Ep048: Nighttime fear? How to help a scary child to sleep on her own? --with Dr. Kushnir

deepintosleep.co — Dr. Jonathan Kushnir

with Dr. Yishan Xu

TODAY’S GUEST

Dr. Jonathan Kushnir , is a clinical psychologist, expert, and instructor in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, trained both in Israel and the U.S.

In over a decade, Dr. Kushnir has successfully treated thousands of children and adults suffering from anxiety and sleep disorders. Dr. Kushnir specialized in the treatment of children suffering from anxieties and sleep problems during his Ph.D. studies, his fellowship, and in his work in private practice as well as anxiety clinics in public hospitals. Over the years he has published numerous articles in top scientific peer reviewed journals.

WHAT WILL WE LEARN

This week, Yishan spoke with Dr. Jonathan Kushnir, a clinical psychologist trained in both the United States and Israel. He speaks about identifying unhealthy dependencies children have on their parents in regards to night-time fears and sleep.

Here is a summary of the main points he shared:

While children ages 4 to 12 often exhibit fears, they often disappear naturally as we age.
However, some cases are quite serious and often stem from a child lacking coping mechanisms when it comes to sleeping on their own.
A successful method backed by research involved puppy dolls, in which children, themselves, would take care of the puppy dolls that had night-time fears. This method started through post-traumatic stress observed during war periods, in which these doll techniques were used to help children cope with the trauma.
Nighttime fear is not a diagnosis itself - it is often related to other serious conditions, such as anxiety and trauma.
Some ideas Dr. Kushnir has to solve these issues:
- Affordable CBT and CBT-I methods
- Children’s books to help not only children, but also parents to aid with sleep issues