Berkowski, MD, J Andrew

Andy Berkowski, MD of ReLACS Health is a physician double-board certified by the American Board of Psychiatry & Neurology in Adult Neurology and Sleep Medicine. ReLACS Health is direct specialty care sleep clinic operating via telemedicine that can provide the full scope of care for sleep conditions including insomnia. By not accepting payment from insurance, Dr. Berkowski is rare as a sleep physician who can offer cognitive and behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) himself without having to outsource the treatment to other sleep therapists. All patients new to ReLACS Health start with a 90 minute Comprehensive Consultation to establish care and thoroughly assess health and sleep status. ReLACS Health offers a special two-month membership, the Comprehensive Insomnia Management Program with weekly or bi-monthly sessions at the patient's convenience. Part of membership is the ability to have regular dialogue and direct communication with Dr. Berkowski on a weekly basis in between appointments through secure texting, portal messaging, or phone. Standard monthly membership to the clinic is available indefinitely after the completion of the CBT-I program for any ongoing communication, management, questions, advice, or follow up visits related to sleep health. Dr. Berkowski can also manage other sleep conditions simultaneously including restless legs syndrome (RLS), excessive daytime sleepiness/hypersomnia, circadian rhythm problems, sleep apnea, and parasomnias (e.g. sleepwalking, dream enactment behavior, night eating syndrome). On the occasion that home sleep apnea testing is needed, he can perform this testing affordably using equipment shipped directly to the patient's home without having to pick up and drop off at a medical center.

Dr. Berkowski completed a fellowship in Sleep Medicine at Stanford University, learning the principles of insomnia therapy from acclaimed CBT-I specialists including Rachel Manber, PhD, Britney Blair, PsyD, and Allison Siebern, PhD. After fellowship training, Dr. Berkowski was an assistant professor of neurology at the University of Michigan with clinical colleagues J. Todd Arnedt, PhD and Dierdre Conroy, PhD at the Michael S Aldrich Sleep Disorders Center at Michigan Medicine. He then moved on to the Cleveland Clinic and expanded his virtual practice in sleep medicine before founding ReLACS Health in 2022. 

Guided by the Catholic/Jesuit philosophy of "cura personalis," or care of the whole person, Dr. Berkowski focuses on a personalized, holistic approach to improvement of sleep quality, overall health, and well being. This type of care is best delivered through the direct care model of medicine, which frees patients and clinicians from the constraints and whims of the insurance system and medical centers. CBT-I is a consensus first-line treatment for chronic insomnia, but sleep physicians rarely offer this treatment and instead resort to largely ineffective sleeping pills/hypnotics to save time and optimize insurance reimbursement. Dr. Berkowski offers CBT-I and comprehensive sleep care in a personalized, patient-centered format. Currently, patients must be present in the state of Michigan, Ohio, or Florida at the time of the initial consultation to be seen by Dr. Berkowski.