If you lie awake night after night — unable to fall asleep, waking through the night, or up too early — it wears on everything: your mood, your focus, your health. Insomnia is common, it is well understood, and it responds to treatment. You are welcome here, and better sleep is possible.

What insomnia is

Insomnia is trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, or waking earlier than you want — even when you have the chance to sleep — along with daytime effects like fatigue, low mood, or trouble concentrating. When it happens at least three nights a week for three months or more, it is considered chronic insomnia, which affects roughly 1 in 10 adults. The good news: it is one of the most treatable conditions in mental health.

Signs and symptoms

  • Lying awake for a long time before falling asleep.
  • Waking during the night and struggling to fall back asleep.
  • Waking too early and being unable to return to sleep.
  • Daytime tiredness, irritability, or trouble focusing.
  • Worrying about sleep itself, which makes sleep even harder.

Insomnia often travels with anxiety, depression, chronic pain, or other conditions, and we look at the whole picture — including whether something like sleep apnea (loud snoring, gasping, heavy daytime sleepiness) should be evaluated separately.

Brief screening (96127)

To understand your sleep and track your progress, we use brief, validated questionnaires — administered, auto-scored, and documented on the CNS Vital Signs platform and billed under code 96127 (brief emotional/behavioral assessment) — including the Epworth Sleepiness Scale and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (Johns, 1991; Buysse et al., 1989; CNS Vital Signs, n.d.). Each takes only a few minutes.

How it is treated — and how we approach it at OhanaPsych

The most effective treatment for chronic insomnia is not a pill — it is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I). National guidelines from the American College of Physicians and the American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommend CBT-I as the first-line treatment for chronic insomnia, ahead of medication (Qaseem et al., 2016; Edinger et al., 2021). CBT-I retrains your sleep with proven techniques — stimulus control, sleep restriction, and relaxation — and its benefits tend to last.

Medication can play a role, usually short-term and through shared decision-making when CBT-I alone is not enough. We are thoughtful about sleep medications — some are controlled substances, and certain ones carry added risks, especially for older adults — and we will talk through the trade-offs with you. We hold this work with aloha, with the goal of restoring lōkahi (balance and harmony) so rest comes more easily and the rest of your life feels steadier. We coordinate care with your therapist and primary-care team.

Getting care by telehealth

Most of our care is delivered by secure video, so you can begin from a private, comfortable place of your own. Some parts of care — such as certain controlled medications — still follow the federal Ryan Haight Act and DEA rules and may call for an in-person step; we will tell you clearly if that applies to you.

Lasting access by telehealth

As we complete the final stages of becoming a Rural Health Clinic (RHC), telehealth for mental-health care is here to stay with us. Under Medicare’s rural-health rules, RHCs are permanently authorized to provide behavioral and mental-health care by telehealth — including into your home, anywhere in Hawaiʻi — not under the temporary flexibilities that expire and must be renewed. For our patients, that means dependable, lasting telehealth access to the care you need.

Wherever you live, OhanaPsych is your statewide practice. We provide care across the entire state of Hawaiʻi by telehealth, reaching every island — Hawaiʻi Island, Maui, Oʻahu, Kauaʻi, Molokaʻi, Lānaʻi, and Niʻihau. If you would rather be seen in person, you have that option at our offices in Hilo and Honolulu.

When to reach out

You do not need to be in crisis to reach out — new patients are welcome. Call (808) 777-9460 or start your request online.

If you or someone you love is thinking about suicide or self-harm, get help right away. Call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (call or text 988, or chat at 988lifeline.org). In Hawaiʻi, Hawaiʻi CARES is available by calling or texting 988, or at 808-832-3100 / 800-753-6879. In a life-threatening emergency, call 911.

Medically reviewed by George Mackel, MSN, APRN, NP-C, PMHNP-BC, CARN-AP — President & Owner, OhanaPsych / Ohana Care Clinic.
Last reviewed: June 28, 2026. Citations verified: June 28, 2026.

This page is general health education from OhanaPsych. It is not a substitute for a personal evaluation by a qualified clinician who knows your situation, and reading it does not create a provider–patient relationship. If you think you may have a mental health condition, reach out to us or another licensed provider. In an emergency, call 911.

References

Buysse, D. J., Reynolds, C. F., Monk, T. H., Berman, S. R., & Kupfer, D. J. (1989). The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index: A new instrument for psychiatric practice and research. Psychiatry Research, 28(2), 193–213. https://doi.org/10.1016/0165-1781(89)90047-4

CNS Vital Signs. (n.d.). CNS Vital Signs computerized rating instruments. https://www.cnsvs.com/WhitePapers/CNSVS-RatingInstruments.pdf

Edinger, J. D., Arnedt, J. T., Bertisch, S. M., Carney, C. E., Harrington, J. J., Lichstein, K. L., … Martin, J. L. (2021). Behavioral and psychological treatments for chronic insomnia disorder in adults: An American Academy of Sleep Medicine clinical practice guideline. Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, 17(2), 255–262. https://doi.org/10.5664/jcsm.8986

Johns, M. W. (1991). A new method for measuring daytime sleepiness: The Epworth Sleepiness Scale. Sleep, 14(6), 540–545. https://doi.org/10.1093/sleep/14.6.540

Qaseem, A., Kansagara, D., Forciea, M. A., Cooke, M., & Denberg, T. D. (2016). Management of chronic insomnia disorder in adults: A clinical practice guideline from the American College of Physicians. Annals of Internal Medicine, 165(2), 125–133. https://doi.org/10.7326/M15-2175


Frequently Asked Questions

Does OhanaPsych accept QUEST, Medicaid, and insurance for insomnia and sleep care?

Yes. We are in network with the Hawaiʻi QUEST Integration plans — AlohaCare, HMSA, ʻOhana Health Plan, and UnitedHealthcare Community Plan — and we also accept Medicare and most commercial insurance. If you are not sure about your coverage, contact our office and we will help you check.

Can I receive insomnia and sleep care by telehealth, or do I need to come into the office?

We offer both. You can be seen in person at our Honolulu or Hilo office, or by secure telehealth from anywhere in Hawaiʻi. Some visits or treatments may require an in-person appointment, and we will let you know if that applies to your care.

How do I make an appointment for insomnia and sleep care?

You can request an appointment through our online scheduling page, or call us at (808) 777-9460 for Honolulu or (808) 867-8002 for Hilo. We welcome new patients and will help match you with the right provider.

Who provides insomnia and sleep care at OhanaPsych?

Care is provided by our team of licensed, board-certified psychiatric providers. You can read about each member of our team on our Providers page.