Department of Psychology

Biography:

Keywords: insomnia; depression; rumination; cognition and mood

When I graduated from the University of Toronto, there was little opportunity in Canada for behavioural sleep medicine, and certainly no programs offering a double specialty in both Sleep and Mood Disorders. As I left Canada to study with a psychologist certified in sleep medicine, I set a goal to return to Canada to establish a Cognitive Behavioural sleep medicine program in Ontario. I am so pleased that this day has finally arrived, and I am doubly pleased that the home of this program is Ryerson University. The new Ryerson Sleep and Mood Disorder Program is located in the Psychology Research and Training Centre, 105 Bond Street. Staying true to Ryerson’s technological roots, we will have state-of-the-art research and clinical facilities, including a one-bedroom psychophysiologic laboratory for overnight sleep studies, ambulatory sleep and activity actigraphs, therapy and observation rooms, interactive voice response software and computerized cognitive and emotional assessment batteries.

The current research of the program focuses on the relation between cognition, mood and sleep in a variety of psychiatric and medical populations. There are specific interests in: 1) cognitive vulnerability to insomnia and depression (e.g., symptom-focused rumination and sleep-related beliefs), 2) the etiological role of insomnia in depression, 3) hyperarousal in insomnia, and 4) the relation between sleep and stress. At present, I am analyzing data from a study of the relation between sleep, self-reported arousal and psychophysiological measures of arousal (e.g., heart rate variability and spectral EEG). I am also looking at cognitive moderators of the relation between poor sleep quality and mood disturbance. The vulnerabilities of particular interest to me are: 1) tendencies to ruminate on symptoms in response to poor sleep quality, 2) maladaptive beliefs about sleep, and 3) cognitive reactivity. I am exploring the above-mentioned cognitive vulnerabilities in clinical insomnia patients at Duke and Rush Medical Centers, as well as those with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, those with Fibromyalgia, and those with Major Depression. I plan to recruit a sample of “good sleepers” at Ryerson for comparison purposes. I also have a randomized clinical trial of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy for insomnia in those with depression. My teaching interests include psychopathology, Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, and clinical research methods. I am very excited to work with students, and will have opportunities for both undergraduate and graduate students. Please feel free to drop-by and we can talk about what’s going on in the Ryerson Sleep and Mood Disorder Program.

Selected Publications

Carney, C.E., & Edinger, J.D. (2010). Insomnia and Anxiety. Springer, NY.

Carney, C.E., & Manber, R. (2009). Quiet Your Mind and Get to Sleep: Solutions to Insomnia for those with Depression, Anxiety and Chronic Pain.  New Harbinger Press: Oakland, CA. 

Carney, C. E., Buysse, D.J., Ancoli-Israel, S., Edinger, J.D.,  Krystal, A. D., Lichstein, K.L., & Morin, C.M. (Accepted). The Consensus Sleep Diary: Standardizing prospective sleep self-monitoring. Sleep.

Carney, C.E., Harris, A.L., Moss, T., & Edinger, J.D. (2010). Distinguishing rumination from worry in clinical insomnia.  Behavior Research and therapy, 48, 540-546. 

Carney, C.E., Edinger, J.D., Morin, C.M., Manber, R., Rybarcyk, B., Stepanski, E., Lack, L., Wright, H. (2010). Examining maladaptive beliefs about sleep across insomnia patient groups. Journal of Psychosomatic Research. 68, 1, 57-65.

Edinger, J, D, & Carney, C, E. (2008). Overcoming Insomnia: A Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy Approach Therapist Guide. Oxford University Press.

Carney, C, E, Segal, Z, V, Edinger, J, D, Krystal, A, D. (2007). A comparison of rates of residual insomnia symptoms following pharmacotherapy or cognitive-behavioral therapy for major depressive disorder. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 68, 2, 254-60.

Carney, C E, Edinger, J, D, Manber, R, Garson, C, & Segal, Z, V. (2007). Beliefs about sleep in disorders characterized by sleep and mood disturbance. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 62, 2, 179-88.

Carney, C, E, Edinger, J, D, Meyer, B, Lindman, L, & Istre, T. (2006). Symptom-focused rumination and sleep disturbance. Behavioral Sleep Medicine, 4, 4, 228-41.

Carney, C, E, & Edinger, J, D. (2006). Identifying critical beliefs about sleep in primary insomnia. Sleep, 29, 4, 444-53.