Dr. Parky Lau, Ph.D., C.Psych
Psychologist
Dr. Parky Lau completed his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at Toronto Metropolitan University. He then completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Stanford Medicine’s Sleep Health and Insomnia Program. He specializes in behavioural sleep medicine and provides evidence-based treatment for insomnia, nightmares, and circadian rhythm disorders. His approach integrates cognitive behavioral therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy, and mindfulness-based interventions to deliver individualized, patient-centered care.
In addition to his clinical practice, Dr. Lau trains clinicians in cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia, consults with companies developing sleep interventions, and has taught sleep-focused courses at Stanford Continuing Studies and the LIFE institute. He is the author of The Insomnia Paradox: A Sleep Expert’s Guide to Overcome Insomnia and Change the Way You Think About Sleep and Room for Therapy: What Helps, Why it Works, and How to Start.
Beyond the Clinic
Dr. Lau is a veritable expert on behavioural sleep medicine. Below are some of his publications.
Peer-Reviewed Publications
1. Lau, P.H., Solomon, N.L., & Simpson, N. (2026). Addressing daytime symptoms of insomnia with CBT-I: An overview and practical applications. Behavioral Sleep Medicine, 1-10.
2. Lau, P.H., Levitan, R.D., Quilty, L.C., Kloiber, S., Zai, G., & Laposa, J.M. (2025). The relationship between chronotype and treatment time of day on post-treatment depression symptom severity for depressed patients receiving cognitive behavioural therapy. Journal of Affective Disorders. 368, 366-372.
3. Lau, P.H. & Carney, C.E. (2024). Stakeholder perspectives on managing the adolescent sleep crisis using a transdiagnostic self-management app for sleep disturbances: a qualitative follow-up study. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 13591045241285586.
4. Lau P.H. & Carney, C.E. (2024). Mapping out adolescent sleep patterns in Canadian private high schools: A mixed methods approach. Canadian Journal of Behavioural Sciences. Advance online publication.
5. Lau, P.H., Kumar, K., Starick, E., & Carney, C.E. (2024). Comparing patients treated with CBT for insomnia with healthy sleepers and past poor sleepers on dimensions of sleep health. Sleep Health: Journal of the National Sleep Foundation.
6. Lau, P.H, Amestoy, M. E., Roth, M., & Monson, C. (2024). Patient-related factors associated with patient retention and non-completion in psychosocial treatment of borderline personality disorder: A systematic review. Personality and Mental Health, 1–23.
7. Lau, P.H., & Carney, C.E. (2024). Implementation of a teen sleep app in Canadian high schools: Preliminary evidence of acceptability, engagement, and capacity for supporting healthy sleep habits. Journal of Sleep Research, e14199.
8. Lau, P.H., Starick, E., & Carney, C.E. (2024). Anxiolytic impact of cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia in patients with comorbid insomnia and generalized anxiety disorder. Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy, 524(4), 456-460.
9. Lau, P.H., Marway, O.S., Carmona, N.E., Starick, E., Iskenderova, I., & Carney, C.E. (2023). An investigation of further strategies to optimize early treatment gains in brief therapies for insomnia. Behavioural Sleep Medicine, 22(2), 140-149.
10. Patel, A., Daros, A.R., Irwin, S.H., Lau, P.H., Hope, I.M., Perkovic, S.J.M., Husain, M.I., Laposa, J.M., Kloiber, S., Quilty, L.C. (2023). Associations between rumination, depression, and distress tolerance during CBT treatment for depression in a tertiary care setting. Journal of Affective Disorders, 339(15), 74-81.
11. Seko, Y., Malik, A., Lau, P.H., & Neri, D. (2023). Toward solution-focused graduate supervision: Developing a research-based live simulation for graduate supervisors. Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 1-13.
12. Marway, O.S., Lau, P.H., Carmona, N.E., & Carney, C.E. (2023). What are patients completing Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for insomnia telling us with their post-treatment Insomnia Severity Index scores? Sleep Medicine, 103, 187-194
13. Lau, P.H., Marway, O.S., Carmona, N.E., & Carney, C.E. (2022). Examining whether changes in sleep habits predict long-term sustainment of treatment gains in individuals remitted from insomnia after CBT-I. Behavioural Sleep Medicine, 21(4), 1-12.
14. Lau, P.H., Carney, A.E., Marway, O.S., Carmona, N.E., Amestoy, M.E., & Carney, C.E. (2022). Investigating the antidepressant effects of CBT-I in those with major depressive and insomnia disorders. Journal of Affective Disorders Reports. 9, 1-8.
15. Seko, Y., Lau, P.H. (2021). Solution-focused approach in higher education: A scoping review. Higher Education Research & Development, 1-17
16. Amestoy, M., Lau, P.H. (2020). The 2019 novel coronavirus: A sleep and mood perspective. Mind Pad. 9(2), 39-43
17. Kutana, S., Lau, P.H. (2020). The impact of the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic on sleep health. Canadian Psychology/Psychologie Canadienne. 62(1), 12-19.