Insomnia Evaluation & Treatment in Florida

Psychiatric evaluation and medication management for chronic insomnia and sleep disorders in adults throughout Florida — via secure telehealth.

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Understanding Insomnia

More Than Just a Bad Night's Sleep

Insomnia is one of the most common complaints in psychiatric practice — and one of the most undertreated. It's not just difficulty falling asleep. Chronic insomnia involves persistent problems with sleep onset, sleep maintenance, or early morning awakening that cause significant daytime impairment, despite adequate opportunity to sleep. When it has been going on for months and it's affecting your ability to function, it warrants clinical evaluation.

Poor sleep doesn't exist in isolation. Insomnia is among the most common symptoms of anxiety, depression, ADHD, PTSD, and bipolar disorder. In many patients, it's both a symptom of an underlying condition and a condition that makes everything else worse. Addressing sleep as part of a comprehensive psychiatric evaluation often produces improvements that treating any single condition alone doesn't.

If you've been lying awake for hours, waking at 3am unable to fall back asleep, or running on chronically disrupted sleep and feeling the consequences — you don't have to just manage it. Effective evaluation and treatment exist.

Recognizing the Signs

Common Signs of Chronic Insomnia

If several of these sound familiar, a psychiatric evaluation may help clarify what's going on.

✓ Difficulty falling asleep most nights despite feeling tired

✓ Waking during the night and struggling to fall back asleep

✓ Waking earlier than intended and being unable to return to sleep

✓ Unrefreshing sleep — waking as tired as when you went to bed

✓ Daytime fatigue, low energy, or difficulty concentrating

✓ Irritability or mood changes related to poor sleep

✓ Anxiety about sleep — dreading bedtime, clock-watching at night

✓ Relying on alcohol, cannabis, or OTC sleep aids to fall asleep

✓ Sleep problems lasting more than three months

✓ Impaired work, relationships, or daily functioning due to poor sleep

Types of Insomnia

Not All Insomnia Is the Same

Chronic Insomnia Disorder

Sleep difficulty occurring at least three nights per week for at least three months, causing significant daytime impairment. This is the most clinically significant form and the one most likely to warrant formal evaluation and treatment.

Insomnia with Co-Occurring Psychiatric Conditions

Insomnia is a core symptom of anxiety, depression, PTSD, ADHD, and bipolar disorder. Treating the underlying condition often improves sleep — but in many cases, sleep requires direct treatment alongside the psychiatric condition.

Sleep Maintenance Insomnia

The ability to fall asleep initially is intact, but staying asleep is the problem. Waking at 2-4am unable to fall back asleep is common — often associated with depression, anxiety, and stress.

Sleep Onset Insomnia

Difficulty falling asleep at the start of the night, often with a racing or anxious mind. Commonly associated with anxiety disorders, ADHD, and hyperarousal states.

What to Expect

Your Evaluation and Treatment

A straightforward process — no surprises.

1

Comprehensive Evaluation

We assess your sleep history, patterns, contributing factors, and how insomnia is affecting daily functioning. We screen for co-occurring psychiatric conditions — anxiety, depression, ADHD, and PTSD — that commonly drive or worsen insomnia.

2

Identifying Contributing Factors

Insomnia rarely exists in isolation. We review medications, caffeine, alcohol and substance use, screen time habits, schedule factors, and medical contributors that may be affecting sleep.

3

Medication Management

When medication is clinically appropriate, we select based on your specific presentation and safety considerations. Options may include melatonin receptor agonists, low-dose sedating antidepressants, orexin receptor antagonists, or other agents depending on the clinical picture.

4

CBT-I Referral When Appropriate

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) is the gold-standard first-line treatment for chronic insomnia. We refer to CBT-I trained therapists when appropriate and coordinate care. Medication and CBT-I can be used together or sequentially.

