Colin Espie PhD, DSc, FRSM, FBPsS FAASM (born 1957) is a Scottish Professor of Sleep Medicine in the Nuffield Department of Clinical Neuroscience at the University of Oxford and Fellow of Somerville College. [1] He is closely involved with the development of the Sir Jules Thorn Sleep & Circadian Neuroscience Institute (SCNi) where he is Founding Director of the Experimental & Clinical Sleep Medicine Research programme, and Clinical Director of the Oxford Online Programme in Sleep Medicine. His particular areas of research expertise are in the assessment and treatment of sleep disorders, most particularly the management of insomnia using cognitive behavioral therapy, and in studies on the aetiology and pathophysiology of insomnia.
Educated at the University of Glasgow with a PHD and DSc on sleep disorders, Espie was the founding Director of the University of Glasgow Sleep Centre from 1995 - 2012. He holds and has held adjunct or visiting professorial appointments at the Universities of Sydney, Rome (la Sapienza), Laval (Quebec City) and Rochester (NY). [2]
Espie co-founded Big Health, the digital therapeutics company, with entrepreneur Peter Hames. The first programme, Sleepio is a fully automated digital CBT sleep improvement program, launched in 2010 with the intention "to disseminate evidence based CBT" [2] and make "CBT for insomnia accessible to the wider population for the first time". [3] The programme has been validated in a randomised placebo-controlled trial and has since been subject to a total of 12 pre-registered RCTs. [4] Sleepio received a UK NICE Guideline in May 2022
Espie has published over 300 scientific papers and has written and edited several books.
Espie is an Emeritus Professor in the College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences at the University of Glasgow. He is Deputy Editor for the Journal of Sleep Research , the official journal of the ESRS, serves on the Editorial Board of Sleep Medicine Reviews and holds or has held many positions on national and international committees relating to sleep disorders and their treatment. He has been the recipient of numerous awards for his professional contributions including from the Sleep Research Society, the Society of Behavioral Sleep Medicine, and an Honorary Fellowship of the BABCP (British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy).
Espie, C.A., Lindsay, W.R., Brooks, D.N., Hood, E.M. & Turvey, T. (1989) A controlled comparative investigation of psychological treatments for chronic sleep-onset insomnia. Behaviour Research and Therapy 27, 79-88
Espie, C.A., MacMahon, K.M.A., Kelly, H-L., Broomfield, N.M., Douglas, N.J., Engleman, H.E., McKinstry, B., Morin, C.M. Walker, A. & Wilson, P. (2007) Randomised clinical effectiveness trial of nurse-administered small group CBT for persistent insomnia in general practice. Sleep 30, 574-584
Espie, C.A., Fleming, L., Cassidy, J., Samuel, L., Taylor, L.M., White, C.A., Douglas, N.J., Engleman, H.E., Kelly, H-L. & Paul, J. (2008) Randomized controlled clinical effectiveness trial of Cognitive Behavior Therapy versus Treatment as Usual for persistent insomnia in cancer patients. Journal of Clinical Oncology 26, 4651-4658
Espie, C.A., Kyle, S.D, Williams, C., Ong, J.C., Douglas, N.J., Hames, P., & Brown, J.S.L. (2012) A randomized, placebo-controlled, trial of online Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for chronic Insomnia Disorder delivered via an automated media-rich web application. SLEEP 35, 769-781
Espie, C.A., Emsley, R., Kyle, S.D., Gordon, C., Drake, C.L., Siriwardena, A.N., Cape, J., Ong, J.C., Sheaves, B., Foster, R., et al. (2019). Effect of Digital Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia on Health, Psychological Well-being, and Sleep-Related Quality of Life: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Psychiatry 76, 21-30.
Miller, A. Espie, C.A. & Scott, J. (2004) The sleep of remitted bipolar outpatients: a controlled naturalistic study using actigraphy. Journal of Affective Disorders 80, 145-153
Stott, R,, Pimm, J,, Emsley, R., Miller, C.B., & Espie, C.A. (2021) Does adjunctive digital CBT for insomnia improve clinical outcomes in an improving access to psychological therapies service? Behavior Research & Therapy 144, 103922
Freeman, D., Sheaves, B., Goodwin, G.M., Yu, L.M., Nickless, A., Harrison, P.J., Emsley, R., Luik, A.I., Foster, R.G., Wadekar, V., Hinds, C., Gumley, A., Jones, R., Lightman, S., Jones, S., Bentall, R., Kinderman, P., Rowse, G., Brugha, T., Blagrove, M., Gregory, A.M., Fleming, L., Walklet, E., Glazebrook, C., Davies, E.B., Hollis, C., Haddock, G., John, B., Coulson, M., Fowler, D., Pugh, K., Cape, J., Moseley, P., Brown, G., Hughes, C., Obonsawin, M., Coker, S., Watkins, E., Schwannauer, M., MacMahon, K., Siriwardena, A.N. & Espie, C.A. (2017). The effects of improving sleep on mental health (OASIS): a randomised controlled trial with mediation analysis. The Lancet Psychiatry 4, 749-758.
