Reflections of a therapist providing Long Covid support
It’s now been nearly 4 years since the start of the pandemic and for a therapist working in the field of fatigue, pain and long term conditions it's been nothing short of a rollercoaster.
When the first news of post covid symptoms started appearing there was a huge variety of presentations - from life threatening illness to mild or no symptoms, full recovery versus ongoing symptoms, and this was not necessarily related to how acutely ill the person had been.
As the post-infection problems started to emerge I weirdly felt a sense of relief: that although I wasn't a frontline clinician working in the intense pressure cooker of ITU or acute care, I was now able to do my bit and contribute to this experience in a positive way, helping those where covid continued to have impact, and provide a space to offer support, especially those that felt left or forgotten after the acute phase.
What we were seeing was a wide range of symptoms, from those I was more familiar with like fatigue, brain fog and breathlessness, to the less familiar including covid toes, neuropathic pain, speech issues, smell and taste changes.
One of the things that I felt grateful for was my breadth of experience. It meant that I was able to see the person and the bigger picture, and not get caught up in the diagnosis or lack of one. I had confidence that I didn't need a prescriptive way to support and help people going through illness, their confusing symptoms and with no identified treatment.
With my knowledge and experience of post-viral fatigue, I was able to provide rehabilitation programmes using the principles that I know help people with fatigue and associated symptoms, no matter what the origin. I was also fortunate to be working within a multidisciplinary team, Vitality360, who not only have vast experience in Post Viral Fatigue Syndrome but also make time and space to share that experience and learn together. During the first 12 months we spent a lot of time checking in with each other to ensure we were providing the best support we could.
More and more information was coming out via healthcare publications about activity management and energy conservation but we knew that although the information and education was good and useful, it needed to be individualised for it to be the most effective. It also needed to be applied to a vocational setting which again requires an individual approach.
People’s desire to understand more about the condition affecting them, alongside the increase in research to establish the triggers and perpetuating factors for long covid, highlighted how important it is to stay on top of research and the evidence being produced. We need to be a sounding board for people trying to understand what is happening to them and at the same time help them to navigate their way through the information, acquire a more analytical approach to their own research and not be influenced by headlines claiming a curative treatment!
In summary I would describe my role as being someone who works alongside people on their journey, helping them to manage ongoing symptoms, adjust their activities and expectations of self, and challenge their habitual ways of doing things that may no longer work. This can mean both enhancing their own coping strategies and developing new ones. We aim for recovery but this may not mean returning to previous lifestyles, it may be helping them to consider what an alternative future may look like. Most importantly I believe I give hope to people with ongoing symptoms, whether these are temporary or not, that they are still able to live a life of quality and vitality.
Written by Maxine Haylock, Specialist Occupational Therapist