Sleep Disorders & Insomnia — Boise Psychiatry (dark & premium)

Sleep & Insomnia Treatment in Idaho

Insomnia and sleep disorder treatment in Boise and across Idaho

Boise Psychiatry · Jake McKee, PMHNP-BC

In-person · Downtown Boise Telehealth · Anywhere in Idaho

If you lie awake watching the hours go by, or you fall asleep only to snap awake at 3am, or you have started dreading bedtime because you already know how it will go, you know exactly what a bad night costs you the next day. Poor sleep and psychiatric symptoms feed each other, which is why insomnia rarely stays a standalone problem. It is also among the more treatable things I see.

I evaluate and treat insomnia and sleep difficulties in adults and adolescents, in person at my downtown Boise office or by secure telehealth anywhere in Idaho. I pay particular attention to how sleep interacts with anxiety, depression, and ADHD, because in practice those rarely travel separately.

Understanding Sleep Problems

How sleep problems show up

Sleep difficulties take several forms, and what helps depends on which pattern you're dealing with and what's underneath it.

Insomnia

Trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, or waking too early, plus unrefreshing sleep and daytime fatigue even when there's time to rest.

Tied to mood and anxiety

A racing mind at bedtime, early-morning waking with depression, or sleep that falls apart during stressful stretches. Sleep and mental health drive each other in both directions.

Schedule and rhythm

A body clock that runs late or drifts with work schedules and screens, leaving you wired at night and wrecked in the morning.

Some sleep complaints point to conditions that need a different kind of care, like obstructive sleep apnea or restless legs. Recognizing when that's the case, and pointing you toward the right testing, is part of a good evaluation.

Getting It Right

How evaluation works here

Lasting improvement starts with understanding why your sleep is disrupted. Reaching for a pill first tends to skip that step.

A full sleep history

We go through your sleep patterns, bedtime habits, schedule, stress, substance use, and what your days look like as a result.

Screening for contributors

We screen for the anxiety, depression, or ADHD that so often disrupt sleep. When one of those is the driver, addressing it changes the sleep picture too.

Flagging medical sleep disorders

If signs point to sleep apnea, restless legs, or another medical sleep disorder, that gets flagged for proper testing and referral rather than masked.

A clear plan

We go over the findings together and build a plan aimed at sleep that holds, rather than short-term sedation.

Treatment

Your treatment options

Sleep treatment usually combines behavioral change with targeted medical care. What that mix looks like depends on what's driving your insomnia, which is a question for after your evaluation. Here is the range of what we may draw on.

CBT-I and sleep skills

Cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia is the recommended first-line treatment for chronic insomnia, with the strongest long-term evidence behind it. I use its principles and practical sleep strategies as the foundation of most sleep work.

Treating the root cause

When anxiety, depression, or ADHD is fueling the sleep problem, working on that condition often does more for sleep than targeting sleep on its own.

Medication when appropriate

Medication has a place in some situations. Where it fits, it gets chosen for a defined purpose and monitored for benefit, side effects, and dependence.

A note on sleeping pills: many common sleep medications work in the short term but lose their effect or create dependence over time. I rarely treat them as a stand-alone, long-term answer, because the durable fix for insomnia is behavioral, with medication supporting that work where it earns its place.

My Approach

Sleep that holds up over time

One experienced clinicianYou work with me throughout, with two decades of psychiatric experience behind every decision.

Behavioral firstLeading with the treatments that hold up over years, rather than prescriptions that fade or create a second problem.

Connected to the whole pictureSleep and mental health are tied together, so they get addressed together rather than in isolation.

Built around your lifeCare that fits real schedules, by telehealth or in person, for adults and adolescents alike.

Common Questions

Sleep treatment FAQ

Will you just prescribe me a sleeping pill?

Not as a first move, no. Sleep medications have a role, and the long-term evidence still favors behavioral treatment. Whether medication belongs in your plan depends on your evaluation, and it works best alongside the approaches that address what's actually driving the problem.

What is CBT-I?

Cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia is a structured, evidence-based approach that retrains your sleep system. It's the recommended first-line treatment for chronic insomnia, and it tends to reward people who stay with it. It also asks something of you, which is worth knowing going in.

Could my sleep problem be sleep apnea?

Possibly. Loud snoring, gasping, or waking unrefreshed despite enough hours in bed can point toward sleep apnea, which needs its own testing to diagnose. Recognizing that pattern and pointing you toward the right testing is part of the evaluation.

Can sleep problems be treated by telehealth?

Yes. Insomnia care, including the behavioral work at the center of it, translates well to secure telehealth across Idaho, and in-person visits are available at my downtown Boise office.

Do you accept insurance?

Boise Psychiatry works with several insurance plans, along with self-pay options. Current details are on the insurance and payment options page.

Ready to take the next step?

Getting started is simple, all from your phone or computer.

1Create a secure patient portal with just your name and email.

2Complete a paperless intake online, at your own pace.

3Choose in-person visits in downtown Boise or telehealth anywhere in Idaho.

Get started More about Jake Insurance & payment options

This page is general information about sleep disorders, not medical advice, a diagnosis, or a guarantee of any particular outcome. A diagnosis and a treatment plan can only come out of an individual evaluation. If you are experiencing a mental health emergency, call or text 988 or call 911.