Online therapy for insomnia, sleep difficulties and mental health

Hello! My name is Ben Mitchell and I am a licensed mental health counselor in New York who specializes in insomnia and persistent sleep difficulties. I use Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) to help you understand what is keeping you awake and begin moving toward better sleepWhether sleep is the main reason you are seeking therapy or only part of what is going on, my goal is to help you reconnect with your own innate drive toward growth and healing

About Me

I became a counselor because everyone deserves the opportunity to build a life that feels meaningful and true to who they are.Too often, we make choices we later regret without fully understanding why. We can become trapped in patterns that lead us to repeat the same mistakes, even when we genuinely want something different. The same thing can happen with sleep: the harder we try to fix it, the more our routines, thoughts, and behaviors can unintentionally keep the problem going. Over time, these patterns can disconnect us from our values and leave us feeling as though we have less and less control over our own lives.No one deserves to feel trapped in that cycle. My calling is to help you understand these patterns, break free from them, and develop the tools to continue moving forward without relying on therapy forever. My goal is that, no matter what life brings—or how difficult sleep becomes—you will know how to find your way back to yourself.I earned my Master of Education in Counseling Psychology from Columbia University in 2018. Since then, I have provided counseling in both New York and Kentucky and became independently licensed in 2024. I have also completed specialized training in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) through Stanford Medicine.Through my work in community mental health, I have had the privilege of working with people from a wide range of backgrounds and life experiences. This has given me experience treating diverse mental health and substance-use concerns, including complex and severe symptoms.Although I have worked with nearly every type of mental health and substance-use concern, I now have a particular focus on insomnia and persistent sleep difficulties using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I). I also specialize in depression, anxiety, trauma, stress, and major life transitions. My approach is collaborative, transparent, and focused on helping you better understand yourself, recognize the patterns that keep you stuck, and create meaningful changes in your daily life.

Insomnia & sleep Difficulties

Insomnia can feel like quicksand: the harder you fight it, the more stuck you become. You go to bed earlier, stay in bed later, do mental math throughout the night, research sleep strategies, or cancel plans for fear of how it might impact your sleep. Before you know it, the idea of sleep fills you with dread and you are trapped in a cycle that you do not deserve.You may not even know whether what you are experiencing is insomnia. You may just know that your sleep has become terrible. That is where I can help. I specialize in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I), an evidence-based treatment designed specifically for persistent sleep difficulties and insomnia. Together, we slow the cycle down, understand what is keeping it going, and make changes that help you move toward better sleep.My approach to CBT-I is grounded in the same belief that guides all of my therapy: everyone has an innate drive toward growth and healing. Sometimes stress, difficult experiences, mental health concerns, sleep problems, or simply everything life throws at us can disconnect us from that drive. My role is not to tell you how to live your life. It is to create the kind of therapeutic environment where you can reconnect with yourself through trust, respect, transparency, empathy, curiosity, and collaboration.Think of me as a navigator and you as the captain of the ship. I am not standing on the shore yelling directions at you. I am in the boat with you. I can help you read the map, notice the currents, identify barriers, and suggest different routes. I bring knowledge about sleep, CBT-I, behavior, and emotional patterns. You bring something even more important: expertise in your own life. Together, we decide what direction makes the most sense and how we want to get there.Whether sleep is the main reason you are seeking therapy or one part of a larger struggle with anxiety, depression, trauma, stress, substance use, or another life challenge, the goal remains the same: understand what is keeping you stuck, change what is no longer helping, and help you reconnect with your own ability to move forward.

THERAPEUTIC MODALITIES

I use an integrated approach to therapy, drawing from several evidence-based methods based on your individual needs. Although each approach serves a different purpose, they share two central principles: therapy works best when we work together, and you are the expert on your own life.You are the only person who can ultimately determine what feels true, what needs to change, and what kind of life you want to build. My role is not to provide those answers for you, but to use these therapeutic approaches to help you discover them.One of my primary areas of focus is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia, or CBT-I. CBT-I is an evidence-based treatment specifically designed for insomnia and persistent sleep difficulties. We work together to understand the thoughts, behaviors, routines, and patterns that may be keeping the cycle of poor sleep going. Rather than simply giving you sleep tips, CBT-I can reset your relationship with sleep through targeted changes to the way you sleep and the way you think about sleep.The foundation of my broader work is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT. It is present in nearly every one of my sessions, and I also train other counselors in its use. CBT examines how our beliefs shape the way we interpret experiences, respond emotionally, and make decisions. Through collaborative discussion, thoughtful questions, and real-world experimentation, we identify patterns that may be keeping you stuck and develop healthier ways of responding.I also use Dialectical Behavior Therapy to teach practical skills for managing intense emotions, anxiety, and distress. Motivational Interviewing helps you clarify the changes you want to make and strengthen your motivation to move forward. When appropriate, I draw from Cognitive Processing Therapy to address trauma and CAMS to assess and treat concerns related to suicide risk.Underlying all of these approaches is a humanistic belief that healing comes from your own natural drive to grow. My role is to help you reconnect with that drive and develop the insight and skills needed to continue moving forward on your own.

Insurance

I am partnered with both Headway and Sondermind. The allows me to take most New York insurances. But it can make it a pain to know which platform to use for therapy. Plus, I prefer to work with Headway when possible. The best way to figure this out is to give me a call at (716) 575-2806. But if you want to do it online, I have marked which insurances are Sondermind only (SN).

Contact

The best way to contact me is by phone or text at (716) 575-2806. You can reach me by email at [email protected]. Below are links the following sites in order (Psychology Today, Headway, Sondermind, LinkedIn, Text, Phone, Email)

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