Maurer, L.F., Espie, C.A., Omlin, X., Reid, M.J., Sharman, R., Gavriloff, D., Emsley, R & Kyle S.D. (2020). Isolating the role of time in bed restriction in the treatment of insomnia: A randomized, controlled, dismantling trial comparing sleep restriction therapy with time in bed regularization. SLEEP 43(11) zsaa096
Espie, C.A., Kyle, S.D., Hames, P., Gardani, M., Fleming, L., &Cape, J. (2014). The Sleep Condition Indicator: a clinical screening tool to evaluate Insomnia Disorder. BMJ Open 4:e004183.
Espie, C.A. (2021) Overcoming Insomnia: A Self-Help Guide Using Cognitive Behavioural Techniques, 2nd edition. Little, Brown Book Group, London ISBN 978-1-47214-141-5
Baglioni, C., Espie, C.A., & Riemann D. (2022) Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia across the Lifespan: Guidelines and Clinical Protocols for Health Professionals. Wiley & Sons, London, and New York ISBN 9781119785132
Espie, C.A. (due 2023) The Clinician’s Guide to Cognitive and Behavioural Therapeutics (CBTx) for Insomnia: a Scientist-Practitioner Approach. Cambridge University Press, UK
Espie, C.A., Zee, P., & Morin, C.M. (due 2023) The Oxford Handbook of Sleep and Sleep Disorders (Oxford Library of Psychology) 2nd edition. Oxford University Press, USA
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a form of psychotherapy that aims to reduce symptoms of various mental health conditions, primarily depression, PTSD and anxiety disorders. Cognitive behavioral therapy focuses on challenging and changing cognitive distortions and their associated behaviors to improve emotional regulation and develop personal coping strategies that target solving current problems. Though it was originally designed to treat depression, its uses have been expanded to include many issues and the treatment of many mental health and other conditions, including anxiety, substance use disorders, marital problems, ADHD, and eating disorders. CBT includes a number of cognitive or behavioral psychotherapies that treat defined psychopathologies using evidence-based techniques and strategies.
Hypnotic, or soporific drugs, commonly known as sleeping pills, are a class of psychoactive drugs whose primary function is to induce sleep and to treat insomnia (sleeplessness).
Paradoxical intention (PI) is a psychotherapeutic technique used to treat recursive anxiety by repeatedly rehearsing the anxiety-inducing pattern of thought or behaviour, often with exaggeration and humor. Paradoxical intention has been shown to be effective in treating psychosomatic illnesses such as chronic insomnia, public speaking phobias, etc. by making patients do the opposite of their hyper-intended goal, hindering their ability to perform the activity.
Insomnia, also known as sleeplessness, is a sleep disorder where people have trouble sleeping. They may have difficulty falling asleep, or staying asleep for as long as desired. Insomnia is typically followed by daytime sleepiness, low energy, irritability, and a depressed mood. It may result in an increased risk of accidents of all kinds as well as problems focusing and learning. Insomnia can be short term, lasting for days or weeks, or long term, lasting more than a month. The concept of the word insomnia has two distinct possibilities: insomnia disorder (ID) or insomnia symptoms, and many abstracts of randomized controlled trials and systematic reviews often underreport on which of these two possibilities the word refers to.
Hypochondriasis or hypochondria is a condition in which a person is excessively and unduly worried about having a serious illness. Hypochondria is an old concept whose meaning has repeatedly changed over its lifespan. It has been claimed that this debilitating condition results from an inaccurate perception of the condition of body or mind despite the absence of an actual medical diagnosis. An individual with hypochondriasis is known as a hypochondriac. Hypochondriacs become unduly alarmed about any physical or psychological symptoms they detect, no matter how minor the symptom may be, and are convinced that they have, or are about to be diagnosed with, a serious illness.
Cognitive restructuring (CR) is a psychotherapeutic process of learning to identify and dispute irrational or maladaptive thoughts known as cognitive distortions, such as all-or-nothing thinking (splitting), magical thinking, overgeneralization, magnification, and emotional reasoning, which are commonly associated with many mental health disorders. CR employs many strategies, such as Socratic questioning, thought recording, and guided imagery, and is used in many types of therapies, including cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and rational emotive behaviour therapy (REBT). A number of studies demonstrate considerable efficacy in using CR-based therapies.
