Introduction
In their article, Pierpaoli-Parket et al. (2021) investigated the influence of imagery rehearsal therapy (IRT) on dream enactment in a patient with rapid eye movement (REM) sleep behavior disorder.
Summary
Nightmare disorder (ND) and REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD) are often co-morbid, which causes significant disruptions in the quality of sleep as well as the psychological state of the individual experiencing them long-term. To manage the disorder, the researcher proposed implementing imagery rehearsal therapy (IRT), which is a CBT approach toward cutting the number and severity of nightmares through their reimagination. In the case study, the patient was first introduced to relaxation training and stimulus control and then underwent IRT and CBT. Even though there were some limitations with the absence of follow-up data, since starting IRT, the patient indicated that their distress about nightmares decreased, the severity and frequency of dream enactments reduced, and sleep quality increased.
Conclusions
IRT could be seen as a promising approach to helping reduce the severity and frequency of RBD events among older adults. While the approach is novel, it could help improve sleep quality and allow patients suffering from sleep-related disorders to engage in holistic treatment in addition to pharmacological interventions.
Personal Opinion
I agree with the authors of the study that more research into IRT implementation for addressing RBD-associated issues is needed. The results of the study remain inconclusive due to the lack of follow-up data linked to the patient’s worsening psychological state. Besides, I think that the proposed approach is not universal and can only be applied to only certain types of patients and not those diagnosed with severe psychiatric conditions and extensive history of trauma.
Reference
Pierpaoli-Parker, C., Bolstad, C. J., Szkody, E., Amara, A. W., Nadorff, M. R., & Thomas, S. J. (2021). The impact of imagery rehearsal therapy on dream enactment in a patient with REM-sleep behavior disorder: A case study. Dreaming, 31(3), 195–206. Web.