October 2026. Sources: CBT-I International Directory (https://cbti.directory/), Society of Behavioral Sleep Medicine provider directory (https://www.behavioralsleep.org/index.php/directory/all) and Board of Behavioral Sleep Medicine roster of current DBSM and CBTI-C credential holders (https://www.bsmcredential.org/index.php/bsm-diplomates). Method: all three lists retrieved on 30 October 2026; entries without a U.S. city or state excluded; expired credentials excluded; the same clinician on more than one list matched by normalized name and state and kept once (191 such matches; 847 clinicians after merging); each clinician placed at the coordinates or city given in their listing. Counts by state are shown in the map on this page. A snapshot of three directories, not a census of the workforce.

6. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. (2022). Insomnia: What is insomnia? https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/insomnia — insomnia is trouble falling asleep, staying asleep or getting good-quality sleep even with the time and the right environment to sleep, with effects on daytime activities; chronic insomnia occurs 3 or more nights a week, lasts more than 3 months and is not fully explained by another health problem.

7. Arnedt, J. T., Conroy, D. A., Mooney, A., Furgal, A., Sen, A., & Eisenberg, D. (2021). Telemedicine versus face-to-face delivery of cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia: A randomized controlled noninferiority trial. Sleep, 44(1), zsaa136. https://doi.org/10.1093/sleep/zsaa136 — 65 adults with chronic insomnia randomized to six sessions of CBT-I by video or face to face; video delivery was noninferior on the Insomnia Severity Index at post-treatment and three-month follow-up, with similar daytime-functioning gains and therapeutic alliance ratings. A small single-site trial.

8. PSYPACT Commission. (2026). Practice-related FAQs. https://psypact.gov/page/Practice_Related_FAQs — to practice telepsychology under the compact a psychologist must hold the Authority to Practice Interjurisdictional Telepsychology (APIT), which requires an E.Passport from ASPPB and a full, unrestricted doctoral-level license in a participating state; the psychologist must be physically located in their declared home state while providing services, and the patient must be located in a participating state (accessed November 2026).

9. PSYPACT Commission. (2026). PSYPACT map: participating states. https://psypact.gov/mpage/psypactmap — lists the states and jurisdictions where the Psychology Interjurisdictional Compact is in effect (accessed October 2026; membership changes as states enact and implement the compact).

10. Trockel, M., Karlin, B. E., Taylor, C. B., & Manber, R. (2014). Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for insomnia with Veterans: Evaluation of effectiveness and correlates of treatment outcomes. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 53, 41–46. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2013.11.006 — 316 therapists in the VA CBT-I Training Program and 696 patients; Insomnia Severity Index scores fell from 20.7 to 10.9 over a typical course, with higher adherence predicting larger improvements. Uncontrolled program data, not a randomized trial.

11. American Psychological Association Services. (2020). Crosswalk for 2020 Health Behavior Assessment and Intervention CPT codes and Psychotherapy codes for psychologists. https://www.apaservices.org/practice/reimbursement/health-codes/crosswalk.pdf and https://www.apaservices.org/practice/reimbursement/health-codes/psychotherapy — psychologists bill either psychotherapy codes (90832–90837, for a primary mental health diagnosis) or health behavior assessment and intervention codes (96156–96171, for a primary physical diagnosis), not both on the same day; which applies depends on the diagnosis and the payer. Coverage of either set varies by plan.

12. Schutte-Rodin, S., Broch, L., Buysse, D., Dorsey, C., & Sateia, M. (2008). Clinical guideline for the evaluation and management of chronic insomnia in adults. Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, 4(5), 487–504. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2576317/ — polysomnography is not indicated in the routine evaluation of chronic insomnia (Standard) and is indicated when a breathing or movement disorder is suspected, the diagnosis is uncertain, treatment fails, or arousals are violent or injurious (Guideline); the minimum evaluation includes a medical/psychiatric questionnaire, a sleepiness scale and a two-week sleep log.

13. Zachariae, R., Lyby, M. S., Ritterband, L. M., & O’Toole, M. S. (2016). Efficacy of internet-delivered cognitive-behavioral therapy for insomnia: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Sleep Medicine Reviews, 30, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smrv.2015.10.004 — pooled randomized trials of internet-delivered CBT-I; improvements in insomnia severity, sleep onset latency, wake after sleep onset and sleep efficiency compared with control conditions. Category-level evidence; individual programs differ.