Wir überwinden Grenzen

A project at the University Medical Center Freiburg aims to save people with sleep disorders long waiting times for psychotherapy. The step-by-step model consisting of general practitioner and online treatment is being funded with six million euros. People suffering from chronic sleep problems are to be helped more directly in future. To this end, the "GET SLEEP - Stepped Care Model for the Treatment of Sleep Disorders" project, led by the University Medical Center Freiburg, is now receiving more than six million euros in funding from the Innovation Fund of the Federal Joint Committee (G-BA). The planned care model is primarily based on sound advice from the respective GP and special online treatment for those affected. Around 500 GPs in Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria are to take part in the four-year project and several thousand sufferers are to be treated. Sleep disorders can have many causes. The GP should be the first point of contact. Psychotherapy also helps many sufferers. ©princeoflove/fotolia.de "The widespread treatment of sleep disorders has contradicted medical guidelines for years. Instead of undergoing psychotherapy as recommended, most sufferers take medication, not least because places with therapists are rare," says Prof. Dr. Dr. Kai Spiegelhalder, Deputy Head of the Department of Psychophysiology and Sleep Medicine at the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy at the Freiburg University Medical Center. "With our approach, those affected receive the help they urgently need," continues Prof. Spiegelhalder, who heads the project together with department head Prof. Dr. Dieter Riemann. Help services should be more easily accessible The program provides for a multi-stage treatment: First, a suitably trained GP clarifies possible causes for the sleep disorders. "GPs usually know their patients' health situation very well and should therefore be the first point of contact for sleep disorders," says Prof. Spiegelhalder. "A key part of the project is therefore to educate GPs and raise their awareness of new therapeutic approaches to sleep disorders." In many cases, GPs recommend psychotherapeutic treatment. "The online treatment program we have developed is specifically tailored to sleep disorders and is based on cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia," explains Prof. Riemann. In four to eight sessions of 25 minutes each, patients receive information on sleep disorders and how to overcome them. The patient then discusses the results with their GP. If there is no improvement, the patient can be referred to a sleep medicine center. What works better: live chat or ready-made content? As part of the project, the scientists will compare several online treatment processes: Some of the patients will receive training using videos and texts. Another group will be connected via live chat with a therapist who will carry out the training. In a third group, participants will receive a combination of live chat and pre-recorded training. Under the leadership of the University Medical Center Freiburg, the following consortium partners are involved in the project: the Department of General Medicine at the University Medical Center Freiburg, the GET.ON Institute from Hamburg, the University of Ulm, the Institute of General Medicine at the University Medical Center Würzburg, the Center for Sleep Medicine Nuremberg, the German Society for Sleep Research and Sleep Medicine and Barmer Krankenkasse.