Common Questions

What Patients Ask

Yes. Several medications are used for insomnia including melatonin receptor agonists (ramelteon), orexin receptor antagonists (suvorexant, lemborexant), low-dose sedating antidepressants (trazodone, doxepin), and others. Medication selection depends on the type of insomnia, contributing factors, your overall health history, and other medications you take. Benzodiazepines and Z-drugs are sometimes used short-term but carry dependence risk with longer-term use — we discuss risks and alternatives openly.

CBT-I is the first-line recommended treatment for chronic insomnia and produces durable improvements that medication alone often doesn't. If access to a CBT-I trained therapist is available, it's worth pursuing. In practice, many patients pursue medication and CBT-I together, or medication while waiting for CBT-I access. We discuss the options and help you decide what fits your situation.

It may be. Insomnia is a core feature of both anxiety and depression, and treating the underlying condition often significantly improves sleep. A comprehensive psychiatric evaluation assesses for these conditions alongside the sleep complaint — rather than treating sleep in isolation.

Sleep apnea is a medical condition requiring evaluation by a sleep medicine specialist — it is outside the scope of outpatient psychiatric practice. If sleep apnea is suspected based on your history, we will recommend appropriate referral. Untreated sleep apnea also causes and worsens insomnia, so ruling it out is clinically important.

Yes. Psychiatric evaluation and medication management for insomnia can be conducted entirely via telehealth. You must be physically located in Florida at the time of your appointment.

From Our Fullscript Dispensary

Supplements We Recommend for Sleep

These three supplements are the ones we make available most often for sleep support — each with solid clinical evidence, excellent safety profiles, and complementary mechanisms. Available through our Fullscript dispensary — professional-grade, third-party tested, shipped directly to you.

Magnesium Glycinate

300–400 mg nightly · Deep sleep support

Magnesium regulates GABA receptors and suppresses cortisol — two of the primary drivers of nighttime wakefulness. An RCT found significant improvements in total sleep time, sleep efficiency, and insomnia severity scores versus placebo. Take 30–60 minutes before bed. This is the form we recommend — best absorption, no GI issues.

Ashwagandha KSM-66

600 mg/day · Stress-driven insomnia

If anxiety or stress is keeping you up, ashwagandha addresses the root. A meta-analysis of 5 RCTs found significant improvements in sleep quality, onset latency, total sleep time, and efficiency. Effects are best at 600 mg/day for at least 8 weeks. If you're already taking it for anxiety, your sleep should improve as a secondary benefit.

Melatonin (Low-Dose)

0.5–3 mg, 30–60 min before bed · Sleep onset

Most people take far too much melatonin. The evidence supports 0.5–1 mg for sleep onset — not the 5–10 mg doses in most drugstore products. Low-dose melatonin signals your brain that it's time to sleep without the receptor downregulation that can develop with chronic high-dose use. Particularly effective for night owls, shift workers, and older adults.

Before You Start

CBT-I (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia) is the most effective long-term treatment for chronic insomnia — more durable than supplements or medication.
Ashwagandha: use with caution if you have a thyroid condition.
Melatonin: avoid high-dose products. Low dose is evidence-aligned and works better long-term.
If sleep apnea is suspected, see a sleep medicine specialist — supplements won't address that.

Browse Our Full Dispensary →

Professional-grade supplements — third-party tested, shipped directly to you.

These products are available through our Fullscript dispensary. Florida Behavioral Health Associates may receive compensation on purchases. Supplements are not FDA-evaluated for the diagnosis or treatment of any condition and are not a substitute for clinical care. Consult your provider before starting any supplement if you take prescription medications.

Available Throughout Florida

Telehealth appointments via secure HIPAA-compliant video. You must be physically located in Florida at the time of your appointment.

New Patients Seen in 1–2 Days

Many psychiatric practices have wait times of several months. We typically see new patients within 1–2 days of booking.

Self-Pay & Insurance

Initial evaluation $250. Follow-up $125. Insurance credentialing in progress. HSA/FSA accepted.

Ready to Get Started?

New patient appointments available within 1–2 days. No referral required. Serving adults throughout Florida.

Book New Patient Appointment → Call (941) 348-6927