Dr. Spencer Dawson

I primarily use Headway for billing. For more information, please see my website, scdawson.com.

I have over 18 years of experience in the sleep field and am one of two adult-focused psychologists in the state of Indiana who is board certified in Behavioral Sleep Medicine. Sleep disorders that I can help with include insomnia, reliance on sleeping pills, difficulty using CPAP treatment for sleep apnea, circadian rhythm sleep-wake disorders, central disorders of hypersomnia (narcolepsy and idiopathic hypersomnia), nightmare disorders, REM and NREM parasomnias, etc.

I have 4 years of experience as director of the Indiana University Psychological Clinic where I trained PhD students in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, specifically the Unified Protocol (UP), which is an evidence-based treatment for emotional disorders such as anxiety and depression. I am currently pursuing the highest level of training in the UP.

I have worked in many settings with people from many different backgrounds. I've worked in a prison, community mental health, VA medical center, early psychosis intervention center, and several clinical trials.

I start by working with my patients to develop a thorough understanding of the problems they face. This conceptualization informs the treatment plan. Together, we answer the questions of why did these problems start, why do they continue, and what can we do? Typically, the conceptualization and treatment plan are refined over time. The goals are not just to reduce symptoms, but to help you live the life you want. Doing what matters to you and is in alignment with your values. Every session, we make plans that you implement. And at the next session, we either build on success or use your experience to build a better plan - no matter what, we are always moving forward. The therapy I provide requires time, effort, and doing things that are hard. The payoff is developing the confidence and ability to do things that currently seem impossible; the ability to do things that matter to you, even when they're hard.

Your first appointment will be an assessment. At the end of this assessment, you can expect to have a better understanding of your problems and an understanding of the initial treatment plan.