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Biography

Dr. Colleen E. Carney is an Associate Professor and Director of the Sleep and Depression Laboratory at Toronto Metropolitan University University, Toronto, Canada.  She is the current President of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (ABCT) Behavioral Sleep Medicine Special Interest Group. Dr. Carney was previously on faculty at Duke University Medical Center, where she was a recipient of the prestigious National Sleep Foundation’s Pickwick Fellowship.  Her main research areas are: how to best treat insomnia in the context of other mental health conditions and understanding comorbid insomnias. Her research has received support from the National Institute of Mental Health (R01 MH076856), National Institute of Nursing Research (R21 NR010539), the Canadian Institute of Health Research, and the Social Science and Humanities Research Council. She received the Early Researcher Award from the Ministry of Research and Innovation.  As part of her clinical trial research, she and her students provide free Cognitive Behaviour Therapy for those with insomnia and other conditions. She trains students and mental health providers in Cognitive Behaviour Therapy for Insomnia at invited workshops, and international conferences each year, as well she helps practices implement CBT-I via intensive staff training and longterm consultation in varied treatment settings (e.g., primary, family care, mental health clinics).  She has numerous publications on the topic of cognitive vulnerability to insomnia and depression, and is a passionate advocate for improving treatment options for those with insomnia and other health problems.

Recent Publications

• Woznica, A. A., Carney, C. E., Kuo, J. R., & Moss, T. G. (Accepted). The insomnia and suicide link: Toward an enhanced understanding of this relationship. Sleep Medicine Reviews.
• Moss, Taryn G., Carney, C.E., Haynes, P., & Harris, A. (In press). Is daily routine important for sleep? An Investigation of social rhythms in a clinical insomnia population.
• Hartmann, J., Carney, C. E., Lachowski, A.M., & Edinger, J.D. (Accepted). Exploring the construct of subjective sleep quality in those with insomnia. The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry.
•  Carney, C. E., Moss, T. G., Lachowski, A. M, & Atwood, M. E. (2013). Understanding mental and physical fatigue complaints in those with depression and insomnia. Behavioral Sleep Medicine, 12, 1-18.
•  Carney, C.E., Moss, T.G., Atwood, M.E., Crowe, B.M., & Andrews, A.J. (2013). Are Poor Sleepers Afraid of the Dark? A Preliminary Investigation. Journal of Experimental Psychopathology, 5, 1, 1-12.
•  Roecklein, K., Carney, C.E., Wong, P., Steiner, J., Hasler, B., & Franzen, P. (2013). The role of beliefs and attitudes about sleep in seasonal and nonseasonal mood disorder, and nondepressed controls. Journal of Affective Disorders, 150, 2, 466-473.
• Moss, T.G., Lachowski, A.M., & Carney, C. E. (2013). What All Treatment Providers Should Know about Sleep Hygiene Recommendations. The Behavior Therapist, 36, 4, 76-84.
• Carney, C. E, Harris, A. L., Falco, A., & Edinger, J. D. (2013). The relation between insomnia symptoms, mood and rumination about insomnia symptoms. Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, 9, 567-575.
• Rogojanski, J., Carney, C.E., & Monson, C.M. (2013). Interpersonal factors in insomnia: A model for integrating bed partners into Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia. Sleep Medicine Reviews, 17, 55-64.

Books

• Carney, C.E., & Posner, D. (In press). Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia for those with Depression. Routledge.
• Edinger, J.D. & Carney, C.E. (2015). Overcoming Insomnia: A Cognitive Behavioral Insomnia Approach, Therapist Guide. Part of the “Treatments that Work” series. Oxford University Press, NY.
• Edinger, J.D. & Carney, C.E. (2015). Overcoming Insomnia: A Cognitive Behavioral Insomnia Approach, Workbook. Part of the “Treatments that Work” series. Oxford University Press, NY.
• Manber, R. & Carney, C.E. (2015). Treatment Plans and Interventions: Insomnia. A Case Formulation Approach. Part of the “Treatment Planner” Series (Robert L. Leahy, Ed.). The Guilford Press, Berkeley, CA.

Karen is a second-year PhD student in Clinical Psychology. Her current research interests include insomnia in youth and adults, as well as public perceptions and use of consumer sleep technologies, which is the focus of her dissertation. She also works as a graduate student therapist on our clinical trials in providing CBT-I to adults.

She completed her BA in Honours Psychology at Toronto Metropolitan University in 2021 in the Healthy Eating and Lifestyle Lab, where her thesis looked at cognitive appraisal, body image and coping during the COVID-19 pandemic. Before joining the lab as a graduate student, she previously worked as a research assistant and study assessor for the SAD Lab’s ongoing clinical trials.

Micah’s research interests are centred around gender and sexual minority stressors and their impact on mental health. Their current work is focused on sleep in gender minority individuals, and how minority stressors impact the accessibility of healthy sleep.

Iqra joined the SAD Lab as part of the Research Practicum at Toronto Metropolitan University, and has stayed with the lab to complete her honour’s thesis, with a focus on EDI in sleep research and diversifying the field of sleep psychology. She is interested in pursuing a Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology.

Her research interests include how sleep affects neurodevelopmental and psychological conditions. She is also passionate about health equity and using research to create more accessible and effective treatment options for individuals with insomnia and other health disorders.