The authorial model of the therapy used in night terrors and sleep disorders in children

Aim. The article describes the authorial model of the therapeutic work with children and their families used in night terrors and sleep disorders in children. Methods. The reported symptoms concerned children 7 to 12 years old and were based on difficulties in falling asleep without the physical proximity of a parent or waking up at night and the reported anxiety as well as the need of the presence of a parent. The presented model of psychotherapy was worked out by the author on the basis of many years of clinical practice as well as searching for a possibly quick form of helping both children and their parents. The psychotherapy was conducted with 15 families in the form of a family therapy in the systemic approach and an individual therapy with a child conducted in the cognitive-behavioral approach. results. In all 15 families, in which the described model of psychotherapy was conducted, the symptoms of night terrors and sleep disorders in children subsided. Conclusions. The authorial model of the therapy with the use of a “night link” may be an example of an integrative therapy within the framework of which the remission of symptoms was only possible due to connecting individual and family interactions.