Sleep hygiene is a behavioral and environmental practice developed in the late 1970s as a method to help people with mild to moderate insomnia. Clinicians assess the sleep hygiene of people with insomnia and other conditions, such as depression, and offer recommendations based on the assessment. Sleep hygiene recommendations include establishing a regular sleep schedule, using naps with care, not exercising physically too close to bedtime, limiting worry, limiting exposure to light in the hours before sleep, getting out of bed if sleep does not come, not using bed for anything but sleep and sex, avoiding alcohol in the hours before bedtime, and having a peaceful, comfortable and dark sleep environment.
Behaviour therapy or behavioural psychotherapy is a broad term referring to clinical psychotherapy that uses techniques derived from behaviourism and/or cognitive psychology. It looks at specific, learned behaviours and how the environment, or other people's mental states, influences those behaviours, and consists of techniques based on behaviorism's theory of learning: respondent or operant conditioning. Behaviourists who practice these techniques are either behaviour analysts or cognitive-behavioural therapists. They tend to look for treatment outcomes that are objectively measurable. Behaviour therapy does not involve one specific method, but it has a wide range of techniques that can be used to treat a person's psychological problems.
The Method of Levels (MOL) is an application of perceptual control theory (PCT) to psychotherapy. A therapist using MOL does not make diagnoses or propose solutions or remedies. As the client talks about some matter, the therapist is alert to subtle interruptions indicating a shift of awareness to a perspective about that matter. The therapist asks what they were just thinking or feeling, and as the patient talks about that the therapist continues to be alert for intrusion of background thoughts or feelings. This process of "going up a level" continues until the higher-level sources of contradictory goals come into concurrent awareness from a yet higher level, allowing an apparently innate process of reorganization to resolve the conflict that was distressing the client.
In applied psychology, interventions are actions performed to bring about change in people. A wide range of intervention strategies exist and they are directed towards various types of issues. Most generally, it means any activities used to modify behavior, emotional state, or feelings. Psychological interventions have many different applications and the most common use is for the treatment of mental disorders, most commonly using psychotherapy. The ultimate goal behind these interventions is not only to alleviate symptoms but also to target the root cause of mental disorders.
Sleep medicine is a medical specialty or subspecialty devoted to the diagnosis and therapy of sleep disturbances and disorders. From the middle of the 20th century, research has provided increasing knowledge of, and answered many questions about, sleep–wake functioning. The rapidly evolving field has become a recognized medical subspecialty in some countries. Dental sleep medicine also qualifies for board certification in some countries. Properly organized, minimum 12-month, postgraduate training programs are still being defined in the United States. In some countries, the sleep researchers and the physicians who treat patients may be the same people.
Management of depression is the treatment of depression that may involve a number of different therapies: medications, behavior therapy, psychotherapy, and medical devices.
Cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) is a therapy technique for treating insomnia without medications. CBT-I aims to improve sleep habits and behaviors by identifying and changing thoughts and behaviors that prevent a person from sleeping well.
Gerhard Andersson is a Swedish psychologist, psychotherapist and Professor of clinical psychology at Linköping University. He is also affiliated researcher at Karolinska Institutet. He was a co-recipient of the Nordic Medical Prize in 2014.
Sleepio is a digital sleep-improvement program featuring cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) techniques developed by sleep scientist Colin Espie and ex-insomnia sufferer Peter Hames.
Homework in psychotherapy is sometimes assigned to patients as part of their treatment. In this context, homework assignments are introduced to practice skills taught in therapy, encourage patients to apply the skills they learned in therapy to real life situations, and to improve on specific problems encountered in treatment. For example, a patient with deficits in social skills may learn and rehearse proper social skills in one treatment session, then be asked to complete homework assignments before the next session that apply those newly learned skills.
Hans Morten Nordahl Dr.Philos. and professor in clinical psychology and behavioral medicine at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in Trondheim, Norway.
Behavioral sleep medicine (BSM) is a field within sleep medicine that encompasses scientific inquiry and clinical treatment of sleep-related disorders, with a focus on the psychological, physiological, behavioral, cognitive, social, and cultural factors that affect sleep, as well as the impact of sleep on those factors. The clinical practice of BSM is an evidence-based behavioral health discipline that uses primarily non-pharmacological treatments. BSM interventions are typically problem-focused and oriented towards specific sleep complaints, but can be integrated with other medical or mental health treatments. The primary techniques used in BSM interventions involve education and systematic changes to the behaviors, thoughts, and environmental factors that initiate and maintain sleep-related difficulties.
David Mikael William Veale is a British psychiatrist. He is a visiting professor in cognitive behavioural psychotherapies at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London and a consultant psychiatrist at the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust. He has conducted a range of clinical research, especially in body dysmorphic disorder, obsessive–compulsive disorder, emetophobia, and depression.
Virginia Violet Williams McIntosh is a New Zealand clinical psychologist, and is a full professor at the University of Canterbury, specialising in improving therapy outcomes for disorders such as anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, depression and anxiety.